Tokyo like a Richard Scarry episode

This screenshot doesn't do the video quality any justice.

Usually I have something insightful to say. Today, I'm just gonna sit back and let this beautiful time-lapse video of Tokyo do the talking. This video is called ちちゃな東京 (Chicha na Toukyou), or, Little Tokyo and is by Darwinfish105. Enjoy.

In a related post (by title only), please enjoy the open, yet camaraderic racism that is South Park: Little Tokyo.

The Detox campaign

Check out the Kanji! (source)

So, there's a new movement challenging blind consumerism and global policy. It's called Detox and it's a campaign to attack the toxic chemicals that are a byproduct (and often a "product") of clothing manufacturing. Not only do two-thirds of our new clothing have trace amounts of toxins but so does the water used to clean the garments. The problem is that third-world countries (chosen by fashion industries for their cheap labor and lose pollution laws) often dump this adulterated mix right into sources that locals use for drinking water. Detox is making slow progress in persuading leading clothing companies to switch out their most toxic ingredients.

Scantily clad protestors and Japanese language...doesn't get any better (source)

The part I like is the campaign's symbol: 水. This is the Chinese character for water...and while I don't know much Chinese, I do know that in Japanese the character is read as みず or "mizu". The 水 connotation in Japanese is that the water is cool and fresh, just like drinking water (source). Another interesting part is that people throw off their clothes in protest and reveal this kanji and the graphic for Detox. Check out the video.

Check out the updates on the Detox Campaign. 

Is TEPCO really to blame?

TEPCO, doing what they do best (source)

I imagine you're staring at your computer screen thinking nothing more needs to be said about TEPCO (if you are up-to-date on Japanese events). You might want to read this article, though.

In a similar by-line, I never thought I would post more about TEPCO (or want to) given my prior post: The Beast that is TEPCO. However, here I am.

It is true: TEPCO is a corrupt company, and even after a complete firing of their upper management, corruption is still in the Japanese news. And if it's in the Japanese news that means it was likely OK'ed by the government. (Is it safe to say that?)

The article I recently read was a simple one declaring that the recent indictment charges against TEPCO were dropped because TEPCO could not be held legally responsible as they "could not [have] predict[ed] the real dangers of such a massive earthquake and tsunami." The article goes on to say that the company's "failure to carry out countermeasure construction after it projected in 2008 a scenario of a huge tsunami of more than 15 meters, cannot be considered socially irresponsible behavior."

申し訳ございません. How many times can they apologize? (source)

Yes, the article was simple, but Alas! the implications were great.

The first large implication can be understood through a few analogies. Five earthquakes have occurred equal to or greater than the Tohoku earthquake in the last century (source). I know the the US plans watersheds, zoning, and planning based on at least 100 year flood plains. And that is just for a flood! A nuclear plant, in earthquake-ridden Japan, on an unprotected coast...wouldn't you think they would have to prepare for a bit more? In that situation, the plant owners should have been thricely as cautious and prepared. "Preparedness for a large-scale complex disaster was insufficient; and they were unprepared for the release of a large amount of radioactive materials into the environment" (source). What are (or were) the current standards for the protection wall (which was flooded by a long-shot)? 

In 1964, Alaskan Good Friday earthquake had a magnitude around 8.4 and spawned a 201-foot (67-meter) tsunami in the Valdez Inlet (source). Of course this was a rogue wave with the perfect circumstances, but that happened in the last 50 years. Furthermore, that wasn't the biggest tsunami by a long-shot.

Japan even birthed the word Tsunami! - 津波 (source)

The other great implication is that it is likely TEPCO was only admitted it's negligence when the government forced them—and sometimes the apologies were decades late. Why would a company apologize out of the blue if they had thought their misbehavior went undetected? That's just it. I'm sure the government knew a lot more about the TEPCO follies (essentially having them by the balls). So, when TEPCO didn't cooperate with the government (maybe even in terms of bribes), the government tells TEPCO to admit to past incidents. (Is it safe to guess that?) Also, there are countless other times that TEPCO has hidden illegal incidents. Look for yourself...I'm not even going to try to cover it here.

So who really is to blame? Sure, TEPCO is a backwards company. Even after the mandated upper-level restructuring (to put it politely) TEPCO continued to be the naughty little boy it always was. Covering radiation-reading equipment with lead? Come on. But there are scumbag companies in every country. America is not one to point fingers. The real question is: Who watches TEPCO? Might I suggest: the Japanese government?

I'm afraid this 1987 epic comic by Alan Moore beat me to the punch.

Yeah, definitely the government. And the Japanese citizens, the 大人しい bunch that they are have mostly rebuilt their homes and lives—most without pointing fingers or theorizing the point of the chain-of-command that may have been a little negligent (to say the least). Besides the few local residents and activists that had filed the criminal complaint against Kan and his ministers (two years after the events) and a handful of other smaller organizations looking for justice, there isn't much Japanese activity surrounding the event that has had a devastating impact on the domestic agriculture, economy, food-supply, power-supply, and general health as well as global effects (some still unforeseen).

Samurai spiders

 
It's been awhile but I'd figured I'd throw up this video on spider fighting. Apparently, anything can be raised for fighting these days. This guy pairs his smaller Samurai Spider up against the larger local stock in Kajiki Japan.

This tournament, known as Kumo Gassen (クモ合戦), has been around for over 400 years and is what one blogger calls "the original Pokemon" (source). Haha! In one of the earlier videos in the National Geographic documentary, there is footage of him blowing a mixture of a Gatorade-like substance to help his spider grow. I wonder if it worked...

Freakonomics and Sumo Wrestling

The Birth of Sumo Dude - a nod to Botticelli

It's almost two years now since the Sumo match-fixing scandal went public. Remember that? A winning wrestler would offer another a victory just so to keep his higher title (and higher-bracket paycheck). This was happening often. In fact, according to Levitt from Freakonomics, there was a 75 percent chance a 7-7 (wins/losses) Sumo wrestler would win against an 8-6 wrestler in a tournament. This means that every time the opportunity appeared for a 7-7 wrestler to lose, not advance in the tournament, and lose money, that wrestler won 75 percent of the time. So, that's like a 50 percent chance of cheating, huh?

The word 八百長, or yaochou, is the Japanese word for "match-fixing". The kanji literally translate to "800 leaders". Hmm, I don't get it. But that often happens when you're learning Japanese.

Prior to the big press stink, often a related skirmish would surface concerning some foreign Sumo wrestler. The truth is though, "the Japanese-born seemed to be just as corrupt as the foreigners" according to the statistics (source). I guess when someone got wind of the cheating, everyone tried to use the foreigner as the scapegoat. Oh, Japan.

This isn't just a problem of xenophobia either. The Japanese media is very conservative and likes to protect the country's image. Here's another clip from Freakonomics:

The moral of the story: go watch Freakonomics and check out their blog.

A battle version of Sudoku for iPhone and Facebook

There's a new application on iPhone and Facebook allowing two people to battle over a game of Sudoku at the same time. This beats the current tradition of one person holding a pencil while the other one tells them they've made a mistake.

The new application, called Challenger Sudoku, became available for the iPhone last December and has just recently gone live on Facebook. The game requires friends to challenge (or be challenged by) friends to a game of Sudoku and allows them to play head-to-head in real time.

As you solve each row or main square (consisting of nine single squares) the field highlights in your home color of blue. If your opponent solves a field first, the field becomes red.There are also various bonuses along the way, even one for the first to 777 points. Making mistakes will also take points away and transfer them to your opponents score. With the real-time spinoff, Challenger Sudoku can be very unnerving, especially if you are watching the puzzle light up red as someone solves it faster than you.

Through winning against opponents of your level or higher, you can raise your own level from Student, Senpai, Sensei, Grandmaster, and, highest of all, Sudoku Samurai. These aren't levels you can just relax at, though. If you lose too much or remain inactive you will drop a level.

If you ask a native Japanese speaker to play "Sudoku", you'll likely get an odd stare. In Japan, they generally refer to Sudoku as nampure (short for "number place"). In fact, the game was only recently titled Sudoku by a Japanese game company and later becoming an game of international popularity in 2005 (source). The Japanese had most likely appropriated it from the French, who apparently have had a thing for number puzzles.

Well, anyone up for a challenge?

Japlish Friday - Sorry We're Open

This English is so bad it teeters on the edge of an ironically funny t-shirt, or even a fashionable one. If you can't read the smaller writing between the two Indian hands, it says "YOU ARE WELCOME".

"Sorry, we're open, you are welcome." The fact that this is printed on a shirt and displayed in the shop window on what seems to be in or close to the center of a shopping district (see: pedestrian traffic, brick pavers) seals this as a definite product of Japan. And by "product", I mean it is birthed of Japanese culture.

In no way do I say this out of spite or ill-will. In fact, I have come to fully embrace Japan's loose usage of English to the point that this horrible mash-up of an incorrect sign and an English phrase book preliminary makes me reminisce of my time in Japan. That fact that these two phrases are probably one of the first few phrases a foreigner in the the US would learn, this shirt almost becomes かわいい, or "cute", in the Japanese sense. For these reasons, I would wear the crap out of this shirt.

If you have any qualms with my hypothesis that this is indeed a Japanese location, refer to the store banner in the reflection that in clear katakana says コンタクトレンズ, or "contact lens".

Update: I have been informed a sign with this written on it is in the US, too. I'm not sure which came first, though. Anyone?

Nintendo characters as Japanese woodblock prints

Illustrator Jed Henry is in the process of making some pretty serious Japanese woodblock prints. When I say pretty serious, I mean Nintendo-serious. He is re-imagining many Nintendo characters as Japanese woodblock prints. Pretty awesomely, too.

What is a woodblock print? It's basically a piece of paper that is stamped by one or many carved woodblocks. Woodblock prints, or ukiyoe (浮世絵), are especially hard for three reasons: (1) the negative space of the image has to be carved, (2) the image will come out mirrored so it's necessary to envision the opposite, and (3) have you ever carved wood?

Maybe you've seen this woodblock print before:

"Behind the Great Wave at Kanagawa" by Katsushika Hokusai

Hokusai was a master and included Mt. Fuji in some way in 46 of his famous woodblock prints. Can you find Fuji-san in his print above? I always thought it was part of the wave...


Without further ado, Nintendo woodblock prints by illustrator Jed Henry.

Donkey Kong - notice the cherry blossoms in the foreground

Kirby - an unfinished piece

Link, from Zelda, slaying the dragon

Mario and Bowser from Mario Kart - love the squid

Megaman - love the ink... is the wolf a newer addition?

Samus Aran from Metroid - Google her and see how saucy she is without the suit

Simon Belmont from Castlevania - I always sucked at this game

Many of the guys from Street Fighter - Who can you identify?

Be sure to check out the Ukiyo-e Heroes on Facebook for upcoming debuts!

Japlish Friday - Stuff Only

Stuff Only! (photo)

So apparently there is only "stuff" allowed here, but to confuse people even more, "stuff only" is inside the prohibition sign meaning that furthermore, "only stuff" is not allowed here. So maybe if there is a little bit of stuff and a little bit of something else, it would be OK. Make sure to ask the stuff...staff about this one.

If we peek into the Japanese realm here, it says "koko yori saki wa nyuujou dekimasen" or, "No entry beyond this point." After more consideration, you might have been able to connect this to "Staff Only"...and hence, the answer behind this riddle.

"The Japanese Tradition - Sushi" mockumentary

Here is a comical video on eating sushi at a sushi bar. There is a lot of culture here, but, a lot of the things these comedians do are downright absurd so it might be hard for some of us to pick up on. Guess what is wrong in this video in the comments below!

Here's my favorite part:

In the case of business colleagues the lower ranking staff must pour for their superiors first. "Maa maa maa maa". You must say this when pouring a drin.k The person receiving the drink must say, "Oh toh toh toh." "Maa maa maa maa." "Oh toh toh toh." "Maa maa maa maa." "Oh toh toh toh." "Maa maa maa maa." "Oh toh toh toh."

Maa maa (まぁまぁ) means something like "Now, now" or, in this situation, "Here you go, have a lot." Otto (おっと) means something like "Oops" or, in this situation, "That's far too much." So, while the one guy pours a lot and says, "Here, drink up," the other guy is saying, "Ok. Ok. Woah. Too much!" While it is Japanese tradition to pour for others and offer lots, you might see how this over-the-top repetition and insistence is not exactly customary at a sushi restaurant—or anywhere for that matter.

We're soon approaching Japanese Giant Hornet season again

Here is a new thing to add to my Kirai Japan list.

The Japanese Giant Hornet season is coming around again which is a shame because these guys are a force to be reckoned with. 90% of stings occur from July to September due to the worker bees increased size and activity especially around August (source).

An average of 40 people die from their stings every year making it the most lethal animal in Japan (video below). These Godzilla hornets have poison that is actually less venomous than the average honeybee, but they inject much more: 4.1mg compared to a honeybee's 2.8mg (source).

The Japanese call these guys Oosuzume bachi (オオスズメバチ, 大雀蜂) which literally means "Large Sparrow Bee". They grow up to 2 inches long and, with their ferocity, put normal hornets to shame. They have super-bee strength, too, being able to life up to 6 pounds each. 

Check out this video of a colony of bees outsmarting one of these Japanese Giant Hornets. Apparently, the beehive can handle a scout and hide the evidence of any foul play. 

This time the bees have won. But if one of these Japanese Giant Hornet scouts successfully alerts his friends with a pheromone, there will be blood. Here, 30 of these hornets wipe out a nest of 30,000 bees to get at their young. 

What should you do if you ever encounter one of these suckers? 

Well if it seems like it's coming near you, you should lower voice and and lower yourself to the ground as to not seem offensive. Then you should make your escape (source).

Apparently these guys have amazing endurance.They can fly faster than you can run (25mph)...and fly about 60 miles in a day. That's a scary thought. Also, with their pheromone capabilities, they could technically spray you with bulls eye for any other one of these hornets to hunt you down.

Their endurance is so phenomenal that the Japanese, as well as a few others, have marketed drinks made from these hornets' food.

Vaam, which stands for vespa amino acid mixture, contains the same amino acids that are in the liquids secreted by hornet larva (source). The hornets feed their colony larvae with the most meaty parts of other insects. But then, in a very unique occurrence, they actually get fed by their larvae as well.

Some athletes swear by these drinks. I had always seen Vaam in Japan, but had no idea of its contents. Now, I really want to test it out.

What a strange world.

New Japanese bra for the warmer months

In wake of all the post-Fukushima energy reduction under their Cool Biz campaign, Japanese underwear firm Triumph Japan has unveiled their iced bras. Given showing this amount of skin is very rare in Japan, the unveiling has been deemed a publicity stunt (source).

The Super Cool Bra, as it has been titled, also happens to be a pun that most Japanese will miss. This "cool" as a Japanese loan word is not connected with the meaning "hip" as it is in most English speaking countries.

The company, which has a long tradition of novelty launches that are never made available for public sale, said it conceived of the bra in response to a need to save energy during the hot summer (source).

The Cool Biz campaign is known by over 96 percent of the Japanese public, 33 percent of which work for companies that actively engage in turning up thermostats on their air conditioners to reduce consumption of electricity.

The ice pack bra also come with a sprig of mint and a Japanese wind chime, maybe seemingly just to make the wearer feel refreshed. The Japanese wind chime, or furin, is usually hung from the eaves of a house. The music produced by the chime is said to have a psychological cooling effect. The chime is moved by a long card called tanzaku on which is usually written a traditional poem.

It is currently unknown, though, how wind will sound the chime unless women are walking around with only their bras on. This, of course, would never happen given Japan's general fear of the sun due to the generally pale Japanese skin. In fact, this is more often the case:

Japanese sun protection - visor and sleeves (photo)

Online Japanese typing program!

So, up until today I have been typing Japanese in romaji. It has been very frustrating trying to fit into any Japanese community using only Jisho.org to translate my romaji to kanji, hiragana and katakana.When I could use a computer in Japan, it was sheer bliss (but only as far as my Japanese skills would take me). But then returning to my apartment in Japan, and my simple English computer, I had to slave over single word translations with a dictionary just to use the Japanese alphabets.

Let me give you an example. Let's play guess who the foreigner is. (Don't cheat and look at the names!)

If you guessed I was Naoto, you were close. Incorrect, however. The point is, I stand out more than I want to. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but if I had the tools, I'd rather make it easier for the other Japanese members to understand me--especially if I can understand most of their conversation and want to add my own input.

So, yes, there are options. One of which is to alter your Region and Language settings in your Control Panel (Windows). It's actually quite easy.

But if you don't want a language toolbar lurking somewhere in the background, or you don't want to go through the hassle, this might not be the best choice. I just found out about Google Transliteration which apparently first appeared on Blogger. In 2009, Google offered an offline version. But the online version I present to you is easy, especially if you're just trying to talk with friends from a public computer.

 It's pretty easy, works just like the Japanese computer input and all it takes is a page load. You can mess with the font, colors, justification and all other sorts of Blogger formatting that I'm staring at now writing this.

Check it out here!

There are, of course, two drawbacks. One is that the dictionary and translation tool, which works for English and some other languages, seems to be absent for Japanese. Also, there seems to be a bug that every now and then stops your first letter from being transliterated.

Shit Japanese Students Say (Video in Japanese)

To be honest, I'm actually getting kinda sick of the "Shit ____ Say" videos. Everyone and their mother thinks they can join in and make something just as funny as the first. "All of my cheerleader friends are going to love this movie." We all know that is not true and that's why this craze is really starting to drag some of us down. If you a) aren't funny and b) have little to no experience with camera, lighting, filmography, etc. then don't upload your horrible videos.

For example:
Shit Christians Say to Jews
Shit Boston Guys Say
Shit Social Media Experts Say
Shit Ballerinas Say
Shit People Who Make 'Shit People Say' Videos Say
(That last one pretty much sums up this whole fad)

This video, though, is well thought out and actually funny. It's made by a current English teacher in Japan who has a bunch of videos for learning English (and they're kinda interesting). Check him out here on Youtube.

Having been an English teacher in Japan I can attest for most of these as being on the money. Japanese students love to complain about things: how impossible English is; how bored they are; and they will sometimes waste class time talking about "cute" things or using Japanese-sounding English (Engrish) to say something that's not even related to your lesson. Of course, these are all just stereotypes of certain kinds of students.

Some of my favorite in this video:
Hayaku owarou. - Let's finish early.
Kawaii deshou. - Isn't this pretty?
Ii naa. - I wish that was me. (like when other kids get stickers for actually knowing English)
and also the kid yelling "sensei", waving his arm and tapping his chest

How Not to Learn Kanji - Tips from Tofugu

I ran across something a few months ago that I'm hating myself for not seeing years ago. The guys over at Tofugu wrote a piece on "The 5 Biggest Mistakes People Make When Learning Kanji". It's a real eye opener and well, I'm only going to summarize here, but I recommend you check out the article for yourself.

That silly guy from Tofugu.com

Failure #1: Worrying about stroke count. If you worry too much about separating different stroke count kanji in your head, you're wasting your time. Stroke order, though, is important.

Failure #2: Ignoring the kanji radicals. Although sometimes radicals connect to form completely unrelated meanings, you can usually grasp the general meaning without knowing the kanji. Also, it helps to make up mnemonics.

Failure #3: Rote kanji memorization. Don't write the same kanji down the side of the page and expect to be able to use said kanji. Alternate between a whole page of different kanji and try to say each one. Avoid auto-piloting.

Failure #4: Learning kanji like Japanese children. Young Japanese kids learn kanji with the easiest meaning first. You should be learning kanji that's easiest to write first. Duh!

Failure #5: Drum roll please... not using the free internet tools available to learn kanji. I suggest Read The Kanji.

Ta Da! Now, go check out the article and learn kanji the correct way!

Radiation Poisoning and You

Now, as you may have read from my updates on the Japan situation the highest recorded radiation from the Fukushima Power Plants to date has been 8,217 microSieverts. That roughly translates to 0.008 Sieverts or 8/1000 Sieverts. What does that mean?

Well, the radiation that is being vented from time to time includes some radioactive gas. This gas has a very short half life and becomes non-radioactive very quickly. BNC puts the lack of danger in perspective:

A very small amount of Cesium was released, as well as Iodine. If you were sitting on top of the plants’ chimney when they were venting, you should probably give up smoking to return to your former life expectancy. The Cesium and Iodine isotopes were carried out to the sea and will never be seen again.

If you are exposed to this 0.008 Sievert amount it may affect your health but will most likely have no lasting damage. Now, if you are exposed to 1 to 2 Sieverts, you will have (Wikipedia):

• a 5 - 50% chance of nausea and vomiting lasting 24 hours
• no Diarrhea
• a slight headache
• maybe a fever
• a decrease in the number of white blood cells
• fatigue
• weakness
• and you have a 0-5% chance of mortality (with or without medical care)

 How can you prevent Radiation poisoning? 

You can't. Basically, you want to be exposed from as far away as possible and for as little time as possible. Also, you want to avoid consumption of anything possibly contaminated. When radioactive compounds enter the human body, the effects are different from those resulting from exposure to an external radiation source. Especially in the case of alpha radiation, which normally does not penetrate the skin, the exposure can be much more damaging after ingestion or inhalation.

 

What should you do if you live in or close to Tokyo?

Well, this is a tough question. I have no solid answers and although I would definitely be more worried than I am now, I still would be very torn. Again, the reactors are not a serious danger. Even if there was a core meltdown, which seems highly unlikely, there are very safe steps to seal off the core and wait until it cools into a solid again thus minimizing any hazardous emissions.

What you should be doing while considering your options is this:

Stay indoors. In order to prevent exposure from gases indoors, close all windows doors and stop all ventilation. (It probably wouldn't hurt to have wet towels under each door.)

If you have to go outside, cover your mouth and nose with a wet towel. Also, your skin should be exposed as little as possible. Change clothes and wash once you return indoors. Don't eat food  or drink open water from outside (NHK).

The Japanese Government has been preparing iodine tablets. Will this help?

Yes and no. Administered orally immediately after exposure, may be used to protect the thyroid from ingested radioactive iodine. But this, of course, only minimizes Thyroid Cancer.

What is the treatment for radiation poisoning?

Nothing. Just like the common cold, there are no cures, just drugs that will help with certain symptoms (while creating others).

Hey, Dan, do you have anything else you'd like to share?

Why, of course, I'm glad you asked. As I am currently learning Japanese in this great country of Japan...
I figured there is about a .001% chance someone reading this blog would want to know this:

Houshasen ni sarasaremashita no de tasukete kudasai.

I have been exposed to radiation so please help me.

Why did Devo wear radiation suits?

Pearl Japan impersonates Devo in radiation suits. Whip it Good!

No clue.

How to Catch One's Death

So, it’s winter and I’m beginning to loathe the 20 minute scooter rides to my farthest school. I step inside and before I de-layer, I stand by the space heater for a few minutes trying to resuscitate my hands and ward off hypothermia. The other teachers (who drove ten minutes max. in their heated cars) agree, “Samui!” It’s cold. But then they step away from the space heater and sit down waiting for the morning meeting like normal human beings. I try to avoid causing a scene with my intense shivering while I sit down with fogged glasses. Also, I’m still wearing my scarf, one set of gloves and my jacket. “Baiku wa samui ne!” Yes, Kawamoto Sensei, it’s very cold for me because I ride a scooter over the mountain. That means half of the ride is in the windy shade. So you can stop the small talk. I get it, you want to be friends. This conversation stopped being fun last winter.

Now, really, I like to complain, but I’m not overdoing it when I say it’s extremely cold in my schools. Central heating—only poor people don’t have it in America. Why don’t you guys have it? Oh, here’s one reason. The Japanese like to leave the doors open to let the germs out. So, in the dead of winter, when we are allowed to turn on the space heaters, the front doors are still wide open. That’s fun. “It also lets the fumes out so we can breathe fresh air.” Hey, Tanaka Sensei, we wouldn’t have to worry about toxic fumes if we had central heating. 

One especially cold day about a week ago, I asked in the teacher’s room when we could turn on the heat. The teacher’s searched each other's faces for permission as if they were toddlers asked to eat the cookies from the cabinet; can we really do that? Most schools have strict rules about using the space heaters. It must be so-and-so degrees before considering using the space heaters. For most schools, this is below freezing.

HEATER USAGE RULES

1.      Children can’t turn on the heat at their own convenience.

2.      If it’s less than 12°C (53.6°F), you may turn on the heat.

3.      If it’s less than 20°C (68°F), you may ready the heaters.

4.      If you are leaving the class, turn off the heat and open the windows to ventilate.

*If you don’t follow these rules, just know we have been known to ban heater usage.

So, on this especially cold day, I watched one of my 9^th grade classes freeze outside playing softball for gym. (You remember those days in gym class where you forgot to bring winter clothes--your skin deathly white, your posture either that of a hunched, flexing caveman or Billy Banks trying to warm up, and a cold, awkward baseball glove on your hand...you remember that feeling?) Most students had only their undergarments and their cotton athletic jumpsuit. I’m guessing this has something to do with the strict uniform policy. The average Japanese person is much better suited for the cold than I am. Maybe it’s because my lack of body fat. In the dead of winter, it’s not rare to see students with skirts and stockings, shorts, and those thin white indoor shoes (standard uniform) sometimes without socks. I walk around with four shirt layers. “Look, why is Dan Sensei wearing a scarf?” It’s because the temperature in the hallways is the same as outside. Now put some socks on or you’ll catch your death, too.  

So about these shivering 9^th graders…We have English class together right after their gym class and some of the students look troubled. Shivering, sneezing fits, a few coughing outbursts. We have central heat in our middle school, but only in the classrooms, and only when it’s truly cold enough, and maybe after a certain date (which means not yet). After the class, I asked the other English teacher about the sickly students. “Can’t we turn on the heat?” After a long discussion he mentions that, oh yeah, he remembered hearing a few complaints that they couldn’t hold their pens to write. Wouldn’t that be a hint to turn on the heat? 

Well, let’s just make sure the sick students wear the surgeon masks. And, for the sake of prevention, you healthy students should wear them too. And if the influenza spreads as rapidly as it did last year (did you ever see the movie Congo?) we can cancel classes again.

Japan News, Japanese Dogs and Other Bits

Japanese Karaoke is not fun like in America.

Even dogs kneel here.

The Yen is amazing right now and the government is doing nothing about it.

Yes We Kan ~~> No We Kouldn't. The new Prime Minister. They change like every year. Maybe quicker.

Dogs supposedly say Wan-Wan in Japan. Not that "Bow-Wow" is any closer.

This summer was a scorcher. Still kinda is.

The Ever-So-Shy Japanese

Recently, on a crowded train to Hiroshima, I sat reading a book. A lady sat down next to me after entering the train. After about 2 minutes, she placed her large purse in between us both. The purse was a boundary between her and I; between a Japanese person and a foreigner. I wasn’t sweating. I didn’t smell. I didn’t accidentally rub arms with her. A stop later, someone left from the seat in front of us. The lady stood up and sat in the empty seat. So, instead of sitting next to a gaijin (foreigner), she preferred to change seats and sit next to a Japanese person (who she didn’t know either).

Situations like this occasionally happen to us foreigners in Japan. Now, I’m not so worried about the treatment of foreigners. I’m worried about the attitude of Japanese. In a sharp contrast to Americans, the Japanese seem very nervous about talking to foreigners, strangers, and even people they see on a weekly basis. For example, Yours is a small grocery store on my island. I (and most of the residents) know all of the workers in the store. We have seen their faces a thousand times while they serve us. In America we would ask these workers, “How’s your day?” “How’s the family?” or simply talk about the weather. In fact, most Japanese grocery stores restrict their workers from using small talk with customers.

This small talk is almost absent in Japan. In America, we sometimes even use small talk with strangers waiting at a bus stop, waiting in a line, or almost anywhere. The guy next to you is wearing a Rangers shirt, so you amiably tell him he’s not welcome here. I find that one of the pleasures of living is talking to people. Discussion. Communication. It seems rather solitary to not talk to different people everyday. Is it so invasive to ask a friend, “How’s the wife and kids?” Besides uchi (inside/close friend) groups and the concept of haragei (reading others’ thoughts) it seems Japanese don’t know each other very much at all. Of course, this is only my perspective as a foreigner…but this communication seems important in an increasingly global economy.

How do Japanese businessmen accomplish global relations? They don’t speak in contradiction to their companies, especially in meetings. They follow one chosen plan of action from the start to finish (but who chooses?). During meet and greets they’re most likely either very shy, or considering the enchantment of foreigners, maybe very talkative. And then, at the after party, beer is always a saving grace that allows them to open up and ask sometimes very intrusive questions. Remember, in Japan, all is forgiven and forgotten at drinking events. Well, unless you’re a foreigner.

Japan has an exploding population (98.5% Japanese, 10th largest in the world) on a small island (the size of California, 73% mountains). The Japanese have a tight knit society…but not in the American standard. They are closed away from outsiders, then from Japanese strangers, then from people they don’t work with, and last from everyone that doesn’t reside in their own home. They have concentric rings of personal relations in which only very close to the middle (their home) do they actually open up…and even that space seems rather sad and lonely at times. (We’ll at least they’re avoiding this).

In my experience, Japanese adults usually have around two to four close friends. These are friends with which we share secrets, go out to eat, stay at home and watch a movie, and have inside jokes. In America, I have around eight close friends. It’s not uncommon for girls to have 10 or more close friends. It seems rude and almost invasive to be concerned about someone’s personal life in Japan and I’m there’s a correlation with the low friend to acquaintance ratio. I feel like I’m not an anthropologist when I have found a part of a culture with which I just can’t come to terms. But, the average Japanese person, to an extant, seems lonely, overworked and a little controlled.

A few anthropologists (Japanese and foreign) think the government has a lot to do with the inside/outside ethos as well as the views on work-ethic and personal relations. To make a metaphor, it seems each Japanese person is blocked off in their own cubicle and can only engage in the necessary business communications. Their personal life, inside jokes and fun are limited to the pictures and personal affects pinned on their wall. To be fair, this dull existence occurs in America too but not nearly to the extent it does in Japan.

To be fair, while Japan is busy worrying about not inconveniencing other people by what they say, some Americans are doing the exact opposite. After you comment on the weather, these people tell you their whole family history. They tell you about their grandchildren, show you the photos, and then almost slightly intrigue you with a story about their cat’s intestinal problems. You have to sternly cut them off just to make it home to catch some Adult Swim (is that still on tv?). Some Americans don’t know when to shut up.

Also, some Americans may spread themselves too thin with their countless friendships. My brother, for example. You need to text an invite, be on a list, and have luck on your side just to buy the dude a beer…and even he’s focusing more on the girls that just walked in and he eventually just wanders off. What the fuck! Maybe there is a happy medium between the shy/scared Japanese and the overconfident/talkative/annoying Americans.
Any thoughts?