Changing Impression

　　　　It has been already almost 4 months since I started to take this Visual Anthropology class. This is the last blog post for the class but I would like to continue posting about Japan after I finish this course.

The theme of the last post is “Changing Impression”. It would be easier to write about it if I am an international student who is about to finish their first 4 months experience of living in Japan. But there is still a thing that I want to write as my change of impression about Japan.

The event that changed my impression is the earthquake happened on March 11^th. 

 

Photo borrowed from Japan Times Online

　　　　I distinctly remember that I felt that the classroom shook a little when I just finished my class. But I have experienced bigger one before I thought nothing serious happened at that time. So I went to eat Korean Barbeque with my friends after school and Karaoke at night. When we got to Karaoke the TV there usually showing music channels was showing news and some people were standing in front of it. Then I finally realized that how terrible the situation was. 

 

Photo borrowed from Mail Online

　　　　First of all I could not believe what I was seeing was in Japan. Then the next thing came up in my mind first was about my relatives live in Fukushima prefecture. I did not call them because I knew it could not change anything about the situation. Fortunately nothing serious happened to them and I could see them when they came to Osaka as a family trip. 

　　　　I was shocked about the chaotic situation for a while but soon after the earthquake, large number of people started to help each other. I used to watch a lot of news talking about bad economy or political issues of Japan everyday on TV but after the earthquake, I more often heard the story such as people going to Tohoku to bring food or supplies. I am simply touched by those stories and feels glad to live in this country. The earthquake is a memorable disaster that must not happen again but this earthquake definitely changed my view towards Japan.

Kodomo Day

　　　Last Thursday, May 5^th was Kodomono-hi (Children’s day) in Japan. Kodomono-hi is a national holiday to celebrate children’s happinesss. Even though the name of the holiday is “Children’s day”, this holiday is actually for only boys. There is a day to celebrate for girls on Hinamatsuri on March 3^rd but it is not a national holiday.

　　　Around May 5^th some households start to decorate Koinobori outside their house. 

 

 "Koinobori"

Picture borrowed from http://www.ryugetsu.net/shop/?c=koi

　　　The word Koinobori itself consists of two words “Koi” (a carp, or Koi fish) and “Nobori” (rising). Koinobori is basically a wind stock shaped like a Koi fish. The origin of Children’s day has been started since Nara period (710~784) and Koinobori is from Edo period (1603~1868). The idea of Koinobori is related to the Chinese old saying of “climbing up a strong stream”. People wish for their children to grow up in good health and be strong like a Koi fish climbing up a strong stream so that they can spend better life in the future. (information is from here)

　　　Since it was Golden Week last week I went back to my hometown Saga prefecture in Kyusyu and went to the event “Kawakamikyo Spring Festival (川上峡春祭り)” with my family to see many Koinobori swimming in the winds. The sightseeing organization of the city organizes to decorate about 300 Koinobori across the river as an event for Children’s day every year.

　　　　I remember when I was there for a school trip as an elementary school student my teacher told me that many of Koinoboris are donated by local companies or organizations in the prefecture. There are more events and decoration of Koinobori in many places in Japan around May 5^th and people enjoy seeing Koinobori as a seasonal event.

Mukashi Mukashi Arts

　　　　One of the good things about living in Hirakata city is the location that allows you to go to both central Osaka and Kyoto prefecture easily. When I first came to Hirakata city as a freshman I was really excited as a tourist to visit temples in Kyoto such as Kiyomizu temple or Yasaka shrine. Two years have already been passed since then and now I am getting sick of going to Kiyomizu for hundreds of times. But I still love Kyoto and want to discover something new from there. So my friend and me decided to set a theme before going to Kyoto. Our theme was to visit temples we had not been to and see Japanese old artworks. Temples we went are Daikakuji and Koudaiji.

　　　　Since we both had a class at 16:40 on that day we started our journey from 7am from Hirakata station. We took a train to Sanjo station in Kyoto and then took a bus from Sanjo to Daikakuji temple. Since it was really early morning we were the only ones who got off at the final but stop Daikakuji. Before we entered Daikakuji we encountered the great entrance with beautiful huge pine trees. 

 

Also they were displaying some flower arrangements in front of the entrance.

　　　　Once we entered inside of Daikakuji we saw many Fusuma doors (a thick papered sliding doors) with pretty paintings. Lot of them were painted by Kano Sanraku around 17th century but they are all still perfectly beautiful.

 

　　　　After we finished watching many works we took bus back to Sanjo and went to Koudaiji by walk. When we passing Yasaka shrine on our way we saw Rakugo-ka,(Japanese comic storyteller) Tsukitei Happou shooting TV show. 

 

Picture borrowed from Yoshimoto Kogyo 

　　　　I tried to take pictures of him but they did not allow me to. Also we saw some people experiencing to be Maiko (traditional Japanese female performer) on the street to Kodaiji. 

　　　　

　　　　When we got to Kodaiji there was another beautiful entrance with cherry blossom. 

　　　　In this temple we saw more gardens rather than paintings or sculptures. There was also a bamboo forest and we could fully enjoy the nature as an art form. 

　　　　After we finished our journey perfectly without getting lost or having any troubles we ate lunch at the restaurant and went to class! I will definitely make next plan for my new experience by visiting places I have not been to and learn more about cultures of my country.

Websites for Daikakuji and Kodaiji; 

Daikakuji (大覚寺) http://www.daikakuji.or.jp/

Koudaiji (高台寺) http://www.kodaiji.com/index.html

HATACHI

　　　　　It has been getting warmer in Japan and I am assuming many people will post about the beauty of Japanese spring or Hanami events since we have free topic for blogs this time. However I have decided to write about the “Coming-of-Age Celebration”.

　　　　　For the Coming-of-age celebration we have a ceremony hold by individual cities or a public organization in Japan in June. Most of girls tend to wear Japanese traditional dress “Kimono” and boys wear a suit. 

　　　　　Nowadays not many people wear Kimono or have chance to wear it so that many girls get excited to get to wear fancy (also pricy) Kimono for the ceremony. Which means that the Kimono industry trys really hard to get those Hatachi (20 years old) customers even before the year they turn to 20. This may sound extreme but they even get your information from somewhere and often call your house to offer fancy Kimono. 

　　　　　I received tons of mails or catalogs of Kimono as well. I was thinking to get a nice pretty Kimono for the ceremony when I was in senior year of high school. But once I realized how much they cost for total I changed my mind completely. (It depends on where you buy or rent them, but average is $2,000).  So I did not wear Kimono and decided not going to the ceremony but going there to take pictures of people who were dressing up afterwards. After the ceremony many people were just chatting with their old friends and taking pictures together.

　　　　　When they finish enjoying those conversation or becoming uncomfortable with tight Obi (tied over Kimono) they start going home and change to their formal Western style dress for the after party which usually hold by your junior high school at an another place such as hotel. 

 

 　　　　　This after party is a great opportunity to talk to your old friends better and easier than after the ceremony since there are only people from your junior high school years. There are lot of foods, drinks, and sweets to have a great time with. Also most of the time your old teachers come to the party and talks about the memories. You can enjoy seeing how people have been changed by having conversation with them or the way they dress. Or this can be a great opportunity to reunite with your friends.

Essay on Leibovitz and Nachtwey

　　　In last two classes we watched “Annie Leibovitz: Life through a lens” (2008) and “James Nachtwey: War Photographer (2001)”. Leibovitz and Nachtwey are photographers from the United States. Though they are both great photographer their backgrounds and styles are different in many ways.

　　　First of all Annie Leibovitz is from a big family with six siblings. Her family used to travel a lot by car and the views from the car window were like variety of pictures to her. When she started to go to school her interests in art became bigger and especially she worked hard on photography. She has worked in many different fields but her career at the Rolling Stones magazine affected a lot on her life. She often takes pictures of famous celebrities with arty concepts. However the people who are taken by Leibovitz say they are completely comfortable to be taken pictures by her. That is not only because her reliable career backgrounds but also her personality that she tries to bring her idea and ask people about their ideas as well. There are many of her pictures have vivid colors like “Alice in Wonderland” (2003). I like those pictures because even though the main object of pictures is Alice, my eyes never get bored but not bothered by other objects either. Everything in these pictures entertains in its own ways. 

 

Annie Leibovitz: Photo from V:olta

 

Annie Leibovitz: Photo from Flickr by Duy's Photo Shoots

　　　The picture of Leonardo Dicaprio is a black and white picture but I like this one as much as her pictures with color. Its composition suits to the simplicity of the object and texture of grass and Dicaprio’s hair reflect each other.

 

　　　Next photographer, James Nachtwey is a war photographer who has been to many battlefields and countries suffering from poverty to take photos. 　　　

 

James Nachtwey: South Africa, 2000 - Grandmother cared for young girl affected by HIV.

 James Nachtwey: A homeless couple in Jakarta, Indonesia, sleeps on the railroad tracks. 

　　　He wants to take pictures because he thinks his job is to give people in those countries a voice by taking their pictures. Also he figures that photography is a form of communication and not art. Since the objects that he takes picture of are often war, he has never been happy about his works. If you compare to his pictures with pictures of Leibovitz you can easily find there are many differences. For example, obviously the objects are totally different and there are no setups or beforehand plans for most of the pictures of Nachtwey.

 　　　As similar points both of their pictures do not have superfluous objects in the pictures. Which means what they are trying to show or tell is clear and easily understandable. Also they both think that the pictures are communication tool in some ways. Overall I found that photography could be a great communication tool or entertainment as a piece of art when I watched about Annie Leibovitz. However the war photography can be still controversial in a way to take photos sometimes without permission. In a movie nobody gets mad at Nachtwey but I do not think that every single people willingly allow to take photos of their misery or loss even though it might help their situation or country.

 

Japanese People Portrait

　　　Since I am a Japanese student I had no idea who to take pictures of. I could have taken photos of my Japanese friends but it will be too easy and not that interesting. Also I knew they would be too shy to be taken photos and put them on my blog. So I decided to put photos of my little cousin. He and his family live in a small town in Tohoku area where is northern part of Japan. I visited them this winter break and took many pictures there.

　　　He is 12 years old elementary school student. He wakes up in the morning really early everyday and during the winter he helps his father and grandfather to shovel the snow in front of their house. His parents and grandparents told me that he is really good at shoveling the snow and proud of him about it. He plays table tennis and recently he has got a first prize at the city tournament. Also he is good at video games as other children nowadays though I beat him for a few times with playing Super Mario cart. 

　　　

　　　He has a younger brother and I sometimes enjoy seeing their differences. First of all his brother tend to do things by himself like reading books or playing with blocks. He is sort of a master of knowledge in the house and he talks lots about anything constantly till someone stops him. However the other one seems like to have fun by sharing things with some other people. Though he is only 12 years old, he cares about others a lot and make sure everyone is happy. I cannot see them often but I would love to keep in touch with them and cannot wait to see him and his family in Osaka the end of this month.

Neighborhood Hirakata

       I have been living in Hirakata for almost 2 years. I moved here from my hometown to go to Kansai Gaidai but I did know nothing about Hirakata before I came here though I had abstract image about Osaka as crowded, cheerful, friendly, and sometimes harsh. But I realized those stereotypical images only fit to big cities in Osaka not Hirakata city. I like Hirakata for two reasons. First I can go to both some big cities in Osaka and lovely cities in Kyoto. Next reason is the quiet environment with lot of nature and pretty residential area. Though I am a Japanese student I have lived in the dorm for the international students since last semester. I used to live in an apartment in Hirakata before but I like the neighborhood better now.

This is near the place I used to live.

        On Saturday it was sunny and warm in the morning so that I decided to go for a walk with my camera.

        1 minute after I left the dorm I saw a lady who was carrying a dog walking towards me. She was smiling and said “お散歩？”(Are you going for a walk?) and I said yes. Then I realized that was a lady living in front of the dorm and that was my first time that I talked to her though I have lived in the dorm for over 6 months.

Right: The way to the supermarket

Left: The way to school

        Next neighbor that I met was this guy :)

        He showed up suddenly from the corner and seemed really happy. I whistled to get his attention but he was really excited about the spring weather and having no leash or owner.

        

        I was walking as I go to school everyday but this time was not to go to school but to see and take picture of the neighborhood. I found many things that I do not notice usually and felt I was seeing some new things with different aspects.