a post-blog
Well, I am starting to hear from the people who think my views on Japan are completely and utterly ignorant, chauvinistic, and downright false. I am also being accussed of making up facts about my time in Japan (thanks for the tip, James), which I did not intend to do. For the record, I first came to Japan in '96, then came back twice for three-month internships/research in '98 and '00 and then moved here in April '03. In light of this, there are probably a lot of better people to turn to if you want to read a long-term resident's opinions.
I also want to restate that I like Japan and things Japanese in spite of the fact that I have, gasp, some politically charged feelings towards the current societal structures. And I want to add that a lot of the foreigners' antagonism towards Japan stems from some personal rejection, which is not something that I have experienced nor guides my writing. I am happy living here and have long gotten over the fact that I am treated differently by a certain portion of the population. Little kids laugh at me about tall I am, but hey, I am tall.
My challenge/welcome mat to all those who believe that I am wrong about Japan is to provide me with some evidence or examples. I am open to the idea that Japan is going to get even better than it is now! That would, honestly, make my life a whole lot easier. If somehow Petset had a number one on the Oricon, I would throw a party.
But it doesn't help much to just tell me, "By the way, you are totally wrong."
Posted by marxy at November 13, 2004 4:20 PMWell, I quoted Terry Eagleton on my blog yesterday saying
'Neither a work of art nor a way of life can be said to be "right" or "wrong", as one might say of a political strategy or a code of ethics. It would be like saying that the Romanian language was a mistake...'
I'm not quite sure that I agree, though. Because in many ways a nation or a language is a political strategy and a code of ethics. I think Marxy and I agree on this. But we don't agree on whether Japan is politically or aesthetically 'correct'. We make a good dialectical team in the sense that we articulate two sides of that particular debate. Marxy wants to 'foreignize' Japan and I want to 'Japanize' the rest of the world.
There are many reasons why my position may be the more eccentric of the two. As Q Crisp pointed out on my blog, the Japanese are not evangelical about their culture. You cannot convert to Shinto. Also, as Marxy says, there are many Japanese who would agree with his criticisms of Japan rather than my praise. I think this is something to do with the fact that, although I spend up to half the year in Japan, I don't live there. Japan for me is a 'supplemental culture'. There's the world, and then there's Japan. Japan is not a modus operandi so much as a corrective. I'm like someone who uses western medicine and Chinese medicine. If I fell ill and someone said I could only be treated with Chinese medicine, I'd certainly grumble.
There's an illuminated sign by Martin Creed that reads:
The world + the work = the world
A person outside Japan could say
The world + Japan = the world
whereas a person inside Japan could say
Japan + the world = Japan
Posted by: Momus at November 13, 2004 7:36 PM
Marxy,
I have enjoyed a quick browse of your recent blog entries. I don't want to comment as to whether you are 'right' or 'wrong' about Japan. Perhaps the question is rather is Japan the right or wrong place for you to be? Surely there are as many Japans as there are people living in the country? The Japan I live in changes every day and so much depends on my attitude.
I was wondering, how much time, in total, have you spent living in Japan? Also, what is your level of proficiency in Japanese?
A great point, sparklingbeanic. There is not one Japan, but many. I make a great mistake of saying "the Japanese," when I mean a visible majority of Japanese.
The government and the media surely have stake in perpetuating the myth that the Japanese people are all the same (90% middle class!). We all fall for it anytime we talk about Japan as a indivisible object. I regret falling into the same hole.
When one attacks America or Britain for their support of the war, they really are attacking the government, not the populace. 51 million people and I all voted against Bush, but we are stuck with him for four years. To say that America is a unified whole is absurd. To attack America as an Imperialist power is not taking into account my voice.
Japan is less diverse than America, but the Japanese media and education system's refusal to acknowledge difference amplifies this to ridiculous lengths. All the greys go to white and black. Minority voices are quieted.
How many lower middle class Japanese families are in debt because they cannot afford the "middle class lifestyle" dictated by the national media centered in rich Tokyo?
Attacking or supporting Japan as a whole is childish, and I am guilty as anyone as this. This realization will guide my writing in the future. Thanks for the tip.
Posted by: marxy at November 13, 2004 11:16 PMMarxy-
Just a short note of support. As a recent arrival in Japan, I've been avidly reading both yours and Momus' blogs. And I find both viewpoint equally informative and fascinating. Keep at it.
Thanks
Posted by: Josh at November 14, 2004 9:53 PM
I think Japan has more diversity than she is given credit for with by most foreigners or, as you pointed out, by the Japanese media. I can recommend having a look at the excellent book titled "The Japan We Never Knew" by David Suzuki and Keibo Oiwa, which is really about Japanese communities and organizations that do not normally receive much attention from the mainstream. If you haven't seen it before, I suspect you will find much that will interest you. And while it has a critical tone, at bottom it has a constructive, positive message.
I still wonder about the total amount of time you have spent in the country and your ability to read, watch, and/or listen to the Japanese media. Perhaps you've made this clear somewhere else in your blog.
Posted by: sparligbeatnic at November 15, 2004 10:51 AMsparklingbeatnic,
I wrote you a private email, but I guess you didn't get it.
I have been studying Japanese for 8 years and worked here in the summers a couple of times, but have only officially lived here for a year an a half. My studies require me to read and write at an academic level, and I do freelance translation for a construction company and several magazines. I have gotten to that point where I can read everything (modern) as long as its not totallly outside my realm of understanding. (Don't throw me a guide to fishing.)
I think you are suggesting that I can't read things and that's the root of my problem with Japan, but I would actually say the opposite: the more I can read magazines, the more I think they have a fundamentally different approach to media and criticism.
Japan presents itself to the world and its people as a monolithic block, and everytime I get out of Tokyo, I realize how much different the countryside is. (Go to south Chiba and you'll see the recession in its full glory.) When I talk about "Japan," I am mostly talking about the hegemonic social system that the government/elite reinforce upon all Japanese people as their cultural tradition. I do not actually believe that all Japanese people are the same, as they would like me to. I do, however, believe that the media has a vested interest in spreading this myth. The criticism of this site is directed at those holding power, not the people on the street. Maybe Japanese citizens should not be regarded as victims either, but they aren't the ones who are programming Oosama no Buranchi.