Gender

Male and female are both dichotomies that we have all heard before. However, I feel as though, throughout my lifetime, this concept of gender as simply biological has been challenged again and again. This strong dichotomy, however, seems to exist in a different way in Japan. When it comes to the classification of gender in Japan, I feel as though it is much more role based than that of American society. Although this idea might exist within American culture, I feel as though physical appearances weigh more heavily in American culture than that of Japanese. This being said, I have to admit that there have been times where I have done things that I thought to be extremely feminine, where Japanese people have hardly cared at all. But if the biological gender holds less importance here, then what is it that makes the man, man and the woman, woman? Through my experience, I have noticed the first separation in that of the chorus. The students separate by voice range. This same idea, as I have heard from my sensei, is the reason that the students stand boys and girls. It is also the reason for the separation in the classrooms. I feel as though this contributes a lot to the idea of roles. The students are separated, and come to understanding the difference through these placements.

Globalization

There are many facets to this term, I feel. When I first think of this word, I quickly come to the idea of the ‘shrinking’ of the world that is occurring due to greater communication and travel options. However, as I was having a conversation with my host sister, she brought up an interesting point. She asked me what I was writing my blog on, and when I told her that it was about globalization, she asked if that meant how things were becoming more American. This struck an interesting chord with me. I thought about ways in which she might have obtained such a viewpoint as this. As we have learned, English is taught to students all throughout Japan with quite the fervor, but is it really English that is being taught. I snapped a shot of her English workbook. This book is a tool in which to teach students her age about the English language. However, the culture of Japan, as we have learned in our various classes while here, is much more closely tied with that of America. It is not just English that is being taught to the students, but there is a much larger emphasis on American English, I feel. This being said, I think of all of the signs and information pamphlets that have English written on them. I highly doubt that these daily stimuli are printed with English for the students to practice for their tests or speaking the language. So, what is the purpose? Although this is a question that I have yet to be able to answer, I feel as though this is very much a tool of the globalization that my host sister speaks of. There is a great association with English as a means to achieve better standing in the world. This could be related to the fact that the economy has shifted from isolated to being much more globally based. It is not hard for me, necessarily, to find American items in Japan. Kit Kats, Coke, Pepsi. These are all various companies that are American based, but seem to have created specific flavors for the inhabitants of Japan. Is this yet another factor of globalization? I feel as though it is. The base is very much so revolving around that of the English speaking world, as Japan, and possibly other countries are coming to adapt to that reality in hopes of gaining prominent economic standing.

Sports

The first interaction I truly had with sports was actually in a gym, and had nothing to do with a ball or game for that matter. I was standing in front of the junior high school I am currently helping at for the first time. I had just finished my speech when I was instructed to stand in place.

I watched as a group of male students came up in front of the stage and began to yell, loudly I might add, for me to ganbare. I later came to find out that this was part of a much larger cheering scheme that involved the entire school. The first picture is exactly of that. It was a large sporting event where students from all of the schools in the area came together to compete with each other. What was most interesting about this was that the students, not only attended the event, but also cheered for their classmates. The entire time! Students were everywhere.Before this event, I remember walking into the gym to see all of the students working on their cheers. I asked my sensei why all of the students partook, and he said that it was mandatory. He said that it built school spirit. I found this interesting as there is a lot behind this idea of ‘team spirit.’

It is this very idea that pervades a lot of the Japanese school system. Students are constantly being forced to coexist and stand together through activities, sports, and clubs. It is through these facets, especially sports, that the students form bonds with each other. They all learn the same cheers and stand before their classmates supporting them in their endeavors even though they aren’t competing.

Religion

When I think about Japan, two things quickly come to mind: technology and tradition. Now, I suppose Nintendo, Sony, Toshiba, and other electronics that are created in Japan have had an impact on that particular thought process. However, the emphasis in this entry is on the ‘religion’ of Japan. “What exactly is ‘relgion’,” is one of the first questions I find myself asking. According to my Mac, there are three definitions for ‘religion’:

*The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods. *A particular system of faith and worship. *A pursuit or interest in which someone ascribes extreme importance.

I don’t honestly feel that the first definition can even really apply. Whenever I have talked with Japanese people about ‘religion’ they have always pushed it off as something that is not really all that important. As for ‘superhuman controlling power’, I don’t feel as though that plays into anything I have seen or heard from my experiences thus far. You can pray to the god or what not, but the ultimate control lies in your action. However, I think this is an opportune time to reaffirm that I am only speaking from experience. ‘A particular system of faith and worship’ is somewhat of a definition that I find more applicable. There is definitely a system in place. During my time in Kyoto, I was able to see a lot more of that system. The interesting thing is that, while one group of individuals would be praying, another group of individuals around roughly the same age would be taking pictures for their memory books. It was really interesting to see the co-existence.

The third definition is the one in which I find really interesting. ‘Extreme importance’ is definitely not something that I have seen a whole lot of when I think of religion in Japan. However, I have seen an extreme importance for paying homage to one’s ancestors. So, is paying homage to one’s ancestors a form of religion or a form of respect? The answer that I have managed to come to is, yes. Religion is, as every ideology, relative to the location that it is created. The concept of ‘religion’ in Western thinking is far different from that in the East. For example, the Japanese will build huge beautiful churches for the sake of holding weddings, and weddings alone. Marriage is not necessarily viewed in the same religious context as we view it, but at the same time there is a large emphasis on the bond formed between the two individuals in the act. Does that make it any less religious? It clearly puts an ‘extreme importance’ on a ‘pursuit or interest.’

At the end of the day I find it extremely hard to remove the western religious bias from my mind. I think that we all have an idea of what religion is and is not, but I feel that something so deep in a culture is not easily understood. Sure we have things like Christianity, Buddhism, and Shinto, but at the end of the day, the actual religion becomes imbedded in the culture in a way that is much more relative than the large umbrella term that it might fall under during categorization.

Pop Culture (And I'm Not Talking About Soda)

Pop culture is a hard topic to cover. According to the dictionary on my Mac, pop culture is “commercial culture based on popular tastes.” So, what is popular in Japan? That is a questions that I don’t have enough Japanese language under my belt to answer. However, I will take a stab at one thing: convenience. Throughout the mini-trip I took in Japan, I noticed the number of different ‘convenience’ items located throughout the cities, subways, train stations, and streets. The first picture is obviously a shot of a vending machine. Vending Machines. Are. EVERYWHERE! I am staying in a somewhat, more rural area of my city, and we have the convenience of still having a vending machine sitting right out side of our door. Is it starting to get colder? Well, they have covered that too with all of their tea’s and coffee’s switching from cold to warm. That’s right! If you are feeling the freeze, just pop in 120 yen or so and you will be able to indulge in a nice, warm, canned beverage on your bike ride to school. This is not to mention the vending machine that will scan your body, recommend a drink to you, and all you have to do is touch the screen and flash your Suica to obtain liquid bliss!

Vending machines aside, this is also evident in the world of convenience stores in Japan. Manga, toiletries, alcohol, meals, snacks, you name it and a convenience store near you probably has it. The most fascinating thing to me is the pre-made meals. If you ever forgot your lunch, no problem! Going to the combini and grabbing a meal from the shelf is just as good. They will heat it up and even provide you with a hand towelette and chopsticks.

All of this being said I would like to pull you to my second picture. It is a picture of nature. Tell me, how convenient is that? I suppose that is a fairly loose questions, so I will just make some stipulations here. Let’s say that I live in the country of Japan. Most of the ‘professional’ jobs, especially as a college grad, are not going to be located in the middle of rice fields. There is also a large difficulty when it comes to transportation. If I wanted to live in the country, I would have to buy a car or ride the train to and from work every day. However, why go through all of this hassle when I could just move to the city where everything I could ever need is sitting there in a nice little pre-packaged, heated, chopstick provided combini? What I am trying to say is that, from what I have experienced in Japan thus far, most people are all about convenience, and with such a large buy in toward this ‘popular taste’ (literally in some cases), it is most apparent to me that it is a facet of Japanese pop culture.