kansaimonkey

This week, I choose to offer an event which happens to fall into both categories, more or less. Recently, Hirakata City ended its celebration of Hirakata Festival, an annual event which celebrates the joy of nature and displays a fairly prominent anti-war sentiment. This festival began four years ago, so it's still fairly new, and there isn't much information about it just yet. I was promised, however, that next year a website for the event will be available.



From what I gathered during my conversation with the spokesman, the idea behind this festival is to appreciate the beauty of nature, and this is evident in the numerous displays of amazing flowers and arranged structures that were located around Oka Higashi Central Park. Some of the displays were rows of incredibly vivid blossoms, while others were intricate displays of artistic prowess.





While these are certainly to be admired, the main showcase surrounded the models of warriors and citizens. These life-sized models had their clothing or armor interwoven with live flowers. The citizens look quite content in their new connection with nature, while the warriors find themselves donning a new banner boldly stating the kanji for 'love,' ai, while sporting rather eco-friendly armor. I felt that this was a strong anti-war sentiment, as they're not fighting for a specific person, but more for a beneficial cause, which is echoed in many literary works.





Message or not, the festival was prominent enough to draw out some visitors who curiously viewed the spectacle.

How can one spend time in Japan and *not* encounter some form of tradition or religion? You can't but help literally tripping over events, and I often find that the best ones are those you don't expect to come across.

A recent trip to Nara gave me the opportunity to experience a more than 300 year old tradition of Antler Cutting. According to the handout I was given (conveniently in English,) the male deer get extremely aggressive during mating season, and have been known to attack people. As such, this ceremony was developed to curb the potential for injury from the free-roaming deer.



The deer are rounded up into pens and are released into this area three at a time. The men you see are called seto, and their uniforms, happi, bear the mark of the wisteria, the crest of the Kasuga Shrine. They form a sort of gauntlet path that they then guide the deer to run through. Juji, a combination of bamboo sticks and rope, are flung at the antlers to ensnare the deer.



The bucks are then pulled to the large wooden poles where it's easier to subdue them. A Shinto priest appears, gives the deer some water to calm it down, and cuts off the horns with a saw. The deer seem to feel no pain from the process, and are later released. The horns are then offered to the kami of Kasuga Shrine.



All in all, it's a great ceremony to see! The seto were half performing for the crowd and half being serious, but it was still pretty strenuous for them. This ceremony was repeated several times a day, so I can only imagine how exhausted they are at the end of a day!



I lament this being turned into such a marketable event, though, especially as the origins seemed to be taken rather seriously. Upon entry and exit of the area, we encounter a small battery of vendors. Some were asking for donations to the event and temple, others were selling memorabilia, and others still were selling cookies. I guess my feeling is that this modern marketing strategy shatters the illusion of watching an old tradition and the air surrounding it.

Now here's a topic that has so many angles of interpretation that I'm wondering where to start. Keeping in mind that all comments must also be illustrated, my commentary on the highly engendered Japanese language will be put aside in favor of showing some examples of how companies' marketing tactics differentiate nearly identical goods to sell to each of the genders. No, this clearly isn't excusive to Japan, but there are some rather colorful examples to be found here.



Let's start with this image, as it's the easiest to digest. We see two bears, nearly identical, save for a different color scheme (and a penguin), yet this distinction now gives them genders; pink is a girl bear, brown is a boy bear. A simple color pallette swap and *boom* gender normative roles and all of that psychological, emotional baggage is now installed on the icon. This simple trick applies to numerous things; The Hanshin Tigers mascots, Rakki and Torakki, Power Rangers, and even more adult purchases such as cars and cell phones are easily marketed to men or women based on color.



Taking that one step further, the above image shows two kimono. Using the engendered color schemes, as well as alterations to the cut and style of the garment, what is at its root a similar clothing pattern is now even more clearly a boy's and girl's object. Yes, the design changes are actually practical in several areas, but the concept still remains; these objects retain inherent, exclusive gender properties.




Both of the magazines above feature current pop-culture icons targeting young males and females, but look at what's portrayed to gain each gender's interest. The young men are given an eager woman in loose clothing armed with a sword, allowing them to relate to this highly idealized figure through the action sequences she'll star in. Young women are given an androgynous, charismatic man in a stylish suit with a hint of a smile, allowing them to feel comfortable in his presence while still appreciating his appearance. Yet, is this what they want, or is this an attempt to reinforce gender specific desires within the consumer?

If the paradigm of expected gender characteristics is so clearly a social construction, doesn't it make our societies rather hypocritical to condemn those who don't follow the prescribed fallacy?

This week’s topic is tied to the concept of cross-cultural equivalents; that is, something from the States, but uniquely handled in a Japanese way. This led me to wonder what events I could attend which have an English equivalent and see what fundamental changes are made to its adoption. I found out that there was a Comic Convention 76 in Osaka which featured fan made manga, and wondered how aspiring artists and authors compete in a country saturated with that literature, and how they reached out to the world with their works.



http://calavera.under.jp/

America does have fan fiction gatherings, and this wasn’t too dissimilar to that. At times, characters from well known series were used, but the devotion to the characters and story was intact, and there was plenty of original work to be seen. Some talented authors designed covers for their stories, many of which were amazingly good! There were vendors selling art supplies and PC software to the attendees, which makes sense as all of these materials were most likely made in their homes.





http://www.vps.mydns.jp/~kuua/02/nuratop.html

According to the flyer, there were about 1000 vendor stalls in each of the two event rooms, so that’s 2000 authors and scores more participants. Upon seeing me, a (comparatively) older foreigner, the people behind the counters stared a bit, but quickly handed out pamphlets, website links, booklets… I actually left with two armfuls of goods, much of it original artwork. It could be that they hoped to use me to reach out to a new audience they might not have had access to, and I certainly don’t argue with the logic. (And certainly not the results!)

Given how easy it is now to have and access web domains, the usage of web links and homepages allows these amateur artists to reach a much wider audience than they’d find in Japan, and perhaps even be able to show their virtual portfolio to companies looking for such talent, especially as this market has reached overseas to the US where more fans clamor for this genre.



Please note: the links supplied above do reach the respective author’s webpage, and while the main page is safe enough, I cannot vouch for the content further in than that.

I don't do sports. I've loathed the very idea of professional sports since I was young, which is only further exacerbated by the drama surrounding the players, the detestable actions and attitudes of fans, and the very stadiums themselves which can quickly become an eyesore in most cities.

So naturally, when asked if I wanted to accompany some friends to a baseball game, I had to force myself not to openly laugh at the invitation. Simple manners aside, I've come to realize that the Japanese counterparts to American concepts and ideals are often just far enough removed that they become their own beings with completely different values, so there is that slim possibility that this will be different. I may even enjoy myself.

For those in the know, my next statement will sum up exactly what I experienced, and those who don't can read on to see why I'm a convert.

I was fortunate to attend a Hanshin Tigers game at Koshien Stadium.

Now, I was aware of Koshien Staduim through the numerous manga and anime regarding young, plucky baseball teams working their way up to the legendary Koshien game. I know that it's the pinnacle of high school baseball, and it almost literally has the same value that Wimbledon does in the tennis world. Yes, it's that famous here.

http://www.hanshin.co.jp/koshien/ (I apologize for the site being in Japanese, but you get some lovely images on the webpage.)



Now that you have the setting, let's discuss the team. You'll notice that the team's name isn't referring to a specific area. In Japan, the team is owned by a company, so you won't see names like the Nara Deer or the Hokkaido Elk. No, the company owns them, and I think that the location of the company is the basis for where the team originates. In this case, the Hanshin Tigers home turf is, in fact, Koshien Stadium.

http://hanshintigers.jp/

Okay, so I'm going to THE Koshien, with THE Hanshin Tigers playing. The fans are going to be crazy, and not in a good way, right? Well, again, I'm wrong. These fans know how to support the home team with heretofore unknown grace and courtesy. Get this: each time the home team is up to bat, the audience chants a song. Much like this one.



And this one.



In unison, one voice cheering loudly with unwavering support, the fans show just how much they love the Tigers. I've *never* seen anything like this in the States. Each and every person batting is cheered for, each of them with a unique song made just for them which SOMEHOW everyone in the audience knows how to sing! Can you imagine this? Each person has a theme song! The crowd literally roars for the home team. Yet, when the opposing team is up, instead of loudly jeering, the audience is politely quiet, save for a tiny section in the outfield which is permitted to continue to cheer for the Tigers. Respect for the visiting team?? Unheard of! Yet, here it is.



Now, I'll finish this update with a quick commentary on the team mascots. Yes, that was indeed in the plural, as there is both a male and female Hanshin Tigers mascot who come out to play between innings. They bound about the field, performing backflips, giving and receiving lots of fan attention, and just being exemplary models for mascots everywhere.



Hello. Please call me Kansai Monkey. I am a Hanshin Tigers fan. Pleased to meet you.

For this week, I wanted to address something that was both immediately recognizable and uniquely Japanese, and I think I've found it in the all-female performing troupe, Takarazuka. The Takarazuka Grand Theatre in the Hyogo prefecture offers both a home for the group and an excellent place to purchase gifts by visiting fans.

http://kageki.hankyu.co.jp/english/tg_stage.html





Performing musicals based on known stories while also creating original works, the Takarazuka is a phenomenon which casts the female actors as both men and women for the roles of their shows. By some, it has been compared as a feminine parallel to kabuki theatre (as kabuki casts only men.) While some knowledge of kabuki is required to fully understand and appreciate it, the Takarazuka actresses revel in performing musicals which anyone could enjoy.



The lines of masculinity and femininity are blurred here, but are also redrawn. The 'male' actors are women who have spent years studying how act and sing like a man, have the masculine strut in their walk, and take the lead roles. Yet, these 'male' characters are highly idealized from a woman's perspective of masculine traits, resulting in bold-yet-gentle individuals. The film Dream Girls by Kim Longinotto and Jano Williams allows us a look into how these women are trained to become the highly talented stars they are. IMDB.com offers more information for those who wish to locate the film.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109664/

I had made the assumption that a vast majority of the audience would be female, but it was split pretty evenly, which made me question myself for such blatant gender stereotyping, and I quickly noticed that it was a full house for the performance of Andre's Story, followed by the show Exciter. I do wish that these performances could be caught on film, but this is expressly forbidden. However, I have found some official releases on YouTube which gives excellent examples of how lively and entertaining these shows are.

This week, the focus shifts from macro to micro; we now look on the town we live in, and in this case, it's Hirakata. The approach for this entry, however, is taken from a conversation a student had regarding how our exploration of this city can change drastically depending on when one is traveling. By day, we recognize the familiar landmarks. By night, everything changes.

While this entry should then be images of the city at night, such pictures would be unfamiliar to those viewing as there are no comparisons to draw. Yet, if the images were ones which were well known to the audience, then the contrast would be nearly tangible. Bearing this in mind, I offer you Kansai Gaidai at night.



Even during the brightest of days, this hall underneath the main administration building remains one of the darkest spots on campus. When the lights go on, however, its character changes completely, becoming a welcoming walkway to those seeking illumination.



Ah, the enigmatic red... thing. This structure is called "Sublimity," created by one "Sebastian" in 2002. During the day, this is merely an oddity on campus, but at night, the lights surrounding this art shine on it so brightly that the surrounding objects acquire a faint red glow.



The fountain, and behind it the administration building. The logo, and its associated meaning, was partially explained by Reiko Hiromoto, Director of International Programs at the CIE Office. Hiromoto-san has worked at KG for close to 29 years and says that the logo has been in use before she started, so she is unsure who created it, but stated that the symbol itself is simply the two Chinese characters for 'foreign university,' or 'gaidai.'



The clock tower has earned respect from this author: solitary amongst buildings which are interconnected, a tall, triangular shape offering forth a basic round face, and composed of simple brick. The only object on campus which seems more anachronistic is the red... thing, but the clock tower remains at the heart of the campus while the other is virtually ostracized and planted near the outskirts.

Hopefully, this submission illustrates how even the most familiar of areas can become once again nearly unknown after the sun has set.

This entry is dedicated to our first impressions of our time in Japan. As Japan is both utterly exotic and almost completely familiar due to its blend of rich culture with globalization, it is pretty easy to come across the known and unknown in a span of a few minutes. Today’s entry is my look at parts of this city which are both known and unknown to me.



You don’t have to visit Japan to know that it has embraced several aspects of Western culture; McDonald’s, Starbucks, rap, and numerous other parts of our culture have been successfully transplanted here, so I almost missed the chance to see how the Japanese view one of the more casual sports. Functionally, bowling here is just about what you could expect in the states; the lanes are slippery, the bowlers have their own unique style of delivery, and teams cheer loudly at each strike. I noticed that there were more women playing this game than I’d usually find in the US, so I looked up some info on bowling in Japan and found the Japan Bowling Congress, a webpage offering information on what seems to be Olympic League bowlers, many of whom are women who have won medals in the past.

http://www.japan-sports.or.jp/bowling/index.html



Dotted along the city, I’ve seen numerous small, family owned farms growing rice. These rich fields of green add a large amount of color to what could otherwise just be a residential or commercial lot, yet as much as they stand out, they don’t seem to really interrupt or break the feel of the area. That it’s maintained by the locals gives this a very personal feel to the land; this isn’t just some city/government land, it’s an area that’s cared for by someone much like ourselves.