Changing Impressions...

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When I first came to Japan, I experienced quite the culture shock. To me, this country seemed like a world within a world--unlike anything I've ever known. How Japanese people act and how they treat each other (and foreigners) took a lot of getting used to. For example, as a straight forward person, I had to learn how to express myself with the fewest words possible. Since the Japanese have this extraordinary ability to "speak without words". I now realize the importance of my blood-type (from a Japanese perspective) and further know the meaning of being cute. However, for the purpose of this blog, I have encountered many more things in Japanese culture and I will continue to discover more. Maybe Nihonjinron will prevent me from fully understanding it. So that my only explanation will be just "because".

Can you really explain what you see in this picture with more words than because? Or can it be explained that the Hitler sponge on the right and his accomplice are going to tackle tough grease and grime?!
My lack of explaination denotes that in Japan I will always be an outsider...

I guess as I am trying to reflect on my first impressions of Japan to see how they have developed and changed, through what I learned about politics, art, sports, religion and such... I conclude in saying that it's not that my impressions of Japan have, in fact, changed, but that I've learned to accept it, at face value for what it is. And I believe that I do not have to become Japanese in order to appreciate Japan and what it has to offer.

Because everyone needs a mini iron....

Japanese Theatre - A Living Art Form

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Noh is one of the oldest art forms of ancient Japan. In general, Japanese Noh plays are not very dramatic. It is a poetic slow dance of the supernatural world. Paul Binnie explains that "it is this very beauty which makes Noh a living art form still, over six hundred years after it developed, and which has caused all subsequent Japanese theatrical forms to draw on aspects of Noh." Noh has inspired other forms of Japanese theatre, such as Kabuki, where technical aspects of Noh perform ace have been adopted and transformed.

Scene from Yuya, a Noh play attributed to Zeami, showing (left foreground) the shite (principal actor) and (right foreground) waki (supporting actor). The hayashi (musicians) are seated in front of the pine tree painted on the kagami-ita (rear wall); the jiutai (chorus) sits at right; and a koken (stage assistant) sits at the left. A portion of the hashigakari (ramp leading to stage) is at far left.
This picture by Kunihei Kameda and description from the online britannica encyclopedia.

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Kabuki, literally meaning the Art of Song and Dance, contrasts to older Japanese art forms, such as Noh. Noh "speaks to modern audiences as it did to the noblemen and women of the Muromachi period." Whereas, Kabuki was popular among townspeople--not of the higher social classes.

Founded in 1610, Minami-za (seen in the photos on the right) is the oldest Kabuki theatre located in Kyoto, Japan where historical stories of moral conflicts in love relationships and the like are still performed. Plays are also delivered in a old fashioned language, which makes Kabuki a challenge to understand. The actors speak in a monotonous voice and are accompanied by traditional Japanese instruments.

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For more information visit the Japanese Theatre Index:

• http://www.theatrehistory.com/asian/japanese.html

For examples of Noh masks visit Mask

• http://artsci.wustl.edu/~rlneblet/noh/

Quoted phrases were taken from the following website:

• http://www.artelino.com/articles/noh_theater.asp

Battle of the Sexes!

. Gender segregation in Japan is as clear as 20/20 vision. In a traditionally patriarchal society gender distinction are still evident in Japanese culture. The colour of elementary school bags traditionally differ between black for boys and red for girls; soccer and baseball are regarded as male sports only; and women working are generally tied to the service industry as well as their jobs, compared to men, are less valued in society. Although Japan has moved forward from oppression of women and such--meaning women in Japanese society have more security (as shown in the picture above), freedoms and responsibilities, there are other aspects of Japanese culture, including Nihonjinron, which also stresses gender stratification. Nevertheless, Japanese language is the thread that neatly holds Japan's social fabric of patriarchy together.

First, male and female speech commonly occur in informal concepts of self and other through spoken and written grammatical differences. For example, in referring to the self, boku is used by males and atashi by females. Second, the voice pitch reflects femininity or masculinity, especially for women, and has become a cultural expectation in speaking Japanese. Finally, and maybe most obvious, is in choice of first names.

Here are some examples of common names:

Female: (child can be added)

- Pretty - Flower - Pure - Snow - Fall - Dance - Bright - Good smell - Truth - Beautiful -

Male: (sometimes take a Kanji from father’s name)

- Fast - Strong - Studious - Smart - Big -

In these pictures my friends are demonstrating how their use of words and the meaning of there names show femininity or masculinity. On the top: 私の名前は～です。(Watashi no namae wa...desu) This part of the sentence means "My name is..."

僕 (boku) also refers to the self, but is only useable for males.

早希 (Saki)
The sa 「早」means early and ki 「希」means hope.

貴史 (Takafumi)
The taka 「貴」means respect and fumi 「史」means history.

In my opinion, there seems to be more words and phrases used by men only, whereas women often use the terms that can be appropriate for both genders.

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The follow link provided information for this blog:

• http://www.coolest.com/jpfm.htm

To read more on this subject I suggest the following source:

• Japanese Language, Gender, and Ideology: Cultural Models and Real People by Shigeko Okamoto, Janet S. Shibamoto Smith
• Katsue Akiba Reynolds' review on this text is also worth reading.