Japanese names (Real ones)

This morning it's test day at work, so I have been hunting out interesting reading materials in the meantime.

This trio of articles from The Japan Times cover some of the interesting history of names in Japan.

What's in a (Japanese) name? This article touches on the naming conventions of the pre-modern era as well as the taboo/'neuroses' surrounding personal names in that era.

The long road to identity This article details the origins of some of the most common names in Japan, such as 'Tanaka' (in the rice field). Of the three articles, I recommend this one the most.

Fake names were to the fore in many a rise from humblest to highest This article describes how people in Japan, in particular Toyotomi Hideyoshi, changed their names in a reflection of their rising status.

Tangentially related, I found this editorial by activist and naturalized Amerian-born Japanese citizen Debito Arudou about the case of the international custody dispute between a divorced Japanese woman and American man. The article's brief summary:

After a couple divorced in America, ex-wife Noriko Savoie absconded with their children to Japan. Then ex-husband Christopher, who had been awarded custody in the U.S., came to Japan to take the kids back. On Sept. 28 he tried to get the children into the American Consulate in Fukuoka, but was barred entry and arrested by the Japanese police for kidnapping.

But what really shocked me about the article was the fact that in Japan, even for a divorced Japanese couple, there is no way to have joint custody of children. A child can only legally be connected to one family, so when the family splits into two, they are no longer connected to one parent by law... Many children in divorced families lose contact with one parent (usually dad) until adulthood, or forever.

I guess if the father wants to lose all contact with their children, it works out for them. But in cases where the non-custodial parent would want to be a part of their children's lives, there is no legal recourse for them if the custodial parent refuses to capitulate.

空気を読めるように Learning to 'read the air'

I was reading this column, Cultural Conundrums: Can you guess when to guess?, and it made me think of an incident that happened, oh, yesterday.

The column covers the idea of omoiyari, something akin to empathy, which in Japan means you guess or assert knowledge over what another person is thinking, and act according to that assumption. The column further states that this is seen in Japan as 'good' but in the US and many other places would be considered 'arrogant.'

Last week, the school nurse passed out some papers for ordering lunch for the coming sports day this Saturday. She also had some pictures of the food that was being offered. I looked at all of this, decided it was not for me. She brought it up briefly every morning in the meeting, I listened quietly and reaffirmed internally that I would bring my own lunch and save money and eat healthier.

Fast-forward to Monday. I had elementary classes all day, but stopped by the junior high to print something out from my computer for my teacher. As I was leaving, I saw the school nurse in the hall. She greeted me, and I greeted her back. Then she brought up the lunch thing. Uh-oh. I actually had this happen last year at my other school's sports day (in which I was subjected to the eating of two cold hamburgers with cheese on them) and could tell I had made an error this year as well. She told me that since I hadn't ordered anything, and she was worried I wouldn't have any food, she had ordered me a hamburger.

Augh! Frustration hit me (self-directed, at my failure to behave appropriately to avoid this misunderstanding), since the last thing I wanted was another cold hamburger. I quickly stated that I had planned to bring my own lunch, but if there was nothing that could be done about it... The nurse cut me short, praising my ability to prepare my own lunch and apologizing for ordering something for me, and then telling me not to worry about it and to bring my own lunch as I had planned.

All this said, it's just one of those situations where yet again false assumptions were made about me. I suppose sometimes I feel integrated to the point where I expect to be treated like those around me, but people ascribe much different thinking to me on account of my otherness, or their perceived barriers to communication with me. Now, honestly, I like the school nurse. And given this article, I think she only responded how culture conditioned her to. Additionally, if I had stated to her that I planned to bring my own lunch, instead of merely tossing out my order form without comment, she would have been spared the situation of making an incorrect judgement call.

I'd like to think both of us learned something from this exchange however. She may have learned to reevaluate her assumptions of foreigners in general and me in particular, and I remembered that I need to be sensitive to the cultural norms which differ in the US and Japan and respond accordingly.

Bowing

This is almost another edition of 'You know you've been in Japan too long when...' but today I tackle the complex question of bowing.

Most westerners know that bowing is something like the 'Japanese handshake'

Well, that is true, although the ACTUAL handshake is increasingly used in typical handshake situations, in keeping with the westernization of Japan. However, bowing has a broader scope than 'How Do You Do?', being employed for various situations not limited to introductions.

We had our opening ceremony for the second school semester yesterday (...there's one for each of the three semesters, as well as closing ceremonies, as well as a graduation ceremony in March and an entrance ceremony for new students in April which PRECEDES the opening ceremony, later in April...), and as usual there were a number of bows.

Kore de nigakki no shigyoushiki wo hajimemasu! Ichido, rei! is how these things start out. To translate, 'Henceforth we begin the opening ceremony. Bow once!' ...everyone bows! Yay! There are about 8-10 bows during this ceremony, including bows to any speaker before and after their speech, and a closing bow.

If you want to imagine a graduation ceremony, take this and multiply it by 60.

Another situation I bow in everyday, although it is somewhat similar to the previous, is Morning Meeting. In the morning at 8:30, the bell goes off and everyone rises to their feet. The leader for the day starts us off and says Ohayo gozaimasu! (Good morning!) and we all in unison say, Ohayo gozaimasu with a bow and then sit back down. It's kind of funny because most people are sitting back down mid-bow, and rarely do people actually stand all the way back up before sitting down. Same at the end, but the greeting is changed to Kyou mo ganbarimasho! (Today also we will do our best), with the response of Ganbarimasho!

Another thing about bows is you almost always return them. One case I can think of where people tend not to though is the service industry. The cashier, the receptionist, the fast food employee, all will do a perfunctory bow after they hand you your change or answer your questions or finish your order. There is also an epidemic of 'phone bowing', similar to the 'phone nod' wherein one bows on the telephone because in a normal situation one would be bowing, but since it is on the telephone it is meaningless except as an indicator of how ingrained ones bow reflex is in.

And I have definitely picked up the reflex. This morning, an old man pulled to the size of the 1-car-sized road that leads to my house to allow me to pass by him. I bowed as I passed by, he bowed back. Common courtesy.

Jiminto wins the Youtube battle.

As a followup to my last blog entry, here are some videos from Youtube. (Apologies in advance for clunky translation, I tried to keep the spirit of the language and be accurate. Accuracy is another thing I may have failed at.)

Both the LDP (Jiminto) and the DPJ (Minshuto) have Youtube presences, but the LDP rules the day when it comes to style. If you forgive their cheesy logo.


Drawn by a four year old! (probably)

But I question the logic of the commercials, which prominently feature current PM Aso glaring at us. I suppose his glare conveys his sense of responsibility and ability to protect us from terrorists.


Narrator: Who can really protect your life and this country's future? Jiminto.

Highlights - Lion King worthy soundtrack, Taro Aso glaring into my soul.


This is another Jiminto add

Woman: Oh! It's you.
Man: Welcome, it's been a while. It's not just lip service, we're now making policies like this.
Woman: All right then, why don't you show me?
Man: This store's 'Manifesto-men', our best Ramen. We'll win or lose based on it.
Customer 1(American): There's not enough oil!
Man: Ok, we'll supply more.
Customer 2(Resembles Shakaito president Fukushima): Wait, weren't you going to stop supplying oil?
Man: Ending supply.
Customer 3: There's not enough local ingredients...
Man: That's silly. Look, here's some more.
Customer 4: There's no growth here, is there?
Man: Nonono, Look, here's some.
Child: Treat children well too!
Man: Yes, yes, yes. I'm sprinkling on 26,000 yen's worth of furikake!
Woman: Isn't this totally different than what you made in the beginning?
Man: No,no. It was this from the beginning.
Woman: Huh?

'Just by trying to please everyone, you can't make everyone happy. Unwavering policies, Jiminto'

This commercial is on the offensive, with the man running the ramen shop bearing a resemblance to DPJ party president Hatoyama. It paints the DPJ as a bunch of 'flip-floppers' who will give everyone a handout or lip service and have no principles.

Checking in over at DPJ headquarters, the youtube action is much more subdued. The LDP channel had tons of snappy, quick commercials, but the DPJ's channel is more focused on (long, boring) speeches by DPJ politicians. I do give them props for their main video, which features subtitling and sign-language so anyone can follow along with what is being said. Also, Hatoyama comes across as a good public speaker and he never glared at me.

There were only a few actual commercials I could find, all very similar in style. Here is one:

Narrator: You're feeling anxious about the problems of healthcare and pension. For the sake of your way of life, the government must change.
Hatoyama: First, change political power!
Narrator: We are the DPJ.

However, lest you think that the LDPs style wins them the substance war, you have to remember that the LDP has been in power almost continuously since the end of WW2 and therefore are held accountable for wasteful government spending, pension and healthcare issues, and the myriad other things that the DPJ is calling them out on constantly with the battle cry of Seiken Koutai!

The election takes place on August 30th.

There's Politics in the air..

Here in Japan, terminally unpopular Prime Minister Taro Aso called an election for August 30th last month. Japan's system is greatly different from the US, with elections being called only a month in advance and campaigning done in large part by people shouting from speakers mounted on the top of cars.

Japan's Political Parties:

Jiminto, full name Jiyu-Minshuto, usually translated into English as the 'Liberal Democratic Party' or the 'LDP' has dominated Japanese politics for basically the entire post-war era. However, the LDP has run into problems in recent years. Following the retirement of Junichiro Koizumi, the popular and stylin' Prime Minister from 2001-2006, the LDP has been led by three different men with abysmal approval ratings: Shinzo Abe, Yasuo Fukuda, and Taro Aso. While not controlling a majority of seats on their own, the LDP controls the Japanese Diet through a coalition government with the New Komeito party. Not one to go quietly into the night, the party is waging an aggressive campaign and standing behind its leader Taro Aso. It is the 'center-right' party and is running on a platform of Nihon o mamoru, sekininryoku, which roughly translates as 'Protecting Japan, the power of responsibility.'

They are expected to lose big-time...

Minshuto, translated into English as the Democratic Party of Japan or DPJ, is currently the second-largest party and led by Yukio Hatoyama (according the Wikipedia, a Baptist??). It is a relatively new party, established in 1999 as a a combination of several smaller parties. The DPJ is expected to win the election on August 30th. Their slogan Seiken Koutai, 'Change political power', is straightforward and clearly appeals to Japan's frustration with the ineffective Jiminto of the last few years. However, the DPJ has its own problems, such as a lack of unity and a number of publicly popular but possibly wrong-headed policy proposals, such as dropping the tolls on Japanese highways (clear why this is popular, but without concurrent cuts in spending this would increase Japan's already ridiculous public debt.) They are considered a 'centrist' party.

Komeito, known in English as the New Komeito Party to distinguish it from one of its fore running parties, is currently the third largest party and forms the majority coalition with the LDP. The party was founded by members of the Buddhist sect/cult Soka Gakkai

Shakai-Minshuto, the Social Democratic Party of Japan, used to be the major opposition party in Japan but is a very small and uninfluential party at present. They currently are members of the minority coalition with the DPJ, and are ideologically center-left.

Kokumin Shinto, the People's New Party, is a party formed very recently in 2005 by members of the LDP who objected to former Prime Minister Koizumi's politics. It is one of the more right-leaning political parties, but is currently a member of the DPJ's coalition, for whatever reason.

Nihon Kyosan-to, the Japanese Communist Party, is a Leninist party, but advocates turning Japan into a communist state through Democratic power rather than revolution. The party is extremely active, especially in Nambu-cho, where I see their signs scattered around all over town. Ima koso, Nihon Kyosan-to!, 'Especially now, Japanese Communist Party!' They don't belong to either the minority or majority coalitions.

I hope you enjoyed your primer on Japanese Political Parties. I'll try to update with more interesting stuff as I find it on the elections.

Hanami Barbecue! 桜より焼肉

Hanami - combination of two Chinese characters, 花 ('hana') meaning flowers, and 見 ('mi') meaning look, see, watch. Sometimes translated as 'flower/cherry blossom viewing,' my preferred translation here would be 'Going to see the cherry blossoms with eating and drinking in large groups.' But I do admit the shorter version has its merits.

We planned to have a nice Hanami picnic last Saturday, until the rain came and washed the barbecue plans out the window with it. So that plan was scrapped, changed to dinner at Pentola Mamma Italian restaurant, and we changed the date to Sunday.

Sunday, I trucked out one of the barbecue grills left to me by my predecessor to Minatoyama Park. Satoshi prepared some veggies for barbecuing (onions, bell pepper, kabocha squash, and shiitake mushrooms), and I iced the pants off a Japan-sized cake. (unfortunately I forgot to take a picture, so hopefully someone else got one)

Once at the park, we set up our tarp, table and chairs, grill, and started to get going (around 6 PM). Took us a while to get the grill going, had to get one of the Japanese girlfriends to go ask for some firestarter. Also I didn't bring the top to the grill so we mac-guyver'ed a solution by using a smaller one and propping it up with chopsticks.

It started getting kinda colder but around the grill it was warm enough. People trickled in and by then end there were about 12-14 people there. We ate kilo after kilo of pork and beef. Yummay. The sake got pulled out and passed around, but I was the safety driver! and didn't have any paint thinner this time.

I left the park around 10:30 PM smelling of smoke and beef. YUM.

昨日花見のバーベーキューをした。めちゃ楽しかった！私と智志はケーキと焼く野菜を持っていった。友達たくさん居た。たくさん焼肉を食べちゃったぁ。湊山公園は本当にいい場所やな。パーティーのあとに焼肉のせいで臭かったけど、次のバーベーキューを楽しみぃ。