Changing Impressions of Japan

The semester is coming to an end, and so too is our Visual Anthropology course. For most students these are their final days in Japan, but for me it is still only the beginning. I am staying on until next semester, and I am staying in Japan through the entirety of the 3 month Summer break.

During my first two visits here in Japan I marvelled at what a wonderful and superior country it was to my own. I was astounded at the punctuality of the public transport, the anime, the weird and wonderful pop culture their love of fashion; but now after living here for four months I have come to see the other angles of Japan and have come to the realization that Japan is a country where its people simply wish to live their lives, just as in any other country.

The public transport has very little differences from Australia. Sure the trains are incredibly convenient, but the buses can be a whole other deal. In the city it's fine, just like in Australia, but as you move away the time periods between when the buses stop grows larger. My friend from the Tohoku region (from above Tokyo up to Hokkaido) says that pretty much the only way to access the entire area is by car as there are literally no trains or buses.

Anime is of course a peculiarity of Japan, but it isn't the only thing they have on TV. And of course when you think of 'anime' you think of the huge doe-eyed girls with wildly coloured hair, but of course there are many children's shows which are also labelled as 'anime' such as Anpanman or Mamegoma. Also, anime only makes up perhaps 10% of the entirety of programs available on TV (at least in my homestay). Most programs are variety shows, news or TV dramas which cater to the wide audience of non-anime-viewers who exist in Japan.

One last mention for the fashion. During my first encounters with Japan it seemed that everyone was prim and preened to perfection every time they stepped out of the house with full makeup and stunning outfits with outrageously high heels. I have come to realize that not everyone in Japan is this fashion conscious, and this once again points back tothe fact that Japan is not just a society, but it is made up of people, all who have their own individual ideas, needs and desires.

In conclusion, when you peel away the surface, Japan and its people are just like any other in the world - just wanting to live out their lives the best way they can. And, as in any society, there will exist both positive, and negative aspects. It's simply a matter of finding the middle ground.

Japanese Transport

On a similar note from my previous blog on Japanese accommodation, I would like to continue with Japanese transport. In most country's Japan is seen as the technological centre of the world where everyone has the latest gadgets and the coolest things, and we would expect how they get around would reflect this. We see sleek and stylish sports cars that Japanese manufacturers produce all the time on Australian TV, so when I first arrived in Japan I had the assumption that all Japanese people would have these stylish cars. I was wrong.

 Taken from here.

My overall impression of the standard Japanese car is that it is very box-like, unlike anything I would have ever imagined. However I can see it's purpose. Because Japan is so crowded space is limited and so what people want is small, compact cars.

While the exterior of the car may be something quite peculiar, the inside of the car completely matched with my assumption of theup-to-date Japanese.

It would seem that almost every car is fitted with an internal GPS system. My first host family's car had one, my current host family has one, and every car commercial I see on TV advertises one. In fact, my current host family's car even has an inbuilt TV in it. I can't understand why it would be placed on the dashboard as it would prove to be an incredibly dangerous distraction for the driver. My host mother said that if you have one you're not meant to watch it if you're driving, but it does distract you sometimes.

Not everyone in Japan an afford the luxury of a car. Not only do they take up space, but it is also very costly to own one. Not only must you pay for the actual car itself, but also for registration, road worthy checks, and various other fees for the multitude of documentation need, and you must own a parking space before you can legally buy a car. Therefore, some Japanese choose to simply forego all this hassle and stick with a combination of the extensively used and well designed public transportation system and walking or bike riding.

Bikes are a cheap alternative for personal transportation and nearly every Japanese person will have one. I was amazed to see that there are even large bicycle parking areas, and even more amazed when I went to Tokyo that bikes were stacked upright along the side of the footpath. Bikes are considered 'light vehicles' in Japan and have a variety of rules which must be followed, however they are very loosely enforced and I often see many Japanese people breaking them. While there are some which also apply to when you are driving a car, such as not driving under the influence or talking on your phone, what I am most amazed by is the fact that riders do not have to wear helmets. Back in Australia it is illegal to ride without a helmet and you can be fined a hefty amount. Though it is a very annoying rule fashion-wise it does have it's advantages, and particularly in a country like Japan where there are so many people and it is easy to have an accident when riding, I see it as strange as to why they wouldn't enforce the wearing of helmets.

Japanese Accommodations

Everyone lives their lives differently and everyone lives in different types of houses. Some live in huge mansions to show of their wealth, others have no choice but to live in poor areas. And some people choose to live a poor life for spiritual development, or they have no interest in showing off material things. No matter what, the type of house you live in will reflect your way of life. For this post I would like to investigate a little bit into some of the more peculiar Japanese accommodations.

Let's start with the past as far back as we can go - to ancient Japanese civilization. During the Spring break I went on a trip to Kyushu, and one of the places we visited was the Yoshinogari Historical Park in the Saga prefecture. This is a large area where ruins were found from the Yayoi Period, about 250 BC to 250 AD (Japanese History Online). This is the period where raised floors became widespread (Japanese History Online). This custom of raising the floor has extended even into modern day Japan. Below is a picture of a reconstructed typical house from this period.

Now let us investigate some more modern, yet different accommoadtions. Once again, while I was in Kyushu, we had the chance to experience a type of accommodation many young people take advantage of. It's cheap, it has a 24 hour service, and there are no checkin our checkout curfews. It is the humble internet cafe.

You can select which type of cubicle you want. This particular internet cafe offered 3 types: 2 personal cubicles, one with a sofa and the other just a mat on the floor, and a communal room where everyone sits at their chairs playing their games. Each cubicle comes with a private computer and TV. You can order food, and the entrance fee includes free drinks from the vending machines. Other internet cafes have also been said to offer free icecream. Generally the people who use these sorts of accommodations are young gamers, but they can also be used as emergency accommodation for travellers who can't find any open hostels.

The last type of accommodation I will talk about is the ever infamous Love Hotels. I can't say that I've yet had the experience to stay in one, but you can find them everywhere around town. Not even restricted to just in the cities, you can find them in rural areas as well.  These love hotels provide a private room for couples to enjoy some 'private' time together. This is still such a strange concept to me, but I asked one of my Japanese friends for their opinion on it, and they said that because Japanese houses are so small and you often share with someone, it would be embarrassing to do anything in your own house for fear of being heard or discovered. Therefore, couples will head out to these Love Hotels to do the deed.

Japanese Hot Springs

During Spring Break I went to Kyushu with 3 other KGU students. The first place we went to was Beppu: the place to go in Japan for onsen (hot springs). Beppu has 2849 springs with more than 4 million visitors each year and is the second largest output of hot spring water in the world (Japan Atlas: Beppu Hot Spring). I would like to dedicate this blog post to the onsens of Beppu.

We found this small onsen house just off of the main street of Beppu. Not only did this onsen have your typical public baths, but it also offered a sand bath for a small extra fee. A sand bath is where instead of being submersed in water, you are buried up to your neck in warm sand. It is meant to be very relaxing and good for your circulation.

Beppu is not only heaven for those who love onsen, it is also 'hell'. There are 8 'jigoku's' (hells) which are onsen named so because they are too hot for people to enter, some reaching up to 90 degrees. They are all in the Kannawa region and they are all accessible to each other if you allow yourself some time, but for those less inclined to walk the distance there is a 'Jigoku Meguri' bus tour which will take you to all of the Jigoku's for 2000 yen. If you don't want to visit all of them it is 400 yen for entry into each Jigoku.

Chinoike (Blood Pool)

Kamado Jigoku (Oven Hell)

Unnamed secondary hell at Kamado Jigoku

Not content to simply bathe in and look at onsen, the Japanese have created many ways to enjoy the hot spring water. For example, what gives Chinoike its red colour is the clay underneath the spring, and so the Japanese extract the clay and use it as a facial mask. They also use the water as a facial cleanser which is said to be good for every sort of skin imperfection. They sold these products at the site.

Another example can be seen in the photo below.

The water from the spring at Kamado Jigoku can be used in many different ways. People can drink the water, as can be seen in the picture above, it can be used to warm a seat which customers sit on, and the steam can also be inhaled to cure sinus problems and help with asthma symptoms. I tried drinking the water and breathing the steam, both of which had a strong 'rotten eggs' smell, which of course is the sulphur.

For more information on the onsen regions and jigoku's of Beppu please visit here and here.

Comparison of Annie Leibovitz and James Nachtwey

In the past few weeks we watched two videos about different photographers, Annie Leibovitz and James Nachtwey, and the way they go about their work. This week's task was to write a comparative essay on the two and to analyze their techniques and extrapolate them into our own visual anthropology setting.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono Rolling Stone cover

Photo by Annie Leibovitz

 Taken from http://i.rollingstone.com/assets/rs/149/868/images/22787_lg.jpg

Both Annie Leibovitz and James Nacthwey are photographers who work for clients in magazine companies (Rolling Stone and Time respectively). They are described by their friends and coworkers as single-minded and unique. Above all, both photographers say that an important part of photography and taking good photos is to make sure you become a part of the scene. The opening line to James Nachtwey’s video is a quote from Robert Capa ‘if your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough’, which easily expresses how Annie and James work. In this case, the word ‘close’ doesn’t just refer to proximity, but also the closeness of the relationship between the photographer and the subject. Bestor (2003) describes this technique as ‘participant observation’. The best photos are taken when the subjects are comfortable with you being around them and taking their photo, so it is important to interact with the people and become a part of whatever it is you are photographing.

With regards to ‘participant observation’, Liebovitz and James Nachtwey have very different approaches. As Annie Leibovitz is a glamorous celebrity photographer and James Nachtwey is a war photographer, these two very different genres prove for very different subject participatory methods. Annie Leibovitz is constantly in the scene of the action, interacting with the subjects and giving her opinion on how best to portray the scene she has been commissioned to take. She is often friends with the subjects, or at least has some sort of prior relationship with them, and will get the subjects to pose in different positions in order to achieve a desirable feeling or emotion in the photo. In this way she is a ‘participant observer’ (Bestor 2003). Some opinions on this style of photography can be found at Now With 50% More Pictures and at Soramame Nikki in Japan.

Whoopi Goldberg posed in a milk bath - the intention being 'a black woman emerging from a world of white' (Life Through a Lens)

Photo taken by Annie Leibovitz

Taken from http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/files//usr/sandbox/htdocs/wpmu/wnet/wp-content/blogs.dir/4/files//2008/08/leibovitz_gallery_whoopie.jpg

James Nachtwey, while not the complete opposite, approaches his photography in a different manner. While he is certainly amidst the action in the country at war - among the civilians who are shooting and being shot at, he takes a more observational rather than participatory stance and takes photos without interrupting the scene. He doesn't interact with the subjects in the way that Annie does because most everyone is a stranger to him, and he certainly doesn’t get them to pose in unnatural positions. In order to capture the reality of the situation, James Nachtwey passively takes his photos unobtrusively while asking questions if given the opportunity. This technique of becoming part of the scene where becoming a ‘real participant’ is not applicable is described by Bestor (2003) as ‘inquisitive observation’. More opinions can be found at Nippin' for a Cuppa in Nippon and at Kanpai Gaidai.

Ruins at Kosovo

Photo taken by James Nachtwey

Taken from http://www.jamesnachtwey.com/jn/images/JN99-5_205-28a_GA.jpg

Another difference between these two photographers is their intent behind taking the photos. Both photographers are commissioned by magazines and so ultimately they are working for profit. Both also want to express a reality. The difference lies here within the reality of which they want to capture. In Annie Leibovitz's case she wants to capture a created reality of the celebrities so that the readers of the magazine may be entertained. In James Nachtwey's case he wants to express the grim reality of war and poverty so that the readers of the magazine may have access to a different perspective. Both photographers want to provoke their viewers with the photos they take, but while Annie Leibovitz wants this in order to entertain, James Nachtwey wants this in order to educate. JapAnthroLog also discusses this concept.

A family living in poverty who James Nachtwey followed for a time to find out how they live.

Photo taken by James Nachtwey

Taken from http://www.jamesnachtwey.com/jn/images/JN0006INDO_GA_707-26.jpg

While celebrity photography and war photography are a far cry from what we as students are doing as visual anthropologists in Japan, there are useful techniques which both Annie and James use in order to take good photographs which we can also utilize. The most important technique would be making sure to interact with the subjects and to become a part of the scene; to ‘build rapport’ (Barbash and Taylor 1997). If the subjects feel comfortable around the photographer and their camera then they will be more likely to let their guard down and be relaxed. In return, the photographer is then able to take a more natural photograph without the subject feeling as if they need to put on a face for the camera, or, as suggested by Barbash and Taylor (1997), feel as if they should make a conscious effort to ignore the camera, thus bringing about a setting which still ends up far from the original reality.

Portrait Exercise

How can we truly capture the essence of a person in a photograph? A photograph is something static, unmoving and silent; while people are constantly changing, interactive and have a voice. Not only this, photographs are also created under the conscious influence of the photographer: snapped at the right angle to achieve a certain image, the correct lighting used for the right mood and so on (On Photography, Sontag Susan 1973). Our exercise was to take a portrait of a Japanese person of our choice, and I chose one who I see everyday: my host mother Kumiko.
Note: I asked for permission before I took these portraits, and also explained their nature and purpose.

In this photo I wanted to express how I see Kumiko and so I discussed with her how I would like to take her photo and whether she felt it would express how she is. To me, Kumiko is a kindly mother figure always making sure everyone has everything they need. Often at the dinner table she will ask with a genuine look of concern on her face if we would like some more rice. Therefore in this photo I asked her to pose with the dinner for that night: curry rice.

While the previous picture is more contrived, this photo is more natural. This photo I believe shows a young girl at heart. I can see this in her smile and of course the standard Japanese peace sign.

These two portraits can be seen as an example of the two overlapping personalities within one person found in Japanese society: honne (true feelings) and tatemae (the face you put on when in front of others). In the first photo Kumiko is completely composed with the mindset that someone is watching, taking notes, and photographing her. In contrast to this, in the second photo she is more relaxed in a comfortable atmosphere and can smile and show her true feelings.

Crossing the Borders

When I first heard that I would be living in Kyoto I began to dread the thought of long commutes to Osaka; after all, Kyoto and Osaka are two completely different prefectures. However I am very fortunate that my host family are situated in Yawata City, directly on the border between Kyoto and Osaka. It also happens to be the next city over from Hirakata City where Kansai Gaidai is situated, and so in total it takes me only 40 minutes by bus and train to commute to uni. By car it takes about 15 minutes. So every day I get to cross the borders and I am able to compare two very different neighbourhoods.

 (Taken from http://www.kiis.or.jp/kansaida/yawata/yawata-map-e.html)

 

I am still amazed at all the beautiful homes that are in my neighbourhood. They all look very well maintained, new, and expensive. I feel Yawata City is a far cry from the stories I’ve heard about the Japanese living in cramped areas in their tiny one room apartments. When compared with this, Yawata seems to be the luxurious, rich side of Japan.

(I apologise for the poor quality of this photo. I will upload a better quality photo next month)

When compared with JapAnthroLog's impression of Kuzuha (the closest station to my house and the closest shopping centre), I am astounded at the amount of greenery that is here in Yawata City. From my experiences, while Hirakata feels more like a city with the number of tall buildings and apartments all crammed into one space, Yawata reminds me of the typical suburbs I’d find back home in Australia, though perhaps with slightly more concrete and less huge gum trees. The area is rather hilly and so most homes are on retaining walls. The homes here in Yawata City appear to merge very nicely with the surroundings, with a nice mixture of green nature and grey or brown human modernization.

While the new houses show Yawata City’s modernisation, the city also takes pride in maintaining its cultural heritage. Iwashimizu Hachimangu. “One of the three great Hachimingu Shrines of Japan” (Kyoto Prefecture, KYOTO Prefectural Government Tourism Division), the shrine is located in the North-western region of Yawata City – at the peak of Mt. Otokoyama (KIIS 1996, Kansai Digital Archives).

This shrine is surrounded by a magnificent bamboo forest, which in itself is a recreational area for the community. This forest makes up about one quarter of the area of Yawata City.

(Taken from http://www.kiis.or.jp/kansaida/yawata/index-e.html)

This shrine was built in 1634 in the Momoyama Style (Kyoto Prefecture, KYOTO Prefectural Government Tourism Division). The shrine hosts various festivals throughout the year including the Otokoyama Cherry Festival and the Iwashimizu Festival. (Kyoto Prefecture, KYOTO Prefectural Government Tourism Division).

However despite the desire to maintain cultural heritage and the environment, no matter where you go in Japan you will see the inevitability of modernisation creeping into the scene.

More opinions on Yawata City can be found at もっとFoto