Visiting the White Heron

I had the opportunity to visit Himeji Castle a few weeks ago with a Japanese friend. This place is a gold mine of traditional Japanese culture. The castle, built of wood and white plaster, remained undamaged in World War II and is considered a national treasure of Japan.



When we entered the castle, we had to remove our shoes and carry them around in a bag. The floors were polished and really smooth, and it was a little scary to walk up and down several flights of stairs in socks.



Chojugiga Jinbutsu Zoshi (top left) is an ancient form of Japanese storytelling that predates manga, but tells a story using a continual flow of pictures. The other photos show some of the armor and weaponry displayed in the castle, and the shrine is located on the very top floor.



The area outside the castle is surrounded by beautiful gardens, restaurants, and tea houses. It reminded me a little of a meditation path I walked at a church retreat back home. After we'd been through the castle, we took a walk through the gardens and stopped to rest at a bench surrounded by a bamboo thicket.

"Gardens of the Edo period...were constructed to represent specific sites in other parts of Japan, so that lords and their families who were forced to spend long periods there could be reminded of their homeland."

"A theme which runs through this brief historical survey of Japanese gardens is the way they are designed to represent something else." --Joy Hendry, Gardens and Visual Culture

Cultural Window

Like the United States, malls and shopping centers in Japan are a great place to scope out what's new and what's hot on the market for popular culture. You can find everything from your general department stores to your highest fashion outlets. But Japanese malls aren't limited to clothing and shoes. Let's take a look at what else can be found here.



In addition to being exceptionally fashion-conscious, Japanese people have an apparent interest in making sure their furry, four-legged companions are also looking their best. Clothing, toys, shoes, rain jackets, strollers, bedding, accessories...you name it, they had it. See those vests in the background of the photo? People clothing right? Nope! All of it, the entire store, dedicated to dogs. Paris Hilton would be in her glory.



Game centers are one of the busiest sections of Japanese shopping centers. Here you can find every possible crane game you can imagine, plus video games, virtual trading card games, and even Dance Dance Revolution for little kids. Prizes and themes are usually manga or anime characters, as well as food and snacks. Dragonball, Pokemon, Doraemon, Hello Kitty, and Disney seem to be some of the most popular characters among both children and adults.

Every shopping center I've visited has been different, and it's always interesting to see what people are buying and the kinds of things that they enjoy doing. Malls and shopping centers aren't the only sources to find popular culture, but they are a good window into the different areas of interest Japan has to offer.

Undokai

My host brother and sister's undokai was postponed because of the rain on Sunday and I wasn't able to attend the rescheduled day, but on Saturday we went to watch an undokai at a middle school down the street from our house.

One of the things I noticed was that during some of the longer relays was that if one team fell far behind the other three, it only drove them to try harder. More often than not this lead to an exciting comeback and made the race more exciting. In this kind of situation in the US, I think sometimes that we accept the fact that we can't possibly catch up and so we settle for just finishing the race. I never got this impression from the students at the undokai. They fought hard until the end. It seemed that as long as they did their best, they could be proud of themselves.



I found that after watching the undokai it reminded me less and less of the physical fitness tests I talked about last week's preview, and more of my high school's winter carnival. It was all about fun and friendly competition. Even students that had been defeated happily high-fived and congratulated each other.




In addition to footraces and relays, there were also different game-type races. For example, there was a relay in which the participants had to pick up a slip of paper with an object written on it. The students had to go into the crowd and find that object (be it a flag, a teacher, another student, etc.) and run with it to the finish line.



The festival was a big family event, and even the parents got to participate. They called everyone out into the middle of the track for a parents vs. parents game of tug-of-war. It was interesting to see the group mentality and team spirit mirrored in both parents and children.

Preview: Undokai

"Ganbare!"

This is a phrase that I've heard over and over again since I landed in Japan. It's a phrase that is translated as "do your best," and is used in nearly every day-to-day situation. Even in completing a task as simple as walking to the train station in the rain, my host mother calls after me "Laura, ganbare!"

More than a phrase, I feel that "Ganbaru" is a state of mind--a way of life in Japan. The idea of doing your best seems to be embedded in the minds of the Japanese people.

For the last two weeks or so, for example, my host brother and sister have been practicing for their school's undokai, or sports festival.

The undokai a day dedicated to physical activity and friendly competition between classes. This is an event of great focus in my host family, and is even important enough for my brother and sister practice for it at home.

To me it's an example of that same spirit of dedication and the desire to "do your best." Like education, like sports, and like life the idea is to work hard and be the best you can be. It's an optomistic outlook, I think, in that you're recognizing that there are some things that you can't control, so you just do the best you can.

On Sunday I'm going with my family to watch the undokai, and I'll post photos and additional comments on the event on Monday.

Shunkun, Amichan, ganbare!


Here's an example of an undokai from last year:


From: amazingpreston
Added: May 29, 2007

It's Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Japanese neighborhoods are what I would describe as small towns in big cities. Osaka, for example, is divided into 20 smaller “cities” that each form their own separate communities. My host family lives in Neyagawa-shi, which is much larger than I would consider a neighborhood to be. I find it interesting, however, that a group of people that large can have as strong a sense of community as my small rural town back home.

Last weekend, my family brought me to a local community center “matsuri,” or cultural festival. It was a very small occasion, located in what looked like an elementary school gymnasium. Several tables were set up inside displaying origami works and paintings, as well as craft-making areas for children.

In many ways, it was similar to state fairs I’d been to back home. The food, for example, ranged from popcorn, cotton candy and hot dogs to Japanese chicken on a stick. It was a nice surprise to be able to enjoy some familiar fairground food.

The shrine across the street from the community center was also part of the festivities, which separated the experience for me as purely Japanese. At this particular matsuri, the monks at the shrine were drumming and chanting for a ceremony in which people park their cars outside the shrine to be cleansed of evil spirits and receive the protection of the kami.

Hopefully during my stay here in Japan I'll get to become more familiar with the neighborhood I live in, and come to understand the sense of community that people here seem to innately share.

A Brief Overview

Welcome to the Peanut Gallery!



This blog was created as an assignment for my Visual Anthropology class at Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka, Japan. In addition to a detailed documentation of my experiences, I will try to provide informed commentary about a variety of topics and subjects during my stay in Japan.

I must admit that my first impression of Japan and Japanese culture came long before I even arrived in the Osaka airport. Instead, I came to Japan with preconceived expectations and assumptions based on what I’d seen in imported Japanese media such as anime and manga. I have found myself basing my observations on whether my stereotypical views of Japan are being confirmed or challenged by reality.

For Example:

The “V” fingers my host sister is displaying in the photo are characteristic of Japanese people in photographs. The meaning is somewhat obscure, as I’ve been told by some that they stand for peace and by others that they represent “V” for “victory.”

Manga have become increasingly popular in the United States, and is where most of my personal understanding of Japanese culture comes from. In Japan, it's practically a way of life. Manga can be found everywhere from the largest bookstore to the nearest 7 Eleven (photo). And it’s cheap! You can buy new and used manga for under 500 yen (about $5.60 US).