Americanization

I know that I am biased when it comes to surverying the globalization of Japan as I’m sure my eyes tend to stray upon the influences of America more so than any other nation. In fact, when pondering the question of which nation has contributed the most to shaping the face of Japan, I would be hasty to name my own country. However, due to Japans deep history and Americas almost childish past comparatively, other nations such as China would certainly be in the running. Due to today’s ever changing views, I would like to address two major trends that the U.S. has undergone and is now being reflected into the Japanese culture.


Sensei Kai making sure everyone observes the rules





The first movement that began in the U.S. around the turn of the second century was the ideal that it is actually cool not to smoke cigarettes. From what I have observed for the short time I have been living here is that smoking is becoming less tolerated and citizens are becoming more educated about the negative effects of the fire stick. According to one of my professors at Kansai Gaidai, it was only 7 years ago that students were still allowed to smoke in class! I can’t even imagine this. Having lived most of my life in the conservative state of Utah, my view of this is probably even more skewed than most living in America where smoking in a classroom is one of the biggest implicit rules. According to current Utah laws on smoking, it is prohibited for any person to smoke inside any enclosed public area or private building or offices. In Japan, I have noticed that most indoor areas are smoke free however, outside there are still a large majority of students puffing smoke near CIE and at the basketball courts.

The second movement that occurred in the U.S. possibly far before smoking became unpopular was the fad of a tan body. It is still seen today as a sign of youth and health in America where many choose to “fake bake” or lather on tanning lotion. However, in America, people are beginning to understand the long term negative effects of this sought after body color. Depending on skin type, one can have as much as a quadruple risk of skin cancer when they are older if they choose to receive extra UV rays when they are younger. In Japan, I am noticing a movement towards the tanned body. This tanned body is also usually accompanied by blonde or brunette hair and Ugg boots which are a whole different can of worms. The second picture shows a tanning salon not too far from Kansai Gaidai. This is the only tanning salon I’ve seen in Japan to date, but I have a feeling that within the next decade they will start to reflect the U.S. more and more to the extent of seeing tanning salons popping up on the streets more often than hair salons. I have gone by this shop a couple times now and have never seen anyone walk inside or come out however I’m sure it is used by a few university students.

These are only a couple examples of globalization of Japan from the U.S. It will be interesting to see if this trend of so called copy-catting will continue or could the table turn and one day we might see the U.S. beckoning at Japans door to see what new cool fad they can catch



First of its kind in Hirakata?

Don't leave home without it

Patient and well prepared hikers in queue to summit Yarigatake





Over the past 7 weeks of living in Japan, I have had the opportunity to travel around and participate in many recreational sports. I feel that in this area of Japanese culture I have learned the most about the Japanese mentality. The first major trip I took was in Nagano prefecture in the Japanese Alps among the clouds. We backpacked for 4 days including summiting the 5th highest peak in Japan, Yarigatake. The only possible time for such a trip ended up being during silver week, which provided for tons of outdoor enthusiasts on the mountain. During the beginning of the trip, I noticed that every local backpacker was well prepared. Well prepared might even be an understatement. Every hiker had walking sticks, heavy-duty boots, long pants with compression tights and a pack complete with full rain attire. I felt like I was at a Montbell company sponsored event. At this point I started to get scared as to whether or not I would be able to make it to the summit after looking at what I was wearing. In the end, it turned out that the Japanese were over prepared from my standards. On the flipside, when we were about to summit from the lodge, I got some very strange looks as I was wearing a t-shirt and shorts with trail runners.
The second instance I ran into this was during sports weekend when I took a trip down to Ikumi Beach on Shikoku Island. This beach is known as the surfers paradise of beaches in Japan and it seemed to be true since there were some 500 surfers in the water at any given time. Again, every single surfer was outfitted in a full body wet suit even though the water temperature was around 75 degrees. The one guy in the photo without a wetsuit was one of my buddies.
I wouldn’t attempt to stereotype the Japanese people into saying that they are all over prepared when it comes to sports, however I think the behavior that I’ve observed speaks volumes about their culture. This ties in with their rule following collectivistic nature, which is almost the polar opposite of how we think in America. We tend to think, “Why is this rule here and what is its purpose?” The very next thought is, “What will happen if I don’t follow it?” In Japan, if there is a rule, most don’t even give it a second thought. The same idea transfers over when doing any sort of recreational activity. When someone is getting into a new sport they might talk to someone or research what kinds of gear they need. Again, if they read or hear that something is recommended and might save one from death or injury, they will buy it.
In the end, I think there are advantages and disadvantages to both trains of thought. The advantage of being collectivistic is that you have much less resistance in terms of directing a group or placing regulations on an activity. The drawback is there tends to be less creativity and less spontaneity. I do not think either is superior but by better understanding the Japanese culture through recreational activities I feel that I am more prepared to live amongst them



Surfers decked out in wetsuits at Ikumi Beach

Seven Samurai

Photo Courtesy Tamamushi



When one thinks of entertainment in Japan, most immediately think of the glamorous bright lights of downtown Tokyo or the booming business of anime and manga. I however would like to touch upon the classics of Japanese entertainment. In the west, we have our western classics with cowboys and indians. However, because of Japans original and old past, their so called “cowboys” of old are the ancient samurai. These movies used to be popular in Japan among all ages when anime was still in its infancy. Some of the most popular samurai movies even won international acclaim. The movie I would like to delve deeper into is called Seven Samurai. While I am nowhere close to being an experienced viewer of the samurai classics, I’ve heard that this movie used to be the equivalent of a good John Wayne back home.
In fact, if this movie were dissected into only its elemental parts of plot and characters, it is almost exactly the same as certain cowboy movies like Tombstone. The plot goes something like this. A village/town falls helpless and victim to the enemy. The heroes come in and save the people by killing off the bad guys. While every good movie including Seven Samurai has the good and bad guys along with a meandering love story, it is not these similarities that I am so much interested in. I would like to answer questions like what makes this Japanese movie unique to the culture of Japan?
The main point that sticks out in my mind is the underlying reason for why most of the samurai enlisted to help the poor farmers. It was self evident that the samurai fought not to do it for the fame or for the money but because it was honorable and just. This can be seen when the first samurai, Kambei decides to fight after seeing the terrible state of the farmers in hunger and shame. Thus it is enforced in the viewers mind the lesson that it is more important to do what is right than what one might gain in material fortune.
The second interesting point that this movie brings up is respect. Throughout the movie, there is an obvious hierarchy between the samurai, farmers and women. In some parts, the samurai kick around the farmers like stray dogs in the street. In addition, great respect is shown when talking to elders such as the old man that leads the village. Today in Japan, while there is still a level of respect shown to elders (for instance polite form of speaking versus plain form), this level of respect is slowly declining as new generations are born. The book I am currently reading titled, “As I see it” by Konosuke Matsushita touches on this very point. Matsushita states, “I am saddened by the lessening of respect as the years go by.”
Lastly, one cannot ignore the costume and props that are unique to Japan. Everything from the armor and swords down to the war flag that was made by Kikuchiyo is unique to Japanese culture of the 16th century. I once heard that the reason for flags to be worn in times of war were so that the generals commanding the war would be able to see those that were fighting especially well or committing acts of heroism. Although neither flag nor armor were used during fighting in the movie, they both had their key roles in the storyline.
After viewing some important distinctions that help keep movies like Seven Samurai unique to classical Japanese entertainment compared to western classics, we find that important elements are always present. These can be materialistic like the weapons and clothing or present only in actions and relations among characters like honor and respect.




Photo Courtesy benkyoshin.blogspot.com