Neighborhood

I asked my host sister what she thought about the word "neighborhood", and what it meant to her. When she answered me, I gathered that she saw it as those that lived around them, and that she had different feelings for all of them. I began running this idea through my head. When it comes to the idea of "neighborhood", it is part of the life of an individual that exists outside of the home, "uchi". In essence, it is relationally built "outside" the individual's home. This being said, neighbors might know very little about the "inside" lives of many of their neighbors. There is a distinct barrier that exists that keeps the neighborhood close, but not inside.



This doesn't necessarily differ from my concept of neighborhood. Living in the country, I very rarely, if ever, see my neighbors or interact with them. I have noticed that the neighborhood I am living in, as the pictures depict, is not very lively. I have seen very few people, especially children walking around the neighborhood. I chose the picture of the garden to show that my neighborhood is rural enough to be able to have a decent sized garden. I asked if this was a community garden, but I found that it was only maintained by one person.


The second picture was chosen to represent the outside and how dead it seems. There is very little life on the streets, but you can hear conversations going on; a couple laughing with their children; or a piano being played inside most houses. The "uchi" is very much alive, and seems to be the central hub of life. The "neighborhood" acts as sort of a genkon to the genkon of each house in the area.