Art for Art's Sake

So preparing a lesson the other day, I came across the idiom Art for Art’s Sake. I was supposed to be planning on how to explain such a phrase to a non English speaker, but it only made my mind wander to art. Being inclined as I am, I realized I haven’t really talked much about the art here. This is something that needed to be rectified.

Japan is the biggest mix of the beautiful and the garish I have ever seen. There is the austere beauty of temples and gardens, and yet overly loud and gaudy resonances in the signs, music, and fashions. Its this clash of old and new that makes everything so fascinating, but there is no doubt that no matter what, Japan has a highly visual culture. Whether it be traditional or pop art, it constantly surrounds you.

It really hit me this last Sunday as I spent the day walking around Nagoya. We have had a stretch of rain, but that day had perfect weather, with a sunny blue sky and unseasonably warm weather. I threw on my light trench coat, grabbed my ipod, and walked. It actually turned into the perfect Sunday, for apparently Sunday is the day to walk around Nagoya.

As I wandered to meet some people in Osu Kannon, a neighborhood south of my own, I let the music on my ipod wash over me. I find that when I walk through the city streets by myself, especially when listening to music, I become much more observant to things around me. I start to pick up on the little things that I pass over every time. It was in this way that I finally realized the subtle beauty of some of the daily things in Nagoya.

My street, being as busy as it is, is a bevy of bright lights and restaurants. But there are tiny pockets along the way that stand as a stark contrast to the overpowering brightness of such things; small, beautiful places that are easily ignored unless you are really looking. For example, there is a Buddhist temple on my street. In between the large buildings, convenience stores, and gas stations, there stands a beautiful old temple that is easy to miss unless one is looking. It is not very large, but it is everything one would expect a temple to be, with arching gates, peaked roofs, and a giant brass bell. Its absolutely breathtaking in its Zen-like austerity.

But there are even smaller touches that can be ignored. My neighborhood is very residential, and mixed within the newer houses and apartment buildings there pops up every once in awhile a very traditional home. It still retains the Japanese style roof, wooden frames with sliding doors that open onto tatami mats, and gated entrances. They look exactly like they may have 400 years ago, with none of the modern trappings of everything else around them. I find myself caught off guard and entranced every time I happen upon one. But as beautiful as they are, I find my personal favorite are the manhole covers.

The Japanese like to turn everything, from writing to clothing to advertising, into an art form. And for me, the manhole covers have been one of the most delightful surprises. I have actually taken to taking pictures of new ones I find, for there are quite a few around Nagoya. I think my personal favorite is the one of Nagoya castle, which is in and of itself a beautiful sight to see. But here are a few prime examples:

And these are the beautiful things that are tramped on and maybe taken for granted by most people here, except when seen through the eyes of a foreigner. But the wild stuff can be beautiful in its own right, if not fascinating in its ridiculousness.

So I commented before about three O’s: Outrageous Street Acts, Over-the-Top People, and Overwhelming Shopping Centers. Though they can be found separately all over the city, there are a few places they can be found all together in an trifecta of tremendous garishness. One of these is the Asunal Shopping Center in Kanayama. I happen to work nearby, and the entrance to the subway is smack dab in the middle of the shopping center. Now I have mentioned shopping before, and what an experience it can be, but I feel I should paint the picture of Asunal in a more specific manner.

I leave work right before dinner time, dressed conservatively and mentally unwinding from the day. And as I begin to relax, my tired mind is suddenly inundated by a loud open shopping center with bright, shining lights and lots of people. The people themselves, then, range from normal to over-the-top, with the over-the-top taking the spotlight. They are young Japanese people with dyed hair, styled to gravity-defying proportions, held up with gel and possibly magic to break the laws of physics as they do. Some go ultra blond and tan to look “western,” with both sexes going with large, bouffant hair. But whether blond and tan or not, the clothing ranges from stylishly ripped, loud, tight clothing, to “hip hop” style with velour track suits and rude, grammatically incorrect English phrases, to bastardized interpretations of 1950s American style, complete with leather pants and poodle skirts. But no matter what subsection these youths belong to, they are all like walking pieces of pop art, with everything being loud and bright and highly stylized.

And as if this wasn’t already a feast for the eyes, then the music wafts in. Asunal Shopping Center has an Asunal Live! Stage where various musical acts and idols perform. Every time I walk out, I am greeted by another J-pop concoction. Infectiously catchy in its mass-marketed way, I can’t help but stop and listen for a moment, if not just to laugh with a few other teachers as we marvel at their clothes and carefully manufactured siren song. I love when the young female idols sing one simple song, and then are surrounded for 40 minutes by adoring fans of awkward youths and middle aged men. But as hilarious an interaction that is to watch, my personal favorite so far were the J-Soul Brothers. A group of 7 Japanese male idols, they are a carefully constructed group where two of them actually sing, five just kinda sway in the background looking cute, and their music is anything but soul.

But if all that makes up Asunal is amusing, these factors were only intensified in Osu on this past Sunday afternoon. After my contemplative walk, I met up with a few people in Sakae and headed towards Osu. After walking through the beautiful Osu Kannon temple, we were then greeted by bright lights and painted walls to welcome us to Osu Shopping center, an open air shopping center that spans many blocks. And though I had been freely talking and laughing up until a moment before, after I entered the shopping districts, everyone I was with spent half the time in an almost awe-struck silence. Lured by the smell of takoyaki, the noise of people, and brightly colored shops, we poor gaijin were struck into silence by it all coming at us at once. And when we left, back out into the safety of the temple, we were nearly breathless from the experience.

But as I sat in the temple square and listened to the chanting monks from inside, I couldn’t help but be equally struck by the opposite and yet equally fascinating beauty that is Osu Kannon. A large temple, and one of the oldest in Japan, with grand architecture and Zen gardens, a perfect example of the beauty of traditional Japan, sits in conjecture and on the same grounds of an overwhelming shopping center, the bright lights, people, and signs that represent all that is modern Japan. They should be complete opposites, and yet they share the same space in almost blissful harmony. It is one of the many things that I absolutely love about this country, finding equal beauty in the old and the new. For only in Japan would such a place exist.

Where can I watch a Cockfight?

..and other equally useless phrases in Japanese.

Though I am quite glad to have my phase book here, I am constantly astounded by some of the phrases that are put in there, as if they are really applicable to daily life or travel. Yes, there are the standards of directions and “where is there an internet café?,” but some that Frommer’s felt necessary to put in are absolutely ridiculous. For example, there’s a whole section devoted to “getting to know someone” which is a cover for cheesy pick up lines. Like, “You dance so well” and “You have such beautiful eyes” as well as, my personal favorite, “You look like the most interesting person in the room.” Ugh I can just picture the eyebrow wags and tawdry smiles that would accompany those gems.

But with that discovery on the plane, such began my flirtation with the Japanese Language.

Now I began using the Rosetta Stone program in the states, which I have continued here, which really helped me with prounuciation and understanding of sentence structure, if not learning mainly useless vocabulary. But that, combined with the smattering of grammar explanations, the why and wherefores of object particles, and (mostly) useful phrases from my Frommer‘s Book, I’ve garnered enough Japanese to at least find the subway. But more importantly, it helped with two of my favorite activities: shopping, and eating.

I already said I would say something about the shopping, specifically the 100 Yen store, and it is definitely something that garners notice. I had heard Japan was a consumer society, but I wasn’t prepared for how pithy that statement is in comparison to reality. Consumers ARE the society. Stores are everywhere, and Sakae, the Mecca of shopping in Nagoya, is almost overwhelming. Actually, scratch that, it is overwhelming. The whole of Sakae has a massive undeground mall that covers many miles below the city streets. Big department stores, like Mitsukoshi and Melsa, are giant sky scrapers of buildings in the center of town; multiple floors devoted to clothes, jewelry, and electronics. And unlike electronic stores in America, which can seem a little loud, this is a flurry of noise and lights, where every CD is being played by every speaker, and a different anime, movie, or video game is on every screen. Its loud, obnoxious, and, to be honest, kind of awe inspiring. First time I was traveling the stores it was early Tuesday afternoon, not a time I’d expect to be busy. And then I traveled to the basement levels.

This is where, in Japanese department stores, they sell food, at least where I went. Though not loud in the way electronics department is, it is a different and special kind of loud. It is the deafening noise of people. Unless its drinking hours, the Japanese are a generally quiet people. Yet in this section? I was overtaken by the noise and power of the shoppers; little obaa-san pushing past me with no regard as they scoop up every type of food imaginable. Hawkers scream to me, pushing chocolates and sample onigiri on me. Now I’m a generally unruffled person when it comes to noise and busy areas, but without a doubt, I had a deer in headlights look when I entered there. After a few minutes we then rather quickly, and at a near run, escaped from this overwhelming shopping experience. I still feel rattled thinking about it.

But the prize in all this is, the top of the shopping heap, is the 100 yen store. In the 7th Floor of Melsa, there is a magical place where you can get anything imaginable for about one American dollar. And this, my friends, is the 100 yen store.

And really, only a picture collage of some of the items bought would do such place justice.

My snail magnets, sickeningly cute in their own way

This awesome kitchen knife, with my nails to match.

This cutting board, also sickeningly cute.

Orange and green slippers, since I need to train myself not to wear shoes in other people’s homes.

This tea set, which really marks me as a gaijin.

And then, the pinnacle of my collection...

NINJA CHOPSTICKS

Which are apparently too awesome to ever be photographed clearly. Believe me, I tried multiple times.

But shopping aside, that leads me into the more important part of acquiring language. And that is, as every good Italian girl knows, eating.

I have been equally overwhelmed, but in a much better way, by the food so far. From the really good Japanese interpretation of foreign cuisine to real, traditional food, I have been enjoying everything immensely so far. My favorite are the little shops where you can get donburri bowl with rice, pickled vegetables, green tea, and other small concoctions for about 400 yen. You walk in, sit, are served at lightning speed, and yet still get a real cooked and unprocessed meal. It puts new meaning to the term fast food.

And though I spent the entire first week eating out and about in my neighbourhood, my favorite was probably the night I went to an Izakaya. It’s like the equivalent of a traditional Japanese pub, with real rustic touches, like a sliding door, numerous lanterns, and tatami mat seating in the back. Amelia and I traveled to one in Imaike, a neighbourhood near by, and found a random one down a side street. We were greeted exuberant exclamations and smiles, and chose to sit and the counter and watch them a foot away prepare our food. It was smoky, cramped, and absolutely fabulous. Since drinking it traditional, we ordered the local sake (watered down of course), and then went on to order an amazing amount of small dishes of fried tofu, fish, grilled meats, pickled and fried vegetables, and copious amounts of rice. Everyone was smiling and welcoming and we left a little tipsy, extremely full, and only 2000 yen lighter in our wallets.

But I can’t always eat out, so I also finally traveled down to my local supermarket. There are some thing easily recognizable, other things not so much, but I was still seduced by all the smells, choices, and amazing amounts of already made food. I ended up coming back after wandering the store for two hours with a full stock of groceries, a few ready made foods, like an interesting fried prawn and egg sandwich (which is way better than it sounds), and a desire to really learn how to make Japanese food.

So all in all, I love the shopping and the food, yet still are discovering new stores and food every time I wander out. And this is all thanks to my very limited Japanese skills.

And in case you were wondering, if you ever do want to find a fowl fight in Japan? All you need to ask is tookei wa doko de miru koto ga deki masu ka.

Just Like David Letterman, Only Not as Funny

So I finally have access to internet! For a country so technologically advanced, it was way harder than it should have been to finally post. But truth be told, my first few days here were so exhausting that it was more of an effort than not to try to find an internet source. Even with my new Japanese cell phone that does everything short of cure cancer, I haven't had reliable internet, and it may be another two weeks till I have it set up in my apartment. But now, right in Sakae, I found this phenomanal internet cafe and once again seem connected to the world.

So as I write, its been exactly five days since I’ve been here, though with jet lag and all I’ve had to do it seems much, much longer. The travel, in truth, was much more tiring and long than I anticipated. The initial flight was fine. I actually ended up sitting next to two older Filipino people who were unrelated, a man and a women, because after Nagoya the flight was going on to Manila. They were absolutely charming, told me way too much about their separate lives and grandchildren, excited me with stories about Japan, and ended up figuring out that the women went to high school in the Philippines with the man’s wife over 40 years ago. It felt way too much like the plot of an independent film, but I concluded that I love Filipinos.

But it was after the flight that it got exhausting, because I had been traveling for over 24 hours at that point when I needed my energy the most. Not only did I have to lug two bulky 50 pound bags behind me as well as two heavy carry-ons, but I had to do it while navigating several train and subway stations while trying to meet up with Patrick, the representative of my Leasing company. Even though it was nice to have a partner through all this, a lovely girl named Amelia, it left me utterly drained. I ended up arriving at my apartment at 10:30 that night, paid my leasing company my initial rent, and promptly passed out.

But after that the adventure began. The next day Amelia and I got a personal tour of the area by Patrick, and after that we took to exploring. Getting the business of registering with our ward office and buying cell phones out of the way, I have traveled much of my neighborhood and the downtown Sakae area (a fifteen minute walk) in the last few days. Sakae in and of itself is overwhelming to describe, if not just the massive stores and restaurants themselves, but I can leave you with a quick list of my first impressions of Nagoya. I will call it...

Kate’s List of Things She Finds Weirdly Fascinating

1. Trucks Talk to You

Along with everything else here. Vending machines, trains, photo booths, crosswalks, cell phones and countless other items all feel the need to talk to you here. They sing infectiously cheery songs and speak very polite sentences. In fact, one photo booth I used went on to tell me how great a job I was doing and to keep it up. We never get self-affirmative technology in the states. But the trucks, by far, are my favorite. Every time they turn a corner, a decidedly feminine and high pitched voice warns everyone of their approach. Somehow the high female Japanese voice seems at odds with the big hulking piece of machinery making a large turn.

2. In Japan, Women Don’t Feel the Cold

At least not in their legs. Now, it is February 8th. And though it is slightly warmer than home, its still cold. And yet I have seen countless women in short skirts and shorts with bare legs. If it was just a few, it could be called a fluke, but I have seen a large percentage of the female population of Nagoya walking around without stockings and legs bared to the February air. At least a few wear shorts with tights, but I can’t even fathom the number of people that would think to wear shorts at all in the winter. As a side note, I find the Japanese to be a very fashionable lot in general, but the shorts seem absurd to me.

3. Random Western Celebrity Product Placement

In America, Tommy Lee Jones would never think of be a spokes model for vending machine coffee. But in Japan apparently he has no such qualms. If I could count the number of big A-List celebrities I’ve seen already advertising soft drinks and snacks it would blow your mind. As interesting as it is to see people like Brad Pitt and Nicole Kidman plastered across bill boards, its also very funny. I guess they think it wont really leak to the West if they do it in Japan. But now because of me, their dirty secret is out.

4. Masks for Everyone!

So this is phenomena I was vaguely aware of, but it wasn’t until I got here that I realized the large number of people that actually wear them every day. Age and gender are indiscriminate in who wears it, and even people working in stores and restaurants wear them like its nothing. I’ve even seen a few commercials on television for specialized ones. I understand that its done as a measure to keep from being sick, but for some reason I find it very, very odd, like the pink elephant in the middle of the room no one says anything about. I know this is just me being a foreigner, but even I’m surprised by how odd I find the entire institution. Like, how are non mask wearers not offended by such things? Because, really, what that person is saying is that he doesn’t trust that everyone around him is healthy or clean enough to not get him sick. But politely of course, because this is Japan.

5. Random Landmarks

So cuteness and “Engrish” abound here. And since I can barely read any of the kana, and absolutely no kanji, I find myself using odd things as landmarks. And really, even if I could read the sign, who wouldn’t want to use such things as a landmark? Like the huge sign with the pink dog and dancing orange monkey. Or that one with the clown that vaguely looks like Ronald McDonald. Or, best of all, the sign that proudly states “Goo” and “King Jim.” What are these actual establishments? I haven’t the slightest, but their hilarious signs help me find my way home.

6. The 100 Yen Store

An establishment so amazing it deserves its own post, and believe me, this ain’t your mother’s dollar store. In one of the large department stores in Sakae, the entire 7th floor is a 100 Yen store, and let me say, I will never shop anywhere ever again. Amelia and I spent way too much time there, and I ended up furnishing my apartment, kitchen, and bathroom for about 18 American dollars.

But all in all, the people are absolutely lovely and polite, the city much more beautiful than I imagined, and I’m just adjusting to life here. There are bits that are odd or just downright weird, and I’m sure that there will be many more, but it all culminates to make this experience what it is. I feel like my time is always busy, and I haven’t even started working yet. But I look forward to the challenge.