Posts Tagged: japanese history

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30
Apr 10

Nagoya: Golden Dolphins and the Legendary Sword

Perhaps best known globally for its short-listed (failed) bid for the 1988 Summer Olympics, Nagoya is the 4th most populated city in Japan with about 2.17 million inhabitants. Located about 225 miles west of Tokyo in the Aichi prefecture along the Pacific Ocean, Nagoya is accessible by train from Tokyo in between 3 and 3 ½ hours.

Nagoya is home to several art museums as well as the Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens, one of the largest zoos in Asia that includes an amusement park as well. You may also decide to tour the Noritake factory, where world-famous fine china is manufactured. Nagoya is also famous for the 5th tallest building in Japan, Midland Square, which just opened in 2007 as the new international sales headquarters for Toyota.

One of the most popular tourist locations in Nagoya is Nagoya Castle, a castle restored to look like the original castle that stood in its place since 1612. It famously burned during World War II, so the current castle is a faithful reconstruction that was completed in 1959. Although many of the artifacts were destroyed, some of the original paintings were salvaged and are on display. One of the most iconic features of the Nagoya Castle is what many people call the “golden fish.” Two giant statues called the kinshachi are actually golden dolphin statues with tiger-like heads. They are placed on both ends of the roof and are meant, in a spiritual sense, to protect the castle from further fire.

If you’re in Nagoya, you should also stop at the Atsuta Shrine, the second most important shrine to the Shinto religion. Besides the beautiful grounds and architecture, you may get a glimpse of one of around 4400 national treasures, but don’t expect to see the legendary Kusanagi sword, a sword literally from legend (think Excalibur) and one of the three sacred treasures of Japan. The sword is rumored to be at the shrine, but no one from the public may see it. Even if you can’t see a sacred treasure, you may be in Nagoya during one of 70 annual festivals, so you’ll have plenty to do to enjoy your tour of the grounds.

Have you ever visited Nagoya? Would you be interested in touring Nagoya Castle, even though it’s a restoration? Do you think the Kusanagi sword exists?

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5
Apr 10

Osaka: The Home of Cuisine and Comedy, Part 2

On Friday, we discussed Osaka as “the nation’s kitchen.” Today we’ll talk instead about Osaka as the home of comedy. But first, we’ll take a closer look at Osaka-ben, or the Osakan dialect.

Just like in the U.S., where an American southerner often speaks with a remarkably different accent than a New Englander, for example, there are multiple distinguishable accents throughout the nation of Japan. The standard Japanese accent, which foreigners are most likely to study and which is the frequent accent used in TV and movie productions, is the Tokyo-ben (the Tokyo dialect). The next most famous accent is the Kansai-ben and in particular, the Osaka-ben (Osaka is a prefecture in the Kansai area).

The Osaka-ben involves putting the emphasis on different syllables in most any given word as well as a different intonation. Some sentence-ending particles and verb conjugations are changed slightly. There are also a few phrases synonymous with the accent, including “ookini” (“thank you,” “arigatou” in standard Japanese, or “please,” “onegai” or “kudasai” in standard Japanese) and “kore nambo” (“how much is this?” or “kore wa ikura desu ka” in standard Japanese).

While Osakans are stereotypically known to be jovial and friendly, the Osaka-ben is characterized as being a bit goofy and backwards by the rest of Japan, although of course that’s just a stereotype. However, it’s the stereotype that the accent is “funny-sounding” that makes it an integral part of Osakan comedy.

The most famous type of Osakan comedy is manzai, which actually was developed roughly 1000 years ago in other parts of Japan. However, since the late 19th century, manzai has been so strongly associated with Osaka that performing the act in an Osakan accent (whether or the performers are Osakan natives) is virtually a prerequisite, even when taking the show on the road to other parts of Japan.

The manzai act involves two comedians, one called the tsukkomi (literally, “butt in,” but basically the straight man) and the other the boke (literally “senility,” and in other words, the funny man). Like in the Western straight-man-funny-man combos, the humor is derived from one comedian trying to tell a story and the funny man acting incredibly airheaded and dumb, “unintentionally” causing the audience to laugh with his incorrect and simple observations and increasingly exasperating and the frustrating the straight man.

However, unlike such combos in the West, the tsukkomi is really much harsher to the boke, constantly interrupting him (“butting in”) to insult him for his stupidity and correct him or to even hit him on the head with a large paper fan or some other item! The tsukkomi frequently ends an act with the phrase, “Yamesashite moraimasu wa!” which means “Let’s quit!” because he can’t take the boke’s stupidity any longer.

While there are currently female comedian manzai duos and male/female duos in Japan, the art has traditionally been exclusive to men and the number of male performers greatly outnumbers the number of female performers. The M-1 Grand Prix competition for manzai features over 3000 duos competing for the title of best in Japan each year.

See an example of a manzai comedy routine here.

Have you ever seen a manzai comedy routine in person? Do you think the tsukkomi-boke style of humor is funny? Have you ever spoken with a person from Osaka? Did you notice his or her different Japanese accent?

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2
Apr 10

Osaka: The Home of Cuisine and Comedy, Part 1

About 325 miles west of Tokyo in the Kansai south central region of the main island of Japan is Osaka, Japan’s second most populated city and third most popular city for entertainment after dark. Osaka, which is also the name for the prefecture, is widely known throughout the country as the tenka no daidokoro (“the nation’s kitchen”) because of its stellar restaurants and food stands. A popular saying, “kuidaore,” refers to Osakan people literally “eating themselves bankrupt” because so much of the city’s economy is spent on cuisine.

Over time, Osaka became renowned for its cuisine due to its proximity to fresh seafood in the Osaka Bay and vegetables and rice in nearby agricultural areas such as Kawachi. Prominent sake-brewing areas such as Ikeda and Nada are also nearby and supplied fine alcohol. Skilled chefs flocked to the area to experiment with the ingredients and developed their own blends of spices and seasonings. The key ingredients in what is the epitome of Osakan food is usukuchi shoyu (light-colored soy sauce with extra salt) and dashi (kelp stock).

Although you can find these foods virtually anywhere in Japan, the three types of foods that really exemplify Osakan cuisine are takoyaki, okonomiyaki, and kitsune udon. Takoyaki, usually translated as “octopus balls,” is octopus meat served in a ball-shaped fried dough made of flour and dashi. Okonomiyaki, translated as “however you like it” or “Japanese pancakes” is actually not that similar to pancakes in the West. The primary ingredients are batter made of flour, dashi, and yams fried with cabbage. The “however you like it” part comes from the rest of the ingredients, as the customer is free to choose from a plethora of vegetables, seafood, meat and condiments like usukuchi shoyu to add to his or her okonomiyaki, kind of similar to choosing your own toppings for a pizza, but these ingredients are cooked into the batter. (They can, however, also be sprinkled on top.) Kitsune udon (“fox udon”) is udon noodles served in dashi stock and topped with deep-fried tofu that’s sweetened called aburaage.

Osaka is famous for a few other things, too, particularly comedy. Come back Monday for a closer look at Osakan comedy and some information about the Osakan dialect.

Have you ever been to Osaka? Did you make time to eat much of its cuisine? Would you say it was better than Tokyo’s? Which of the three foods discussed in this entry would you most like to try?

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24
Mar 10

Japanese Royalty

Japan is currently the only nation in the world in which a monarch is addressed with the title of “Emperor.” The Japanese Imperial Family is also the oldest remaining monarchy with a single continuing bloodline. The Yamato Dynasty, the name for this family’s reign, is believed to have begun in 660 BCE with the ascension of Emperor Jimmu. Today, the 125th emperor in the line, Emperor Akihito, is the monarch of the country.

Emperors in Japan have enjoyed varying levels of involvement in the government and political actions of the country over the course of the Yamato Dynasty, perhaps most famously losing direct control over the country during the many on- and off-decades of military rule (called Shogunates) beginning in the 12th century and ending in the 18th century.

In much more recent memory, the current emperor’s father, Emperor Hirohito, ruled during World War II and helped rally the country’s support for its then imperialistic crusades. Emperor Hirohito quite famously got off without any punishment from the world community for his involvement in World War II, as this was one of the sole terms of surrender upon which the Japanese government insisted at their defeat. However, upon American insistence post-World War II, the Imperial Family has been uninvolved with political matters since.

Why was Emperor Hirohito’s position so sacred that he escaped punishment for any of his actions? The debate over his level of knowledge and direct involvement in the military proceedings aside, the Japanese government believed that keeping the Imperial Family intact was essential to the nation’s morale. The Imperial Family is said to be direct descendants of the Japanese goddess Amaterasu, who, according to the Shinto religion, created and founded the nation of Japan.

The Emperor is a symbol of Japanese unity and of the country as a whole. He also serves as the head of the Shinto religion due to his deity blood. Effectively, he is a ceremonial figurehead as the nation of Japan is a democracy and he does not interfere with political matters.

However, the Emperor impacts many aspects of Japanese culture, such as the calendar system. While Japan does use the Christian Gregorian method of counting years (in other words, that this year is 2010 AD/CE), this was adopted only after the opening of the country to the West in the 19th century. The earlier system, which is used interchangeably with the Gregorian calendar today, was based on the ruling years of each emperor. Emperor Akihito began his rule in 1989 after the death of his father, so according to this system, 2010 is called Heisei 22, “Heisei” being the name of his rule. The current emperor’s birthday also becomes a national holiday. During Emperor Akihito’s reign, it’s December 23rd.

However, while the Imperial Family is more of a cultural tradition than a series of rulers, there is one aspect of the Imperial Family that draws some controversy in Japan. The line of succession is purely patriarchal and there has never been an exception. The line is passed from father to oldest son, and if there are no sons, the line passes to the oldest brother, nephew or male cousin. The current Crown Prince of Japan, Emperor Akihito’s oldest son Crown Prince Naruhito, only has a daughter and his wife, Crown Princess Masako, has allegedly become stressed and disillusioned with the family after the pressure to continue trying for a son.

Do you think it’s important for the Japanese to preserve this ancient tradition, even if the Imperial Family has no political power? Do you believe that it’s time for the Imperial Family to recognize an empress if the eldest child is a daughter?

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22
Mar 10

Partial Control of Okinawa Returned to Japan Next Week

In a historic moment next week on March 31st, the U.S. will return control of air space over Okinawa to Japan after more than six decades of American control. If you’re not familiar with the history of America and Okinawa, take a look at this earlier entry.

America first took over Okinawa in 1945 after the end of World War II as America watched over Japan’s reconstruction. Although control of the country was signed back over to Japan in 1972, 18% of the main island effectively remains American soil in the form of American military bases. Japan has sought more control of the territory for decades—Japanese lawmakers were even worried that the problems with Toyota cars in America would impede some of the current negotiations about surrendering rights to Okinawa (read more here)—so next week’s transfer of air rights is a monumental occasion for Japan.

The decision was originally reached in 2004 to be completed by 2007, but the transfer of air traffic control took some detours as negotiations were ongoing and transfer of the technical system, called the Kadena RAPCON, hit some setbacks, so in 2008, the new deadline of March 31, 2010 was arranged.

Currently, air traffic control towers on U.S. military bases handles all military and civilian flights into an area about 56-mile radius of the Kadena Air Base on the main island of Okinawa as well as air space over the nearby smaller island of Kume.

Civilian traffic into the Naha and Kume Island airports will be surrendered to Japanese control via the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry, but U.S. military traffic onto the base will remain under U.S. control. The civilian portion of the Kadena RAPCON system will now be known as the Naha Approach Control.

Negotiations between the U.S. and Japan continue over surrendering more land and control of Okinawa to Japan. However, Foreign Minister Okada Katsuya believes this is an important next step for finding a way for the American military to continue operations, albeit at a reduced capacity, in Okinawa. “Although there are various tasks related to U.S. forces in Japan,” stated Okada, “I would like to overcome each issue so that the Japan-U.S. security arrangements will be operated more smoothly and effectively.”1

Do you think that returning civilian air traffic control in Okinawa to Japan is a good idea? Why do you think the U.S. held on to control for so long?

1 Associated Press. “U.S. agrees with Japan to return Okinawa air control on March 31+.” Breitbart. 18 Mar. 2010. Breaking News. 20 March 2010. <http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9EH08D80&show_article=1>.

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16
Mar 10

Enka Music

Enka music is a uniquely Japanese style of music that’s popular with the older generations of Japanese in particular. As the enka singers dress in traditional Japanese kimono during their performances and sing slow ballads in vibrato style, you might think that enka is a very ancient form of Japanese singing. Although enka does have its roots in traditional Japanese music, it’s actually a cultural pop music phenomenon developed during the 20th century.

Modern enka became popular after World War II. The lyrics of the songs, like blues songs in the West, most often deal with sadness, lost love, death, and dealing with difficult trials. However, the music does usually include some self-encouragement to persevere even through difficult times.

Another characteristic of enka music is the vibrato. Vibrato is when a singer sings a note at a fluctuating pitch. The effect is a bit echo-like. The type of vibrato that enka singers employ is called kobushi and it’s a slightly different style of vibrato that that employed by opera singers, as the pitch only fluctuates to one degree.

Kitajima Saburou is generally considered to be the country’s most famous enka singer. His most popular songs in the 1960s and 1970s often made it to the top 10 positions on popular music charts. He continues to release singles and even released one earlier this year at the age of 73.

Here’s a performance by Kitajima in the early 1990s:

Kitajima Saburou

The music hasn’t been particularly popular with young Japanese for the past few decades, although that’s changing thanks to a few pop music stars trying out the genre and the debut of artists like Jero, who better appeal to young Japanese. Jero (Jerome Charles White, Jr.), whose maternal grandmother was Japanese, became Japan’s first professional African-American enka singer when he debuted in 2008 to rave reviews. Jero appreciated the art form while growing up and decided to pursue it professionally after moving to Japan as an adult to teach English and work as a computer programmer. He became famous only 2 months after his debut. Unlike the native Japanese enka singers, Jero chose not to wear traditional Japanese clothing during his performances and instead wears American hip-hop baggy clothes and jewelry. The contrast of his voice and style of singing with his clothing makes for very surprising performances!

See Jero perform enka with another enka singer here:

Jero

You can see Jero in the United States this spring, starting later this month! Click here for more information.

What do you think of enka music? Had you ever heard any before you read it here in this post? What do you think of Jero’s performance and style?

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12
Mar 10

Hiroshima

Hiroshima is the first place in the world with a civilian population where an atomic bomb was dropped and one of only two (the other being Nagasaki) places in the world where this has ever happened. The bomb, dropped by the Americans during World War II, killed somewhere between 90,000 and 200,000 in Hiroshima alone, about 70,000 of which died at the moment of impact and tens of thousands more died in the following months and years (thus the varying number, as it can be hard to pinpoint exactly who died as a result of the bomb) due to horrific injuries and the effects of radiation. The city has largely recovered since then, but there are still monuments and tributes to this vital event in global history, so Hiroshima makes an excellent tourist destination if you’re headed to Japan.

Hiroshima is about a 4 to 5 hours’ journey west of Tokyo (depending on whether or not you take the bullet train). Once you arrive in Hiroshima, you may want to head to Peace Memorial Park and the Genbaku Dome-Mae (A-Bomb Dome), which is just 15 minutes south of the JR station by trolley. This Genbaku Dome, which was built in 1915, was one of the last remaining buildings to survive the bombing—almost everything else you see was built after the war.

The Genbaku Dome remains largely as it was left after the bombing, with minor construction done occasionally to keep the dome from falling down. It is a World Heritage Site that is supposed to be preserved indefinitely.

Around the dome is the Peace Memorial Park, where you can see memorials dedicated to the victims and to the ideal of world peace. The entire park is about a mile in length and at the opposite end of the Genbaku Dome is the Peace Memorial Museum, where you can see artifacts, photographs and interviews of the attack and its victims. It can be a disturbing but educational experience.

Besides memorials to the attack, Hiroshima has a number of other sites of interest, including the Hiroshima Castle, which was actually destroyed during the bombing but was rebuilt to be virtually identical to the original 1589 castle during the reconstruction efforts. Not only is the castle visually stunning, but you can find a museum dedicated to the history of the city within.

Have you ever been to Hiroshima? What were some of your favorite stops? If you visit Japan, would you like to visit one of the sites of the atomic bombings? Why or why not?

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