Price Drop

Anyone want to suggest a reason why K-mart might not be pulling its own in today’s market? Aside from this and how trashy the place looked I liked the T-shirts.

Photo Taken: Dec. 29, 2009 | With: iPhone
Writing from Lubbock, TX | December 18, 2009

Passive Aggressivism in Public Advisories

Recently a friend of mine has gotten onto me a time or two for my approach to conflict resolution being more unengaged and passive aggressive. I guess it just works out better for me that way; I never have been a fan of conflict.

Where am I going with this? Sure this seems insignificant and all, but I noticed during my year living in Japan how common such passive aggressive approaches were in signs. It really struck me as an extension of the Japanese personality nature in conflict avoidance. I’ve noticed even the people have a really strong ability to ignore things, pretend there’s nothing happening and pretty much avoid various “situations” completely. I figured this (the signs and the actions alike) was really only something common in Japan but a sign struck me while eating at Burger King just a few days back.

Of course you all can read this one: “Thank You For Not Smoking”. (Reminds me of that movie, yes. But that’s not my discussion here.) It’s much less direct than “No Smoking”. Here’s a good Japanese representation of both:

On the left we find a very blunt “NO! ポイ捨て” or “No Littering!” While on the right we can see the common verb type which I learned as “informal invitation/suggestion form” but I personally refer to as the “passive aggressive form.” On the top it reads “犬のフンは持ち帰ろう” or “Let’s carry our dog’s poo home.” Now aside from the funny image and meaning it should be known that this particular line and images like this are quite common on signs around Tokyo. It’s the way of suggesting that we keep the city clean.

In what ways can such passive aggressive approaches incite us more to want to, or feel obligated to, do something? Certainly a difference in language has a different effect upon us. Perhaps even making us want less do anything about it. The proper amount of words, combination of words and even combination of types of moods (as in the Japanese example) must all contribute to the desired/received effect.

I hope to apply more of my previous anthropological linguistics knowledge to this and develop my ideas further in the future especially to the end of eventually perhaps developing a senior thesis. What effects do signs have on people both directly and indirectly? What effects do the people have on the signs? And, of course, how does this in a whole part effect the entire populous and play part of a cycle?

Writing from Fayetteville, NC | December 18, 2009

Protection, Movement, or Just Art?

While on a brisk ride yesterday I came across a wrapping of yarn around the railing where I usually park my bike. Returned to photograph it today.

My biggest question is in this posting’s title. What is the entirety of the purpose served? Some of you will say it’s pretty obvious. To me it comes off as an attempt to stylize the protection of bike bars as they clang up against the railing. While a simple styrofoam tubing would do, it is evident that the proximity to the campus art building has affected the medium of the padding.

I have often found myself slowly laying the bike against the rails because the metal-on-metal sound makes me cringe for my poor bike. I’m inspired to start a movement and use whatever cloth I can find to cover every bicycle parking-rack on campus. Perhaps this is just a personal thought and I’m more fascinated than I ought to be. It’ll blow over.

Photos Taken: Today | With: iPhone
Writing from Charlotte, NC | December 10, 2009

A Shift to Cultural Norms & Abnorms

So in reality I wanted this to end up being a blog focusing on cultural norms and abnorms after returning home from Japan. I’ve been very busy since returning home. Busy with lots of experiences I’d really like to be writing about. It is an experience in itself to return to the US and see the difference from somewhat of an outsider’s point of view after so long in Japan.

But I can’t very well leave the blog title as Straying Abroad if I’m no longer abroad and rather discussing points of cultural interest in America. (Because really this country too is quite the cultural anomaly.) So that is why I’ve decided to change the blog name to Culturally Astray. If any of you happened across the blog a few weeks ago you may have noticed the title change, though I took it down because I was unable to provide myself the time to put up any relative content.

I have, for quite some time, wanted to present a blog with such cultural content as photos with discussion of what is going on. Countries I consider foreign and my home country of America are quite different. Japan and America in particular are quite opposite in many a way. But we also need to understand that America is a large country and the culture within it also varies from place to place in many a way. Even a small country like Japan differs greatly from north to south, east to west. Dialect changes with distance between groups, architecture is affected by regional resources and ideas, signs, words, actions and environment are affected strongly by local and surrounding social structure and vice-versa.

Where is the proof? What are some examples of this? Where can one find such a thing? Through my extensive travel interest and experience throughout the country in the past and into the future I hope simply to present unbiased cultural material, writing and comparisons and more questions to those of you reading to encourage thought, inferences and feedback as part of my new blog: Culturally Astray.

I hope all of you will continue to read and look forward to my writing as I will strive to maintain my usual not-so-serious tone of writing after this posting.

Cheers,
Jon

Writing from Charlotte, NC | November 30, 2009

Reminiscing: From The Very Beginning

I’m sure you all expected me to do so – think back on everything. I haven’t written here in quite a while now so consider this my “re-entry” blog posting. Please enjoy my reminiscent thoughts.

~

Honestly, before coming back to America I went through a sort of difficult and most confusing phase of desperately not wanting to leave Japan and at the same time desperately wanting to go home. Since I’ve come back I’ve had most people, foremost, state “I bet you were happy to come back.” then become almost upset to have me tell them about how I was, and still am, mixed up on that feeling and furthermore that I’m almost 100% set on going back to Japan immediately after graduation. This decision has been met with dismayed silence already by some of my family and friends.

Of course nobody should get me wrong here, if at any point I loved my home country of America most, it was while in Japan. It has certainly become obvious that you begin to truly respect and understand your home country and pride ONCE you have visited another. But simply put, I have traveled extensively throughout the United States and though there is yet more for me to see, the beckoning of the world out there beyond these borders (not just Japan) is even stronger. There just seems to be – as I have constantly told myself since returning – more out there for me to feed my mind with. More learning to be done, more experience to be had, and many more people to meet. Without a doubt I desire to “go international” with my traveling and learning. While in Japan I feel like I learned more in one year than over the course of my entire (comparably trapped) lifetime up to now. And that’s not just language, but about people, culture, and life as well as other subject matter in classes at school (the school which, finally, I have developed a strong opinion about).

But I want to divert, finally, to something which I found buried away in my closet while I was moving out and back to school for this fall semester:

~

Some years ago, while still in middle school, I began my light interest in Japanese animation (anime). After about a year spent watching whatever I could catch on TV I was introduced, then in high school, to the world of manga, Japanese comics, which I could find in the back of Walden Books at my local mall. My eyes were opened to a whole new world of Japan which flourished from then on. I began finding more manga to read and eventually began connecting to communities of people on the web just like me and finding more obscure series to watch and read, eventually striking upon genres which most of us like to call “slice-of-life” as well as “school days” genres. These two genres, probably most common in Japanese anime and manga, introduced foreign viewers and readers to an amazing world of Japanese culture via a deep view straight inside. This eventually became my 切っ掛け (an impetus or motive) to begin to study more about Japan beyond the animation. With seeing so many fascinating cultural and historical references, new varieties of humor, and simply lifestyles of a completely different culture, how could I not be compelled to want more? And still to this day, even after a year spent in Japan, I have not run out of such examples of fascinating cultural information to compel me onward into this field of study.

At a time during my final year in high school while having fun socializing and truly enjoying my last semester, I created a list almost in fear that I’d forget (while enjoying myself with other things) why I loved Japan so much. (And yes, I did already love the place nearly four years ago before ever going.) On this list I wrote in the form of just a few words to full sentences some of the reasons I loved Japan (and in many cases, Tokyo). These all pulled straight from scenes in anime, manga, and a few Japanese sitcoms usually called simply “drama.” And well, I just thought I’d share with you all what I wrote four years ago and how to be honest I’ve confirmed it all with my very own eyes and experience to be completely true.

Things I Love About Japan

1) The cross-walk lights for pedestrians in Japan play music when they turn green.
- It’s true, you can even ask my dad. And they play various tunes at different ones too. One in particular has very nostalgic feeling for me and even for many Japanese people. Furthermore, Japan is particularly helpful towards the blind with braille just about everywhere, walking guides on all sidewalks, and many people more than willing to help.

2) The cross-walk bridges with their necessary loving couple.
- The bridges are very common, the couples, not so much. Perhaps played up in my mind by the exposure to romance in anime and manga.

3) The low table sometimes accompanied by its warm kotatsu.
- To get this straight, a “kotatsu” is the whole package: A low Japanese table with a built in heater which you place a blanket over and put your legs under to keep warm in winter.

4) The futons layed out in the evening with the usual tissue box sitting close by.
- Only saw and used futons when we visited Kyoto area. And I donno what it is about the tissue box, but the Japanese always have one close by.

5) The neat two room apartments with their messy Tokyo-life aura.
- Actually one room…and really small – that’s why they’re so messy.

6) The cicadas that signify summer has returned.
- Please refer to my previous post about my soccer class final.

7) The farm buildings of Hokkaido.
- Will Kansai area do instead?

8 ) The beach hotels of Okinawa.
- They have this very run down feel that most of you would probably just call gross. But something about it I love.

9) The massive, multi-story apartment complexes of densely populated Tokyo.
- Doesn’t get much more obvious than that.

10) The haunted construction complex match-making games.
- The match-making game is called 肝試し, “test of courage,” and is usually done in an abandoned building such as a hospital or a building under construction. The forest is also often used. Two people, a guy and girl, are paired up and sent through the winding paths and hallways to make it to a certain place and be first to make it without getting too scared and running away. It’s meant, basically, to make the girl scared and have her cling onto the guy while he plays the hero/savior role.

11) The autumn school festival and its coffee and tea shop.
- We can’t go to those because they’re only a high school thing.

12) The three streets that connect in the middle of Shinjuku.
- This is supposed to be Shibuya, and it’s like five streets – pretty crazy.

13) The giant Sony plasma screen casting its view across Shinjuku.
- Again, supposed to be Shibuya…

14) The four-story high schools.
- Something about seeing these is so nostalgic even though I never attended one.

15) The rooftops of high schools and the fences that surround them.
- No pictures, but it’s true. Some even put their pools up there.

16) The giant double-pane sliding windows of the school buildings.
- I’d like to add mention of the kids that always lean out of them.

17) The crowded subways on the way to or from work.
- I lived through this. Barely…

18) The pleasant cross-country JR Shinkansen rides.
- Really smooth, really nice.

19) The crazed otaku aura of Akihabara.
- A very strange place with many strange things. And otaku is a person who obsesses about something in particular, usually anime or manga but also many other things.

20) Osaka’s “floating” Kansai airport.
- Never went, but heard it was sinking.

21) The comfortable glow of paper lanterns lining streets during festivals.
- Probably my favorite Tokyo feeling.

22) The many beautifully designed yukatas in the festivals glow.
- A yukata is basically a summer kimono – lighter and more airy. Walking around during one of the biggest festivals I attended I was just blown away by how many I saw.

23) The shrine gates leading to the best made wooden structure of its time.
- I love shrines and temples.

24) Tokyo Tower
- nuf sed

25) Clothing hung on lines stretched between buildings.
- The Japanese don’t often use dryers so that they can save on energy and save money. So you can see clothes hung up everywhere all the time.

26) Air conditioning units protruding from the walls of apartments.
- Usually right beside all the hanging clothes.

27) The front doors that open outward.
- At first I didn’t know why, but then it was explained to me that it’s because we take off our shoes inside the door and if it opened in there would be a problem.

28) The public artificial onsen and their not-so-separate changing rooms.
- Never went to an onsen (hotspring), but the mixed bathing ones aren’t so common these days.

29) The streets where people drive on the left-hand side.
- This pretty much speaks for itself.

30) The long and huge bridges that connect between main islands.
- I went across one! But here is a picture of Rainbow Bridge in Tokyo:

31) The glow of a vending machine making its appearance anywhere imaginable.
- And really, some of the places I’ve seen them are pretty hard to imagine.

32) The books in their more convenient right-to-left style.
- Easier for flipping, if you ask me.

33) The Fuji TV headquarters in Odaiba.
- Look it up, it’s a pretty nice piece of architecture.

34) The extensive rows of bicycles lining streets and side-walks.
- They have bicycle parking lots outside of every station. Some of them are double-deck.

35) The small and stylish two-story apartment buildings.
- Not high rise and classy like the ones in central Tokyo. These smaller ones were the style around where I lived.

36) The ryokan with its traditional style and accompanying natural onsen.
- The onsen depends on where you are, and the ryokan (traditional inn) we stayed at didn’t have one. Most often these are accompanied by a cat.

37) The shimenawa and its gohei that surrounds a kami.
- Threw you guys for a loop on this one. Just look at the picture: the shimenawa is the rope, the gohei is the white paper hanging from it, and the kami is the tree.

~

It’s as if what is portrayed in their animation and comics is dead-on accurate. I was challenged time and again before going to Japan with the idea that I may, on the other hand, end up disliking it entirely. But through the many things accounted above I have only further confirmed my interest, and my love, for Tokyo and Japan. In a sense the reminiscing I’m doing is reflecting on two times: first on how I enjoyed and miss Japan so much from real experience, and second on how I felt so long ago even before going. My stay in Japan has allowed me to feel nostalgic in ways I ought not to have considering had never experienced those things before. It’s amazing how my past indulgence in Japan has created an almost like-reality experience in memory. Now I feel I can use the Japanese expression 懐かしい “natsukashii” – expressing a feeling of nostalgia or a memory so dear and missed; this particular expression and the feeling can’t exactly be translated into English.

Writing from Charlotte, NC | July 25, 2009

Final Exam Time

Walked into my soccer class at the gym yesterday and the teacher had pulled up a black board and wrote quite simply on it a time frame and “summer.” He then told us to go and take a picture on that theme and be back during that time (about 30 minutes later) to show him the picture and have him grade us. My final. For soccer class. Awesome.

The shell of a cicada. He particularly liked this as the Japanese have a big thing about cicadas and other specifically summer stuff. Though I personally liked my friend’s idea more – he took a picture of an air conditioner.

Writing from Koganei, Tokyo, Japan | July 25, 2009

What have I been doing lately?

That’s right, climbing mountains. Mount Fuji to be exact.

Writing from Koganei, Tokyo, Japan | July 20, 2009

Learn By Metaphor

Okay, I’ll try to explain this with a kind of allegory. Say you have a bird. You know, with the long neck. A looong necked bird. I can’t think of what it’s called, but you know what I mean right? The bird with the long neck. It just ate a fish. But you didn’t want it to eat the fish and don’t want it to swallow it either. So you grab the bird fast by the neck. And you squeeze and pull up to squeeze the fish out. But if you squeeze too hard you’ll break the bird’s neck “crack”. And it’ll die. You don’t want to do that so you squeeze just enough to get the fish out but not so tight you break the bird’s neck. You get what I’m saying? So now, imagine this type of situation when holding the bow. Apply and you can hold the bow correctly for kyudo allowing it to move freely after a shot.

Roughly translated from Japanese, this was said by one of my teachers in kyudo class. At times like these I remember how priceless life experience truly is. Never in my life shall I forget what he said as an example for gripping the bow. I will hereforth imagine a duck hanging by its neck and gagging as I set up my shot.

Writing from Koganei, Tokyo, Japan | June 13, 2009

By Night

Just wanted to let you all know I’m still alive and also decided to just show some pics I snapped on my way back home tonight from drinking with Photography Club. Don’t forget to read at the end of the post!

~

Heading down the street to the dorm: karaoke on the right and an English cafe on the left.

The yakitori (grilled chicken-on-a-stick) place just a few steps from the dorm lit up with lanterns and vending machines in front.

The ominous low lighting of an apartment entryway.

A single light post in the corner of the parking area at the apartment just across the way.

And finally the view of apartment lights through my bedroom window. Look closely and you can make out the shatter-proof wiring in the glass.

I particularly enjoy the way low lights and such set the mood in this city at night. They don’t overuse heavy and bright night time lighting much like I’ve seen back in cities in the US. Granted it’s much safer here too.

So, recently I’ve been insanely busy! It’s really crazy. But so much has gone on since I last posted so long ago. I’ve attended and participated in a festival (for which I’m still trying to upload the videos to freakin’ YouTube), I was allowed to shoot the bow at kyudo at full length from the dojo and even hit the target for the first time (a most moving experience), I’ve been hard at preparing for and participating in the photo exhibit for photography club this weekend, and finally, school-wise I’ve been running through tons of homework, preparing for a speech on Monday about kyudo, and studying for the three exams in Japanese this week. These next two weeks will literally be hell and I may well not post again during that whole period of time, no matter how much I want to.

Despite the amount of stress I ought to have from all of this, I’m actually regulating my time well and really coming out of it all having a great time and enjoying myself a lot. Kyudo is amazing and spiritually moving. Photography Club is fun and meeting people from the other school’s club has been great too; plus, everyone likes my photos. And though I’m nearly failing Japanese class I’m still nonetheless enjoying learning new things. Staying stress free and enjoying my last two months here in Japan. Wait it out and look forward to my next post everyone!

Writing from Koganei, Tokyo, Japan | June 6, 2009

Pachinko Pushin’ Geisha

What do we do when our semi-ancient socio-cultural skill no longer serves us in the modern world? Spiff up and get with the times! Throw on a signboard, learn a louder instrument, and sell ourselves out to the biggest hype. Yet another “price to pay” for modernization. Still, it looks to me like the sax player is the most awkward and out of place here. With her normal clothes! And her youthful passion! Bleh!

A friend who was along with me said that these people weren’t even worth a picture, citing it being a shame that this is what these professionally trained geisha are left to. The other (perhaps just as significant) argument being that they may not be trained at all and are simply posing in the geisha look.

Writing from Koganei, Tokyo, Japan | May 24, 2009