Reactions to Japan and changing impressions via visual anthropology

Living in Japan with a host family, while at the same time studying the language, has been an amazing experience. As much as I learn about Japanese people, culture, and language; study abroad has been an opportunity to develop another part of myself – to define myself in a new situation and context. Having lived in the same country my whole life, moving to Japan for an extended period of time has not only caused me to appreciate Japan, but the US as well. The experience has widened my perspective on the world, and has also broadened my own concepts of self and identity.

            Perhaps the most satisfying development has been that of my language ability. One of the most rewarding experiences is when I learn a phrase or grammar rule while in class and I instantly start to hear it around me or have the opportunity to use it in a necessary situation. It makes the studying relevant, and that’s why studying abroad is so essential to language learning. Learning a new language builds one’s imagination. If I can’t say what I want to from English with my limited knowledge of Japanese, I must somehow explain it using what I do know in Japanese to communicate. In that way, I reinvent concepts that I had previously taken for granted in my native tongue. I am also exposed to and opened up to ideas that don’t even find expression or translation in my native language. They are strictly Japanese, and rooted in its historical, cultural, and social context.  

Japan is beautiful, from its natural scenery to its scattered shrines and temples and the simplicity of traditional Japanese houses. A certain awareness of aesthetics and design is visible in people’s fashion, the layout of stores and display of merchandise, and even the arrangement of a meal. One thing I’ve notice is that everything here seems to be geared toward consuming; new food products, clothing and merchandise, a multitude of different entertainment options – from 24 hour relaxation spaces and host clubs to video games and new manga and anime franchises. Even travel is commodified – the need to take photos in front of important vistas and monuments is an example.

Japanese culture

Excluding the few exceptions that come along with any judgment of a cultural group, I have to say that Japanese people have made an impression upon me as being very warm, attentive, and agreeable.  In America, many times people can feel like you are invading their personal space or privacy, or overstepping your bounds as a stranger if you come up to them to ask them something. Although it seems sometimes as though people here are in their own personal worlds, all it takes is one to first break the ice in order to receive a positive response. For instance, while unsuccessfully trying to find a certain restaurant in Kyoto, my friend and I finally stopped to ask for assistance from a man handing out tissues with advertisements. He kindly put down his box, and helped us for about 5 minutes, looking on the smart phone map and trying to figure out how to direct us, even using a little bit of the English he knew. Although we had interrupted his activities, he was willing to help complete strangers find a place that he had never himself been to.

                Relaxing outside one day, a couple kids walked by us holding a frog and a turtle. I wanted to take a picture, so I called out to them even though they had already walked a distance past us. They returned and showed us the animals, and we had a brief conversation (how old are you, etc); they even let me photograph them. I think that often in America kids might simply ignore a stranger calling out to them, but these Japanese boys were respectful and seemingly content with being interrupted on their way home. Observing the attentiveness of the Japanese towards those around them is obvious when walking into a store or restaurant, but this proves to be the case outside of those settings as well. At Kansai Gaidai one day I was trying to pull my bike out from the masses, and was having trouble, with the bikes next to it almost about to fall. A girl asked if I needed help, and even though I replied “It’s ok”, she still came over and helped me pick up the fallen bikes.

                These are simply a few specific instances of Japanese cooperation that I remember because of the impression they had on me. Part of the reason Japanese society operates so smoothly is because people cooperate with those around them, and are open to helping others. People are hard-working, and seem to possess a unique integrity that comes with others in turn having been honest towards them. It’s hard to imagine being ripped off by a Japanese shop owner, for instance; they do a good job with whatever service they are providing, get it done quickly, and designate a clear and fair price for the customer, and are often friendly all the while. In America, it is a common occurrence for one to be very wary of everything from being overcharged by your orthopedic surgeon to being duped into paying for extraneous or unnecessary repairs by your auto mechanic. I believe that for most Japanese people, the prospect of deceiving or cheating a customer is nearly unthinkable because their integrity prevents it. 

What do Japanese people do?

While I do not seek to generalize the behavior of all Japanese people, I can provide my thoughts on characteristics of Japanese people that stand out to me because of repeated observations of their behavior. As a foreigner living in Japan, these aspects stand out to me mostly because they are different from what I know of my own culture, although they still may be familiar to some degree.  

One thing I have noticed is Japanese people tend to always do things in groups – if you are traveling or eating alone, for instance, most Japanese people are surprised. Because of this dynamic, they are usually good at keeping a conversation going, constantly providing stories as well as feedback to other people who are talking – it is a dynamic that is encompassed in the language as well.

I feel as though Japanese people are also very attentive to people around them, something that can be felt as soon as someone walks into a store or engages with other workers in the service industry. This is also reflected in fashion to a certain extent. A friend told me that since Japanese are constantly observing and comparing themselves to those around them, they are very fashionable. This is also related to the fact that Japan is a very consumer-based society. Every product is competing with others, begging to be bought. For this reason, Japanese are very good at presentation – shop interiors, products, and even food dishes reflect careful attention to design and aesthetics. When I walk into a store or a restaurant, I often really feel like purchasing something, particularly because of the way things are presented in pictures and on shelves.

Japanese people love documenting their activities with their cameras. They also seem to always be connected to their cell phones.  There was one occasion when I was riding the train back from Osaka in the afternoon, and all the seats lining the cabin were occupied with people holding iPhones, with headphones in their ears. I sat down in one of the empty seats. This phenomenon is common in America as well – people seem to use their phones as a way to escape engaging with strangers around them, instead engaging with their own music, photos, and internet identities.  Soon however, an old man in a cast and an old woman boarded the train, and the woman let her husband take the one empty seat. She stood in front of him, trying to maintain her balance, while he held their bags. Nobody nearby looked up because they were all on their phones – many were young people as well. The woman seemed tired so I soon got up and stood even though the train would not arrive at the station for a while. With the seat vacated, the husband gestured for the woman to sit down across from him. The woman gave me an appreciative look and sat down. I was surprised that other young people didn’t give up their seats – after all, the woman had been standing for a while. To me, it seemed that they wanted to have a place to sit down so they could hold their bags in their laps and still be able to use their phones, something that would be more inconvenient were they to stand and have to hold the hand straps.

Portrait of a Japanese Person

Haruna is a Japanese student currently in her second year studying at Kansai Gaidai. Originally from Yamaguchi prefecture, she lives alone in an apartment close by the university, but will soon move to another from where she will have to take the train to school. Right now, she only has three classes a week, so in her free time she cleans, sleeps, hangs out with friends, or Skypes with her friends from the US. On the weekends, she usually works at her part-time job, an izakaya near Hirakata-shi station. She likes the job as it allows her a chance to interact with people and learn how to work in a service situation, since one of her goals is to be a flight attendant on a foreign airline (not Japanese, she specifies). However, some aspects of the job she dislikes are the fact that she must dress up, has to be kind to very drunk old men, and can’t receive tips. One time, she says, a foreigner tried to tip her, but her boss did not allow her to accept it.

Haruna is preparing to study abroad in the US in the fall at Colorado State University. It’s not her first time living in the US, and she is already good at speaking English. When she was 14, she didn’t know English and hated it, so her mom sent her to Seattle for a one-month exchange with a host family. However, she didn’t know what was going on in class, so she just observed people. Two years later, Haruna studied again in the US for a full year – a month in Colorado, and with a host family in Kentucky for the rest of the year. She really enjoyed staying with them – notable experiences including gaining 15 kg from all the American food she ate, being baptized without knowing what was going on, dating a guy from the military, and developing a taste for watching American football and basketball.

Haruna’s hobbies include playing the piano and flute, listening to music and watching movies, shopping, playing tennis and basketball, acting like people from American dramas like 90210, and hiking with her dog. 

Neighborhood Hirakata

I live on the edge of Hirakata, slightly into the Kuzuha neighborhood. It’s about a 25 minute bike ride from school, although I’ve been improving travel time every day, making it further and further up the hills before I stop to walk my bike. Commuting is nice, because it’s a good exercise and an opportunity to observe the local surroundings as I ride by, sequentially stripping off layers to avoid sweating excessively before class. I tried finding my homestay house on Google street view, but was unsuccessful, partially due to the fact that my ride home includes shortcuts through farmland and a nearby park. I like the fact that the scenery includes both rural areas, neighborhoods with houses, as well as local shops and convenience stores.

Passing through the park is nice; this morning was sunny and I saw many people walking their dogs, and a mom playing with her kids and their homemade parachutes fashioned out of string and plastic sheets. My neighborhood is quiet, and hidden away from the traffic of the main streets. The house becomes a lively gathering places on weekends; this past Saturday my host parents managed to squeeze eleven people – relatives and a few ryuugakusee – into the living room to eat curry. 

Sitting in the warm living room and watching television that I can only slightly understand is the perfect way to relax after a long day at school or the next day after a late night out with friends. They have taken me twice to a bath house only a couple minutes away – I was surprised to the extent that the local community gathers here. The entrance room has places where people can sit and read the newspaper or manga, or buy food, snacks, and beverages. Inside the sento itself, there are different places to bathe – cold and hot pools, ones equipped with massage jets, outdoor baths, a steam room and even a sauna with a TV. It could almost be compared to a church or a community center. Every age group is represented, and it seems that the community can regularly come together nakedly and relax together, each person going through the ritual of cleansing and renewing their bodies. 

It didn’t take long for me to become accustomed to living with a host family – from the start they were warm and generous, taking me out to lunch, as well as inviting friends over to eat nabe and celebrate my arrival on the first night at their home. After only a week, I feel like they are family – not a replacement of my mom and dad, of course, but rather another type of family in another country and culture. Even though they are both retired, the house is lively, especially on weekend afternoons; extended family visits regularly, so I can look forward to being entertained by the antics of their toddler grandkids. I’m glad to have been placed with host parents whose lives are joyful and who have relatives who often want to spend time with them. I couldn’t help but think of people I know in the US who are too wrapped up in their own personal lives to deal with their elderly parents and, as a result, send them to a care facility so that strangers will look after them.