Japan:
My last post on Japan focused on the relationship Japan had with China. This time, I
would like to focus just on the Japanese culture itself. When we think of Japan, one
of two images comes to mind: modern Japan and classical Japan. Both of these are
often portrayed in TV and movies. In M*A*S*H the soldiers often go to Tokyo, where
they are occasionally seen at bath houses. In the TV show “Heroes”, we see Hero come
from a very modern Japan and go back in time to historic Japan. In the movie, “Fast
and Furious: Tokyo Drift” we only see modern Japan, with its heavy traffic, wonderful
fashions, and ultra modern buildings. Indeed, media does a good job of conveying the
Japanese culture.
Movie:
One of my favorite movies about Japan is “Memoirs of a Geisha”. The movie starts
before the onset of World War II and ends after the war. The story line itself follows
Chiyo, who is taken from her fishing village as a girl and finds herself in the world of
the Geisha. It follows her rise to becoming a well respected Geisha, and the roadblocks
along the way.
Throughout the movie we see what Japan must have been like in the early 20th
We see typical forms of Japanese entertainment: Sports, theater, and dining. We also
see the difference between a Geisha and a prostitute, and how vastly different the
lifestyles of people in these two professions are. Finally we see the hardships of life in
Japan just after World War II, and how the war changed the lives of people like those in
Chiyo’s life.
Book:
With the help of the U.S. Japan was able to overcome adversary and become a modern
nation. In the 1980’s Japan already had a modern infrastructure including a modern
highway system. One of my favorite Japanese books that shows this is IQ84. The heroine
of this book is Aomame (not to be confused with Edamame, an assassin focused on
ridding Japan of the abuse of women. She finds herself in a parallel universe that is
similar to her own, but that has some significant differences. The year is 1984, but she
acknowledges the differences between her world and the new world she finds herself in
by calling the year, IQ84. She spends the entirety of the book trying to get back to 1984.
She can tell the difference in the two worlds by IQ84’s double moons. She not only has
to get out herself, she also is tasks with helping other people, including a man that she
knew back in school, Tengo. Because there are differences between the two worlds, she
finds that she cannot trust her own knowledge of Japanese events.
IQ84 is entertaining and imaginative. The book itself was written in three volumes, and
was written in Japanese and later translated into English. The characters are rich, and
you cannot help wanting to know what comes next in the book.
Sports:
With the winter Olympics fast approaching, this is an exciting time to follow the
happenings of other countries. When we think of Japan, we normally do not think
“figure skating”, yet Japan has some of the top female figure skaters lined up to
participate in the 2014 Winter Olympics. Top Japanese contenders include: Mao Asada,
Akiko Suzuki, and Kanako Murakami, and Narumi Takahashi.
I got to sit down and watch Takahashi perform. She was elegant with no points taken off
for technicalities. She is the shortest member of the Japanese team, so she needs more
power to perform some of her moves.
Food:
I decided to go easy on making my life easier when it came to food. Instead of making
dishes from scratch, like I normally do, I went and bought pre-made food. I steamed
edamame, California roll made with brown rice, and miso soup. I also had warm sake, a
traditional Japanese rice wine.
Work Cited:
Lin, Justin. “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift”. Released: 2006.
Martel, Rob. “Memoirs of a Geisha”. Released: 2005.
Murkami, Haruki. IQ84. Published: 2009.
Yee, Lawrence. “Olympic figure skating preview: 10 ladies to watch”. 27 January 2014.
sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved: February 2, 2014.
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