“Manga” comics, ancient capital and post-quake Japan

May 25, 2011

“Manga” comics, ancient capital and post-quake Japan

Kyoto, Japan’s capital from the end of the eighth century to the middle of the 19th century, is so deep a city that accommodates very old and modern assets simultaneously. Not a few streets in the city are lined by time-honored national treasure-class buildings, mainly Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. But on the corners of other streets, American-style fast food shops like McDonald’s and new fashion brand boutiques can be found. The coexistence of buildings and items with quite different tastes gives nothing strange to people walking in the ancient capital.
Kyoto International Manga Museum is one of the newest tourist spots in the city, which attracts 4.5 million tourists, including about 500,000 from abroad, a year.
The museum serves as a library, with a collection of approximately 300,000 "manga" comic books published in Japan and foreign countries around the world. Some of them, such as valuable old books, are stored in its archives, but about 50,000 books are available to visitors, who can use the facility with an admission fee of 500 yen. The books, classified into sections for boys, girls and young adults, are kept on the “Walls of Manga” book shelves from the first to third floors. The Japanese books on the shelves include titles translated into foreign languages such as "20th Century Boys" and "Slam Dunk." Most of the books "have been donated by publishing companies or readers from around the world, but we sometimes buy important titles by ourselves," a museum official said.
The building which houses the museum is on a site formerly occupied by a closed elementary school. This gives the facility an educational element as part of its purposes, specifically research and studies of the manga-related activities and dissemination of related knowledge and information.
Visitors can read whichever book they want in a relaxed atmosphere, when it is sunny, on the lawn just in front of the building. The rooms inside the museum include a children’s library, where kids accompanied by mothers, sometimes students and other young visitors, can read books while lying on the mat.
Why does Japan’ s traditional cultural center host a facility aimed at spreading a new Japanese pop culture? This may be a frequently asked question about the museum, which calls itself MM. The museum was opened in November 2006, at a time when Japan’s manga comics began to be internationally known. Kyoto had already had a tradition of cartoon works dating back to the Heian period about 10 centuries ago. But another probable reason is that Kyoto has been a place which has an enterprising spirit. As Japan’ s capital city, Kyoto sometimes played a pioneering role in cultivating Japan’s culture and tradition. This is apparently one of the factors behind the project, engineered by a local private college, to establish Japan’s first comprehensive manga museum in the city.
Japan's economy is inevitably expected to enter a period of low, or minus, growth in the years to come following the unprecedented devastating earthquake and tsunami tidal waves of March 11, which have left nearly 25,000 people killed or missing mainly in northeastern Japan. The manga culture and MM are expected to be an important asset which demonstrates a new face of Japan’s unique pop cultures, not its economic strength, to the world from now on.

New Challenge Emerges for Tokyo to Be Less Power-Hungry City after Disastrous Quake

April 29, 2011

New Challenge Emerges for Tokyo to Be Less Power-Hungry City after Disastrous Quake

Tokyo is becoming a hard place for the physically weak for their activities with electrically driven systems like escalators stopped at railway stations and other public facilities amid fears of power shortage toward this summer.
JR Hamamatsucho Station on Tokyo’s Yamanote loop line is not an exception to this phenomenon. The station, which handles about 150,000 passengers a day, is a main gateway to Tokyo International Airport at Haneda from the heart of the capital.
The partial suspension of power-using systems at railway stations, shopping mails and other major places is part of a campaign to reduce the consumption of electricity in the greater Tokyo area. Power supply to the area is covered by Tokyo Electric Power Co., or Toden. But its No. 1 Fukushima nuclear plant has been seriously damaged by the devastating earthquake and the ensuing killer tsunami waves of March 11, causing an extensive power shortage in Tokyo and neighboring areas.
Upon arrival at Hamamatsucho, passengers go straight to the exit or the gate for the airport-bound monorail train service through stairways without giving a glance at the escalators. Most passengers are getting accustomed with the inconvenience, but it is a hard work for elderly people to use stairways. Elevators are available at some platforms, but they have to walk up there.
Consumers in the greater Tokyo area also had to accept rolling blackouts from early morning to evening in a few weeks after the disaster. This was explained by Toden as a measure to avoid a sudden blackout.
Power consumption in the Tokyo area climbs to peak levels every summer because of the use of air conditioners. Toden could weather the power shortage just after the disaster, but major power users, including railway operators, and consumers have been asked to continue to reduce their electricity use toward summer.
Energy-saving campaigns had been launched every summer in recent years in an effort to reduce CO2 emissions to prevent the global warming from worsening further, but they were not necessarily successful. The current situation is very serious for power users in Tokyo, commercial or noncommercial, but this is a good opportunity for consumers to seriously think about how to reduce their use of electricity and to this end, how to change their lifestyle, experts say.
Nuclear power generation has been supported as a clean energy source in the recent decades, but the latest mishap is expected to trigger a serious debate about the advisability of continuing Japan’s existing nuclear power policy. Japan must make redoubled efforts to increase the use of even cleaner, recyclable energy sources, especially solar energy, and eventually make itself a less power-hungry society, experts say.
A new hard challenge has been posed for people in Tokyo and many other parts of Japan. Economic growth is expected to be sacrificed in the next few years, but Japan should overcome this challenge and reemerge as a less power-hungry, more environmentally friendly economy in the future.

Japan Out to Share Sorrows with Quake-Hit People

March 28, 2011

Japan Out to Share Sorrows with Quake-Hit People

Japanese people make it a custom to go out and enjoy cherry blossoms toward the end of March, but the atmosphere is quite different this year. The arrival of spring was late and to be much worse, a devastating earthquake and ensuing killer tsunami waves hit the northeastern part of the Japanese archipelago on March 11, leaving more than 20,000 people dead and missing.

Japanese from various walks of life are out to share the sorrows and grievances of the people affected by the unprecedented natural disaster. The earthquake, measuring a staggering 9.0 on the magnitude scale, jolted widely scattered areas on the Pacific coasts from the Tohoku to the northern Kanto regions. The tsunami waves washed away and flattened not a small number of villages and towns.

Japanese tend to dislike openly showing their feelings, such as sadness and hardships, even in disastrous situations. This is different from, for example, Koreans and Chinese, though they are also Asians. Japanese also think patience is a virtue. People in the Tohoku region are said to be even more patient than in other areas. This is attributed in part to the cold climate in the area. But this time, the affected people, including more than 200,000 people evacuated to shelters, are urged not to be excessively patient about their hardships. “Maybe, it will take five years or 10 years to rehabilitate the affected areas. We have to strive right now to keep the lives of those who survived the disaster while closely following their needs,” a disaster volunteer leader says. “We talk to people at shelters ‘Is there any problem with you?’ or ‘What can I do for you’ but this is not effective. They do not easily open their minds to us.” “’Don’t you know somebody who is in trouble around here?’ This is effective. This can draw words for help from them, letting them say ‘We are in trouble,’” he says.

Commentator Eriko Zanma knows very well about the nature of people in the Tohoku region, because she grew up there. “Please not be so patient this time. Please depend on us this time. Many Japanese are standing up to help you,” she said in a message column in the vernacular daily Asahi.

Cornering is reported in some regions. Some shops are said to be capitalizing on the mishap to increase prices, while thefts have increased in part of the affected areas, prompting local officials to ask the neighboring communities to help maintain law and order. But calmness is generally maintained among people in the affected areas. TV and radio programs and many publications are filled with messages to encourage the affected people and express willingness to help them, not just from celebrities but also from ordinary people.

To be more encouraging, more than 130 countries around the world have offered to help the affected Japanese people. This has come as a surprise to many Japanese, because they have understood Japan is known as a major economic power to foreign countries but they have little interest in Japanese people’s life.

Rehabilitation projects in the affected areas should be carried out over many years. This is expected to be a major task for the young generation in this small but persevering nation.

Bean-scattering party celebrates arrival of spring in Japan

Feb. 8, 2011

Bean-scattering party celebrates arrival of spring in Japan

The third day of February is a “setsubun” season-dividing day in Japan, which heralds the beginning of spring. The setsubun day is a pleasure for Japanese people not only because it ushers in spring after cold weather but also because they can obtain lucky beans in bean-scattering parties at Buddhist temples and shrines across the country.
Yugyoji, the main temple of the Jishu Buddhist sect in Fujisawa, southwest of Yokohama, attracted hundreds of worshipers for its bean-scattering party, preceded by the setsubun ritual performed by dozens of priests led by the Rev. Taa Shinen, the Jishu head priest. Bean scatterers, including the priests, climbed on a makeshift stage set up on the premises of the temple and threw small bags containing “fukumame” soybeans toward the worshipers, while shouting “Good luck in, devils out.”
“I will turn 92 this year, but I am in the best of health. We wish you happy days this year,” the Rev. Shinen, clad in long brown robes, told them.
“When you took many bags, please share them with other people, because that is mutual help,” a priest said. But when the bean-throwing party started, people around the stage scrambled to catch the beans, some of them spreading their hats and other belongings. Some of the bags contained gift certificates.
People on the stage included those chosen for the ceremony from among men and women who were born in the years of rabbit, this year’s sign of the zodiac in Chinese astrology. These “fukuotoko” men and “fukuonna” women are believed to bring about good luck for the year.
The gifts were provided by more than 20 sponsors, mainly local businesses and shop operators. Top prizes included three bicycles, and one of the bikes went to a woman in her 50s. As she was waiting to receive the prize, an onlooker said, “It’s great, isn’t it?” The woman smiled, and a sexton rang a bell in celebration. Her smile and the bell spread a happy atmosphere among people on the premises of the temple, surrounded by blooming red and white “ume” apricot trees.

Recycling revisited as a long-maintained custom in Japan

Jan.　22, 2011

Recycling revisited as a long-maintained custom in Japan


Recycling campaigns have spread to various areas of Japan as Japanese people are becoming aware of the importance of preserving the environment, but this is not a new trend in Japan.
A flea market in Setagaya in the western part of Tokyo has a history of more than 400 years, dating back to the 16th century. The Setagaya Boroichi rummage sale, held twice a year, has become so popular that it has been designated as an “intangible folk cultural asset” by the Tokyo metropolitan government.
Setagaya was a castle town when the predecessor of Boroichi started at a “rakuichi” tax-free area established by a warlord who ruled the region. The town was always thronged with shoppers, travelers and other people, but the Setagaya Castle was destroyed later and the town lost its prosperity.
The tax-free market changed to a year-end fair only for local farmers. But the custom was maintained by local people, in a less brilliant manner, throughout the Edo era.
The current Boroichi market is organized mainly by an association of local shop owners for two days in the middle of January and in the middle of December. On the first day of sale this year, which fell on a weekend, many people flocked to the Boroichi shopping street, which is less than one kilometer long. The street almost looked like a jam-packed train. “How many today’s turnout is? We have no idea at all,” said an old man at a staff’s office. “Maybe, between 40,000 to 50,000 and 200,000. That’s all we have to say,” he said smilingly.
The street was lined by about 700 roadside stands. Most of them were miscellaneous goods and curio dealers, but ordinary people were also seen displaying their items, mainly old clothes and toys and secondhand tools. A curio dealer said, “We open exactly at this place every year, and customers come and see us every year.”
The Edo era, which was ruled by the Tokugawa shogun government, has been generally believed to be a dark feudal society, but the idea has come to be challenged by some historians, who argue the era was rather a vivid period with people having fun in various ways and living their life in a manner which was friendlier to the environment. One of unique businesses in the Edo era involved paper collection as paper was a precious item at that time. Paper collectors bought scraps of paper and made paper again for sale. Secondhand stores were also seen in every town. These may be indications that the Edo era was a recycling-oriented society with amounts of waste reduced as much as possible.
In today’s Japan, almost all municipalities urge residents to separate combustibles and others in garbage collection services. Some of them are even more precise, separately collecting wastes which are recyclable as resources, such as steel and aluminum cans, plastic bottles and cardboards.
Recycling is becoming an important business in a new dimension for Japan as a resources-poor country. Business concerns are eager to find a more effective means of recycling rare metals used as components in cellular phones and other electronic tools.
Japanese know very well that any resources are not inexhaustible. Flea markets, including Boroichi in Setagaya, are expected to be even more popular in an environment-conscious atmosphere in the years ahead.

Season's Greetings from a Classical Japanese Poem Lover

Dec. 25, 2010

Season's Greetings

from a classical Japanese poem lover

with

photos of
the four seasons of Yokohama (from the top):

people at a bus stop near Yokohama Stadium
children and flowering cherry trees at Motomachi Park
a pleasure boat and cherry blossoms on Ohoka River
people strolling on Bashamichi Street
a tunnel under Yamate Dori Avenue
an illuminated sign at entrance to Motomachi Street
girls on their way home from school at Mimato-Mirai area
a mother and a little girl at Yokohama Museum of Art Square
a couple at Yokohama Bayside Park

a dog and Christmas decorations at a shop on Motomachi Street
a boy and a mother in front of a florist at Yokohama Station Square
Christmas illuminations at Red Brick Warehouse Square

Rabbit hoped to help Japan out of economic slump in 2011

Dec. 22, 2010

Rabbit hoped to help Japan out of economic slump in 2011

As 2011 is the year of rabbit in Chinese astrology, rabbit-related items are on display at various kinds of shops in Japan with about a week left before the turn of the year. Sitting side by side with Christmas decorations, rabbit dolls at a traditional ceramic ware shop in Fujisawa, south of Yokohama, were helping to attract customers while smiling at them.
At the beginning of this year of tiger, Japanese people and policymakers hoped to see the economy pull out of the long slump sometime this year, but this has not been realized. A gap between the haves and the have-nots has become wider, and the unemployment rate is yet to be improved. The situation remains especially hard for job-searching young people, including those graduating from universities next spring.
Rabbits are quieter but they are believed to be emotionally strong. So, Japanese are hoping that the forthcoming year of rabbit will be a year of a big jump out of the doldrums.
At some zoological parks in Japan, events have been held for the transition of the animal of the year from tiger to rabbit, with breeders disguising themselves as the animals or the real animals playing their roles.

Rabbit! Rabbit! What makes you jump up?
The full moon up there makes me jump up.
(A personal translation)

This is an old children’s song, the song which was sung by little girls when they play with a ball.
Japanese consumers are getting tired of practicing strict economy, shopping trend watchers say. They are sometimes ready to loosen their purse string in a “petite extravagancy” mood. But it is far from certain whether the nascent sign of recovery will spread through the economy and dispel the suffocative mood in society in the coming year.

An author's note: Followoing is the melody of the children's song "Usagi (rabbit)" : EEEABABx/EEEABABx/ABCCBaaFE/AFEEFEDDE (Usagi usagi/Nani-mite-haneru/Jugoya- otsuki-sama/Mite-haneru.