Reflections

My assignment at Sacred Heart did not take long.  I basically was signing off accreditation papers with a member of the Japanese Ministry of Education and Sacred Heart administration present.  Now the school is officially accredited with the United States.  The school has been accredited for years, they were in a renewal phase. I had my camera and forgot to take pictures.  The school has a website http://www.issh.ac.jp/ for those of you interested.  By mid-morning I was back to running errands.

The Ginza

 Ginza in Japanese means "silver place", and the area got this name because there used to be a mint here.  There is a street called Ginza, but the name refers to the area as a whole.   This area was the first part of Tokyo to have electricity, western-style buildings, and sidewalks. The reputation of the area is similar to Rodeo Drive or Fifth Avenue, top shopping with a snobbish aspect, like the Hermes store.  There is a huge Gap store, along with other US imports.  However, there are no American department stores here, like Macy's, Dillards or Nordstrom.  The Japanese can do very well for themselves in that area, and the first department stores in Japan were built, and still exist, in this area.



The main shopping street in the Ginza - looks like your average big city street.  But it is not.




Buddhist monk asking for alms.  I always wait to have a Japanese person approach first so I know what to do.  I waited and waited and not one person went up to him.  I felt bad for him.

 My goal was to get to the eight-story Itoya office supply store for the cool little plastic folders they have in different colors that I can't find stateside.  (I need to show these to Staples and see if they can make them, because I can't afford to come to Japan for office supplies!)

Harajuku

My next stop would be Omote-sando street in the Harajuku area.  This is where the Oriental Bazaar is, a place with the finest of souvenirs - even the Japanese shop there! My friend Suzzie, who does my nails, collects shot glasses - an interesting hobby for someone who doesn't drink!  I barter shot glasses from my travels for nail appointments.  We are both happy with this arrangement.  Despite all the drinking that goes on in Japan, I could not find shot glasses, but I did get her some sake cups, which are about the same size.  I also was looking for one nice piece of china for my sister to break for her art projects.  And, my mother has a mug collection.

Harajuku is also known for the teenagers who come down on the weekends and hang out wearing the most outlandish, Halloweenie, of Disney-esque outfits.  Since all Japanese students wear uniforms to school (the group), it seems that coming down to one area of town wearing wacky outfits shouldn't be a big deal.  Singer Gwen Steffani saw these kids and liked what she saw.  She now has a group of back-up singers known as the Harajuku Girls.

There is a darker side to all of this.  Even though the group mentality exists, teenagers will be teenagers, and cliques do form.  For many of the kids, coming to Harajuku is a way of finding a tribe to belong to.  They don't belong with any group at school, so they might as well find someone who is also on the outside looking in.

Not being a weekend, there were no kids to photograph, and some will pose for and with you!  Google Harajuku and you should get an idea.

Back to Hiro-o

This evening, I had planned on attending the Tokyo LDS temple, which I have been to numerous times before.  Surrounded by embassies, and with a beautiful park across the street, and Baskin & Robbins two blocks away, this is a nice neighborhood.

How much the LDS church paid for this peace of heaven, I have no clue - or when they did it.  The temple was built in the '70s.  I do know that ten years ago, the church paid a few MILLION  dollars for the small plot of land that would become home to the first LDS chapel in Yokohama.  Prior to this, we were commuting to Kawasaki, a city between Tokyo and Yokohama.

Across from the temple is a lovely park, with a name that is very long.  It starts with an A.  Surrounding the temple are various embassies, like Norway, Switzerland, and some building belonging to the People's Republic of China - it is right in back of the the temple.  I am not sure if it is the embassy, and with all the security cameras around this area, I wasn't about to take pictures of embassies.



This turtle and I had a staring contest!  I think he was waiting for me to drop some food.





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The Japanese take their green space seriously.

 The following are detail of the Tokyo LDS Temple.



Angel Moroni towering over the park.



Tokyo?  I can only make out the top word.





I have no idea what this says.  It is in the temple garden.



The Return

It has been ten years since I was last in Japan.  I am staying in the Hiroo section of Tokyo, within walking distance of the school I am auditing, the LDS Tokyo Temple, and several embassies.

I got here early in the morning, dropped off the lugguge, and headed out while the overcast weather was still good.  Japanese that I hadn't used in ten years started to return.  I had been concerned about trying to do things, like buying subway tickets.  But it all came back. What a relief!

Old friends, like the Family Mart convenience store, made an appearance. I was able to get some juice and water.

I had a list of things I wanted to accomplish as this was my one completely free day. First up was the Asakusa /uh SOX ah/ section of town where the Senso-ji Buddhist temple is, and where I was picking up a few gifts. There was a small shop where geta were sold. Geta are to Japan what wooden shoes are to the Netherlands. Soles can be put on geta, and they make nice sandals. Here are some more extreme examples of geta:

This next pair was high on a shelf.  I looked at them and said in Japanese "Oh look! Lady Gaga Geta!" The two people working in the store got a good laugh!




Lady Gaga Geta

 

 Next on the list was to go to Asakusa-bashi to go bead shopping.  My favorite bead shop is in Yokohama, and I am not going to be able to get there.  I did find a new store with a definate hippy feel.  It was an awesome store.  The clerks let me take a picture, but they wouldn't be in it.




Hippy Bead Store

 

 I then made every effort to get to an office supply store for these file folders.  I was so tired, and I ended up by the Sony Building looking at their outdoor aquarium.  I had had enough.  Time to go back to the hotel.  I hope to find some time tomorrow to get those folders. They don,t have these type in the states.  Enjoy the pictures.

Senso-ji Temple Complex




This is a torii - a gate into a Shinto shrine

 



Prayers are written on wooden tablets or pieces of paper.

 




Calligrapher writing in a temple book. 

 




Jizo kamidana for miscarried or aborted babies.

 




Jizo for dead pets 

 

Us vs. Them

The natives of Japan, the Japanese, are very convinced that they are different from everyone else, as in other nations.  For many centuries, foreigners were not allowed into Japan. There was, and still is in some areas, a real xenophobic concern about outsiders.  Inhabitants of  non-Japanese origin crept over 1% in 1993!  The vast majority of these are Korean.  It wasn't until 1858 that foreign trade was opened in the port of Yokohama.  The first cemetery for foreigners was built in Yokohama to keep them away from the Japanese dead.  I've been to this cemetery, and it is lovely. I don't recall any Japanese being buried there.  

The Group

In Japanese culture, the group is more important than the individual. This is the opposite of American culture.  Workers who spend many hours at work are giving priority to giri - social obligations over ninjo- human feelings.  I know Japanese families who haved lived abroad and have gotten used to having a lot of family time.  Then they moved back to Japan, and were obligated to giri.  The families of two former students of mine returned to the United States for family time.  One family applied for American citizenship - which, I'm sure, caused sorrow for the family members back in Japan.  Individual concerns do have a place in Japanese culture, but it is not as defining as being in a group. The group importance is part of the code set down by Confucius and imported into Japan.

To this end, the Japanese love to join clubs and associations.  They take group responsibilities very seriously.

Them

 To a Japanese, I am a gaikokujin (outside country person), or gaijin (outside person). Away from the big cities it is not unusual to hear whispers of gaijin da (It's a foreigner!)  The Japanese are, for the most part, very courteous to foreigners.  Many long term foreign residents feel that they should be treated on level with a native Japanese.  This does not always happen.  I know some  Americans who have lived for 20+ years in Japan that feel a bit irritated that they are treated as outsiders.  Hmm...seems to me that we do the same to people who are foreign born and have lived in America for a few decades! (Unless they are white foreign born - I'm just saying)


Minorities

In America, we celebrate our cultural heritage.  In Japan......need to be part of the group.  Koreans, especially those born in Japan, an who only speak Japanese have only recently been released from the obligation to carry thumb-printed ID cards at all times.  Koreans still face discrimination in the work place and in other aspects of their daily lives.  It is not unusual for Koreans to change their surnames to Japanese surnames - similar to how American immigrants had to change names, or pronunciations.

Two minorities that have faced persecution are the Burakumin and the Ainu.  The Burakumin are racially the same as the Japanese, but social outcasts because they belonged to communities that brought them in contact with death, which is considered a contamination and taboo in both Shinto and Buddhism.  There are about three million hereditary Burakumin in Japan today.  It is common knowledge that a person's possible Burakumin origin in available to anyone - usually employers and future father-in-laws.  It is not polite to bring up this subject in polite conversation.

The Ainu are the indigenous population of Japan, and mostly live on reservations on the northern island of Hokkaido.  It is thought that there are fewer than 500 pure-blooded Ainu left with intermarriage.  They do have their own  spoken language, but no written language.  When a language dies, so does a culture.  They have made an effort to rekindle pride in their culture.

Men and Women

It used to be that the role of women was to be passive, and to let men dominate.  This also came from the Confucius codes.  However that is not so much the case in today's Japan. Still, there are situations that need to be fixed. When Crown Prince Naruhito married commoner Masako Owado, people felt sorry for her having to give up her career- her father is a well-known diplomat. This was a marriage of love.  Then, Crown Princess Masako had to endure constant baby watchers.  The couple finally had a daughter, Aiko.  Princess Aiko is not allowed to inherit the throne under current law.  Her male cousin, and the first boy to be born to the royal family in 41 years will inherit the throne.  Legislation was written to allow women to inherit the throne - there have been  empresses in control of Japan - however the legislation died.  Perhaps Aiko's parents want her to have a few more choices.

A Peek into Japanese Culture

There are numerous Japanese films that can be found in the USA.  My favorites are Shall We Dance about a man who takes upballroom dancing.  Don't confuse this with the American counterpart with the same name and plot. (which is lame) What makes this movie work is that the main character is going against the group.  Another excellent movie is The Cellist.  This deals with the contamination of death.  It is a sweet movie with some comedic moments.  Both movies have English subtitles.

Japanese Religion

Japan has a fascinating religious history, and the current practices are equally intriguing. Religions in Japan are not exclusive of each other.  Often, a person will adhere to several beliefs at once.

The Main Religions of Japan (A very mini course)

Shinto -The word "shinto" means "way of the Gods", and this is the indigenous religion of Japan. There is no founder, and does not have a cannon.  It isn't a religion in the sense that a person cannot convert to it.  This is a "religion" that grew out of an awe of nature, like the sun, water, trees, even sounds. All of these manifestations are felt to have their own god called a Kami. Shrines were/are erected on sacred nature spots.  It is important to purify oneself before entering a Shinto shrine.  The myths of the origin of Japan are part of Shintoism. Until 1945, Shinto belief dictated that the emperor was a kami, or divine being. When Emperor Hirohito surrendered Japan in WWII, he also stunned his subjects by renouncing any claim to being a divine being.  I think this must have been a relief to finally say this publically. As a child, Hirohito was nearsided, and had to wear glasses.  His handlers would not let him wear glasses in public because he was supposed to be divine, and therefore perfect.
Shintoism has many rites and festivals.  My favorite is the retirement of used pins and needles!  I am not kidding!  I actually went to this festival. Almost all weddings take place in Shinto temples, while funerals are almost always Buddhist. (An excellent Japanese move, The Cellist, deals with how modern Japanese view death.  It is a wonderful movie with English subtitles.)

Here is a bride getting ready for her wedding at the Meiji Jingu Shinto shrine in Tokyo.  The white robe is worn to keep her wedding kimono clean.  To get this picture, I had to get a bit sneaky, as most of the public does not see this.

Here a couple have completed their wedding vows by taking a vow before the kami, in this case the late emporer Meiji, and his wife Shokan.  He died in 1912, and she in 1914.  Their souls were enshrined in the first Meiji Jinju in 1920.  The original shrine was destroyed in WWII.  The present shrine was built in the 1950s.

Buddhism - The founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama, was born around 563 B.C. at Lumbini on the border of Nepal and India.  A prince, he left his wife and new baby to follow a holy man.  He studied under many holy men, but found himself wanting.  Finally he decided to follow his own path to enlightenment.  For 49 days he sat crosslegged under a Bodhi tree and went into deep meditation.  On the 49th/50th day he became "the enlightened one" or "awakened one". Buddha means enlightened/awakened.  Buddha did not claim to be a god, and he was clear to his disciples that he was not the only enlightened being. Like Christianity, there are various sects to Buddhism.  Unlike Christianity, Buddhism does not have a central text similar to the Bible. Buddhism was introduced to Japan in the 6th century.

The Buddha in Aomori, Japan.  Aomori is a town in the north of Honshu Island, the largest of the Japanese islands.  My friend, Krista, who lived nearby at Misawa Air Base, and I went to visit this beautiful Buddhist complex.

Built in 1252, this giant Buddha is located in Kamakura, Japan, about 40 miles south of Tokyo.  You can walk inside the giant Buddha.

Krista and I found this smiling Buddha at the shop of a headstone maker.  It was Sunday, and the shop was closed.  We didn't think the owner would mind.  This could also be Hotei the God of Happiness.  He fits the description, but since we found him at the headstone carver's shop.......... 

Combining the Two - Most Japanese homes have two altars: a Shinto kamidana, shelf shrine, and a Buddhist butsudan, Buddha stand.  Often Shinto kami have been transformed into Buddhist Bodhisattvas (enlightened beings).  The assimilation of the two religions is complex, and one I can only try to guess at. 

This is a Jizo. Jizo is the patron kami to travellers, children, and expecting mothers. The red bib helps to cover the souls of dead children. Jizo helps the dead children perform their task of building walls of rocks on the banks of Sai-n0-kawara, the river of the underworld.  Believers place stones at the Jizo statues as additional help.

A cemetery near Aomori, Japan.  They have Buddhist altars.

This kamidana, according to my friend Tomoko, is for women wanting to find husbands.  So, the women leave offerings for the kami associated with love. 

Confucianism- While not a true religion, but more of a code of ethics, Confucianism entered Japan via Korea in the 5th century. The code of ethics handed down through the centuries has a direct influence on absolute loyalty (the Bushido Code of the samurai), the extreme loyalty to the emperor during WWII, the low status of women, although this is changing, and the concept of the group being more important than the individual.

Christianity - Portugese missionaries introduced Christianity in 1549.  By 1587 it was banned, and 26 Christians were crucified in Nagasaki in 1597.  All missionaries were expelled by 1614, and Japan pretty much insolated itself from the world until the 1800s.  A small number of Christian converts kept themselves alive as a kind of "backroom Buddhism".  Since there were so many Buddhist sects, why not add one more!  Japanese Christians kept faith with the Holy Virgin by creating a Buddhist diety called Maria Kannon.  Christianity never really caught on, and only about a million or so Japanese consider themselves Christian.

In most Shinto and Buddhist shrines, priest will do calligraphy in shrine books.  I have one, and have a few pages in Japanese calligraphy.  Then I moved back to Utah.  I now use this as my LDS temple book, and have pictures of the various temples in it.

Remember this is a blog, and not a dissertation.  I hope you are all clear on the above, because I am still confused!

Return to the Land of the Rising Sun

From August 2000 to July 2001, I lived and worked in Yokohama, Japan, a city about 20 miles south of Tokyo.  I liked Japan, but unlike many others, I never really fell in love with this country.
In my younger days I had always wanted to live in, or at least visit, Switzerland.  While living in NYC, I mentioned this to a group of women at my church, and one of them responded "Oh, how antiseptic of you!"  She thought there were more exciting places than Switzerland.  I was a little miffed with this remark.  To this day my only visit to Switzerland has been a three hour layover in the Zurch airport - no time to actually leave the airport.

However, after living in Cairo, Egypt for six months. I started to understand that stinging remark, and how the sting had left.  Cairo was (and is) huge, gritty with sand, farm animals in the most unlikely places, and I loved it!  The teachers at my school always had a bet going on concerning the new teachers, on who would bolt out of their contract at Christmas break.  Living in a foreign country is not easy, especially, a third world country (which sorta harbors terrorists).  A lot of teachers lost money when I returned the following January.  I was the number one person on their list of people who would bolt!  I was hurt.  But, I did get some not so secret satisfaction in knowing that these co-workers had lost money!  I would fly down to Luxor, another city in Egypt, every other month on my own just to go alabaster shopping!  What part of flying off on your own in a Muslim country on a regular basis says "This girl is going to bolt!"?

Teaching in international schools abroad - a person either loves it or hates it.  Most love it, and go to fairs to get jobs in other countries.  This was how I landed teaching jobs in Turkey and Japan.

My job in Japan was not what I was hoping for.  There was contention at my school, the elementary principal was the closest thing to a facsist that I will ever know, and I just didn't seem to fit.  Oh, I made lots of friends, and did a lot of fun stuff. It is a beautiful country.  But deep down,  I missed the chaos and grit of the Middle East.  Japan was just to tame and pristine for me.  Go figure!

When I returned to Utah from Japan, I was not sorry to come home.  I did not think I would ever see Japan again.  Not even the Delta  double skymiles from L.A. to Tokyo shortly after the earthquakes, tempted me - okay I was tempted for about a nano second.  Then, I got a letter from the Western Association of Accreditation, asking me to go to Japan to do the final sign off for one of the international schools.  My airfare and hotel would be paid for, and which airline did I prefer!  Hmm... I would earn about 22,000 mqm frequent flyer miles, and I would do it for free.  The school I would be visiting was Sacred Heart, a girls' Catholic school in a lovely section of Tokyo, not far from Haneda airport, and the Tokyo LDS temple.  If I had any downtime, I could go to the bead district to my favorite bead stores!  OKAY!  I will go back to humid Japan!  It would be less than a week.

This will be a very short trip, and I do not know what my exact schedule will be and what I will be able to get pictures of.  So, this time around, the blog will start before I go.  Some of the pictures were taken ten years ago when I lived in Japan.   However, for the second time in my life, I will have flown across two oceans in one year.

Kimonos

Kimonos are the national dress for women in Japan.  Few westerners know how difficult is is to get dressed in one.  The following pictures were taken of me being dressed in a kimono for a church photo.  I actually own my kimono, which I got at a thrift shop - yep, they have kimono thrift shops.  New kimonos of the finest quality cost thousands of dollars!  My friend, Jo, a native Japanese, took me to a few shops and helped me find a kimono to fit.  I think she had more fun than I did!

Pictures of me wearing a kimono were taken ten years ago for a church group picture.  They are part of my scrapbook now, and I cannot remove them from the washi paper they are adherd to.  So, I have placed them on facebook.