i ♥ ny.

i prefer the term "unrequited love"...perhaps we should borrow a chant from a few years back from our country?

"hell, no! we won't go!"

lawsuits pending

i (unrequited) ♥ tyo.

I can imagine all the hate mail I'd get if I started publicly announcing myself as a "Tokyoite" - mostly from M*mus ("You are nothing more than an American living in Tokyo!") And I'd agree

You may have to write your own hate mail, then, because actually I'd be much happier with you calling yourself a "Tokyoite" than, Debito-style, a "Japanese". I'm not quite sure why this is, except for the idea that cities flourish by diversity, while national identity is diluted by it. And hence the paradox that the actual life we encounter in big cities is always rather different from the stereotypical identity of the country they form part of. I could never be an "American", but I could be a "New Yorker". I could never be "Japanese", but I could be a "Tokyoite".

It doesn't cause me any anxiety at all that national identity is synthetic and somewhat arbitrary, or doesn't reflect the realities on the street. Only rockists would say that national identity had to be "real, man".

I think I agree with your position. But you do have to admit that being an "American" is much more flexible here in the 21st century than being a "Japanese." There are no longer assumptions of racial purity in the case of USAness, although white Americans are more obvious as "Americans" because they don't require the hyphen.

But yes, thumbs down to ideas of defining oneself first and foremost as citizen of a nation-state.

I'm not quite convinced though that Tokyo really accepts non-Japanese as being members of the city, without being members of the nation.

National immigration restrictions clearly limit the diversity of Tokyo, but I think once people have slipped in they become part of what we think of as Tokyo — the Africans on Takeshita Street, for instance, or the gaijin sex tourists in Roppongi.

...I could also have mentioned Yokohama Chinatown.

Tokyo is the best in certain categories - like a pretty girl with excellent make-up skills, immaculate fashion sense, and good taste in records. But I don't know if I'd use the word "love" about Ms. Tokyo, nor if anyone else would either.... When you love and they don't love back, it's just called "infatuation"

Or it's called "unrequited love", which is, after all, a form of love. Aren't you contradicting yourself a bit here? Great poets have told us that the love which expects no return is the highest love of all. It takes a certain kind of self-abnegation and even masochism, but it can be oddly fulfilling.

the Africans on Takeshita Street, for instance, or the gaijin sex tourists in Roppongi.

I like that you call these people "sex tourists," because they are indeed deluding themselves that picking up girls in Roppongi is somehow more enlightened than directly paying for women in Bangkok. Certainly, it's a different type of exploitation, because they're targeting girls who are targeting them. But half the thrill must stem from the false belief that white people are so beloved they can march right into town and pick up "normal" Japanese girls. How many would abandon their working holiday visa if they woke up one day with the perspicacity to understand that all the socially adept Japanese women are miles away from the gaijin-zuki subculture.

Despite the visible populations, is there a "Nigeriatown" or an "Irantown" in Tokyo? And can you have a real immigrant population when the immigrants are 90% men? Plus, why do all the Korean-Japanese (especially entertainers) have to keep their identity secret?

Or it's called "unrequited love", which is, after all, a form of love. Aren't you contradicting yourself a bit here?

Isn't "home" supposed to be about familial, unconditional love? Maybe I shouldn't have used romantic interest as a metaphor for cities in the first place...

momer sez: Great poets have told us...
And I sez those great poets werent gettin none so tried to glorify their nights spent en fiste.

Anyways, as most of y'all may know by now, I clearly self identify as an American even though I'm a Tokyoite. Some of this has to do with age and some of it has to do with gaining a different perspective on my mother culture since I left it. It is what made me and that dont change tho I may. I guess I've gained a bit more long term perspective on Mom & Apple Pie since I dont deal with it daily.

As for being a Tokyoite, I'm here for the long run and already been here at least as long as I lived in NYC or any other city in the USA anyways. Truth is I do love it here. Im thrilled that I can find more happening in the Tokyo reggae scene with zero Jamaicans than I ever found in NYC with more Yardies than you could shake a dread at. I love the metropolitain bits and I love the shitamachi bits. Sure there is alot not to love and plenty to laugh at, but I got a decent life here (work, family, roof over my head) so what more can I ask? (must resist urge to answer that question)

use the word "love" about Ms. Tokyo, nor if anyone else would either

http://www.ilovenewtokyo.com/

well, some people do. i have the feeling there might actually be something in the 'new' bit.

--

reading this stuff someone posted on momus' blog today http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/21/AR2005092102434.html reminded me of the gay holocaust discussed here not so long ago.

anyway no digging in the dirt. welcome back. looking forward to more insights and hope you will give more consideration to the fact that japan actually has ways of dealing with the problems you so thoroughly analyse that originate and operate way outside the sphere of your analysis.

please don't say that the i love tokyo site was created by corporate yakuza bastards .

Wait, "I'm infatuated with Tokyo" sounds like an amazing T-shirt. Too bad infatuation doesn't have a convenient symbolic shorthand.

Momus, you said that you could call yourself a New Yorker no prob, but not an American. I know what you're getting at, but it doesn't have to be limited to cities. I mean, anyone could move into any town in the suburbs and become an accepted member of the community. Not that you'd want to... "I'm a Newarker."

I don't think we are talking about how accepting cities are, I think we are talking about how exclusionary nationalism is.

There was a cartoon in the New Yorker a while ago with someone wearing a T-shirt that said "I have ambivalent feelings toward New York". No convenient symbolic shorthand for that either, I guess.

http://www.ilovenewtokyo.com/

1) Is this not solely part of a marketing campaign to sell high-price apartments in the Tokyo Towers to rich urban citizens?

2) What was wrong with the old Tokyo?

Momus, you said that you could call yourself a New Yorker no prob, but not an American.

Even though New York is so completely different than the rest of the US, being a New Yorker essentially opens the door to being an American. I think it is unfair, however, to hold Japan to these standards seeing that they are not a country that "does" immigration. Increasing the labor pool at this point would help them maintain current economic conditions in face of massive demographic catastrophe, but opening the gates is not even a faint consideration of the bureaucracy.

It's true that people can immigrate to New York and and blend into the masses, but I disagree with your gate to the country metaphor. Think of how immigrants get treated if they move to, or even visit, some small towns around the US.

Momus, thank you for reminding me about the reasons why I love Japan and why I stayed there so long. I forgot these things after I got sued by a taxi driver who hit me while I was riding my bike, and then decided to leave the country when my employers fired me for the same reason. To clear things up, I'm talking about all the discussions which you have spurred on this blog this month. It really reminds me about all the things I loved about Japan. The depth of the culture and its obsession with beauty. Simple things like why Japanese people don't cross the sreet on a red light, even when the street is empty; it's out of respect for the ghosts of broken down cars. I also loved watching Sumo while living in Tokyo, and it never mattered to me as a spector that it might be staged. The ritual, and the sheer perfection of the form of this sport, is what captivated me. I really think that nothing should be changed about its form, but I will say, that if the matches are rigged then the gaijin wrestlers should be given equal chance for advancement.

PS: Sorry to go back so far in your discussions.

I think the most important reason not to cross the street on a red light in Japan is because everyone assumes that you won't. I did it, and the old woman that followed me out nearly got killed.

This posting has made me think a bit more about my place here. Can I ever rise above the long-term tourist label? Doesn't really matter to me. I feel like a tourist even back in Ohio unless I'm sitting in my own house.

Can I ever rise above the long-term tourist label? Doesn't really matter to me. I feel like a tourist even back in Ohio unless I'm sitting in my own house.

This is a great point. Most of us here do not feel as "one" with our original local communities to start with, so there's no big let down that the rest of Tokyo doesn't like us. I'm from a very conservative Florida town, and I'm used to disagreeing with everyone.

I think the most important reason not to cross the street on a red light in Japan is because everyone assumes that you won't

I think that this has to do with process vs. goal orientations. The point of waiting for the walk signal is not waiting for cars to pass by (goal) but the process of waiting itself.

Well the "it's out of respect for the ghosts of broken down cars." explanation is out of Chris Markers documemntary about Japan (and a few other places) Sans Soleil, and I have also heard it from a few Japanese friends. I'm not just making it up. But you can watch the movie, and see for yourself. It's got lots of other insights into Japanse culture that are much worth learning to anyone interested in or studying the subject.

tomek: but New York specifically is and historically has been one of the main gateways whereby immigrants became Americans. And as far as "ghosts" of broken down cars" goes, I'll have to remember to ask my neighbors/friends/family about that one, but only when they are drunk because I dont really want to loose any more respect than I already have.

marxy: process of waiting itself yer sounding like the momer here...

>>tomek: but New York specifically is and historically has been one of the main gateways whereby immigrants became Americans.

The point, however, was, that immigrants are not treated very well around the US, and in fact I think they get treated better in Japan.

that immigrants are not treated very well around the US, and in fact I think they get treated better in Japan.

Ha ha! That's the greatest thing I've heard all year.

With a straight face, please explain to me your idea that real, poor Asian immigrants get treated better in Japan than all the races of immigrants have been treated in the United States. And by the way, if you are reading my blog, you don't count as an "immigrant" to Japan. The real immigrants are too busy cooking your food and cleaning your floors and servicing your coworker to write about how awesome it is to be an immigrant here.

I have been an immigrant in America, and while I was only working in Japan for five years and therefore not an immigrant as you say, I have first hand experience as to how immigrants are treated in both countries. First of all Japanese are more helpfull, kinder, and more understanding. They take more time to actually do things for you. They are more polite.

Many Americans I meet are inherently racist and very quick to curse and make fun of minorities. They are also very mistrustful, and would rather stab you in the back than ever help you do anything.

Example 1. Go to a store in Japan and try to buy something using English and see how the service actually try to help you.

Go to a store in America, and try to buy someting using any other language than English and see how people get pissed off, and start swaring at you, or try to rip you off.

Example 2. My Guamanian friend, who is even, thereby a US citizen, and has lived in California many years, often tells me stories about how he almost got killed by rednecks in texas for not being white in the wrong place. Or how at the airport the staff will not belive him that he's a citizen, and demand his passport on domestic flight. Or how in some states (and he speaks perfect English) people keep thinking that he's talking another language or not making sense. And maybe I should ask him for his song on how racist many people in that country are. My friend has also spent about four years in Japan off and on. He can't even get a visa, let alone a good job, but he keeps going back because he loves the place.

So you can see how the same kind of ostricism you describe in Japan, also exists in your country, although you may know nothing about it because you've lived a protected white life, and have had your white baby ass pampared all the way to your university in Japan.

Or how about this story. I was at a party: blacks, whites, hispanics, one korean. And get this: one of the white guys says: "Man this country is getting so that soon there won't be any more real American Americans." We asked him. "What's a real American American?" He said "You know... like me." What an asshole! and this guy didn't even consider himself racist in the discussion that followed.

Last example: When I go out to bars, and get the chance to really get loose, and take off this facade that society imposes upon me, because it can't handle the real me. These are the reactions I get in Japan, and the ones I get in America.

In Japan: People will just ignore me, but behave perfectly politely. The police will tolerate me, maybe look at me, but not bother me. Often the Japanese people I'm with will ease up, and really start having more fun. Some strangers will clap and smile. Some poeple may come up to me and say: "Wow, I'm honored to meet an artist like you." The Japanese people I'm with will often join in what I'm doing and maybe ask me to paint their faces or bodies. And girls usually want a signature on their bust.

In America: People will make rude faces, and be unable to simply ignore you if they don't like what they see. Few friends will actually be interested and usually will only join in the fun if it's a private party. Only the coolest friends will be interested. (As you can see, Americans are really uptight when it comes to breaking norms.) People will say things like "Freak!" "What the fuck? is that?" "Are you on drugs?" And of course some of them will start a fight, but luckily Americans are mostly wimps, so they'll just run away when they see you mean business, and say something like "Will have it on, here, tomorrow at 7." or something lame like that.

And Dude, there's a lot of poverty in your country, and more drug abuse than... I don't need to tell you about it, because eveybody knows, and if you don't then I don't know why you call yourself marxy. you seem more like a far right winger to me.

Sorry, correction: third "immigrants" in first paragraph should be "outsiders."

I'm sorry you had bad experiences in the United States. No doubt racism still exists there, but perhaps we can separate "structural racism" - where the legal and social apparatus automatically discriminates against immigrants or minorities - and the "assholes" you describe. Subjectively, I would wager that Japanese people are much nicer than your average American, but the whole Japanese system is inherently less outsider-friendly on the level of inalienable rights. If this is all about anecdotes, America surely would come off like a worse place; but America has a history of recognizing its problem and taken conscious steps to remedy them. On paper, the US surely has one of the more progressive national policies towards equal opportunity. In Japan, burakumin and zainichi koreans still can't get jobs at big firms or have to hide their identities. Even entertainer Wada Akiko waited 40-some years to reveal that she is Korean. (So is KimuTaku, but that's NEVER coming out...)

America still has a far way to go to reach a perfect state of affairs, but I think the fact that so many minorities and immigrants excel in spite of millions of intolerant assholes suggests that something is working on some level.

"What's a real American American?"

I can promise you that no one I know would be cool with this statement.

First of all Japanese are more helpfull, kinder, and more understanding. They take more time to actually do things for you. They are more polite.

What race are you? If you are Chinese, Korean or Southeast Asian, I doubt everyone would be as courteous as they are to those of European descent.

I ask this honestly: which major country has the fewest problem with racism and xenophobia?

And girls usually want a signature on their bust.

Japan rules, apparently.

david say: But yes, thumbs down to ideas of defining oneself first and foremost as citizen of a nation-state.

and i say: thumbs down to UNdefining oneself first and foremost as a citizen or a nation-state and then just stopping there. actually, the quickest way to disempower ourselves as a group is by not trying to theorize or imagine what:s next after nation states. kant and hegel have interesting views on this, as well as derrida. but the main thing is that when we dis-associate ourselves from nation states, and as long as nation states remain in power, we will be putting ourselves at a dis-advantage. look around...the non-citizen and the non-human are almost equals. but since the UN is a joke, and the US has basically showed that is can ignore the rights of nation-states, that leaves us in a very vague area. if you are in a good part of the world where you can be ignored, good for you. if not, boo hoo.

I'm a Polish, German, Ukranian, Gypsy, which makes me white, though a significant number have disagreed, however most of them were either white supremacists or rednecks.

While I agree that there's a lot of self criticism in America. There is a history of it, entertainingly scetched by South Park episode 100. I have enjoyed the works of Thereau (forgot spelling) Emerson, Henry James, Norman Mailer, Henry Miller, Hunter S. Thompson, and I have agreed with much of their criticism of American culture. It is, however, just that: criticism. And while it might be effective if the whole country engaged in it. It is only a portion of the educated elite who show much interest in these works. And while I exclude the above authors from the following statement: as South Parks 100th suggests, the self criticism is often hypocritical.

scratch henry miller, add robert coover. i need some sleep.

tomek: I'm not sure you understand the word immigrant but thats kind of nit picking. As for people not being able to handle the "real you", well guess what? Pretty much anywhere thats going to be the case, if you cant grasp the fact that its not up to any society to accept you unconditionally, you are gonna end up miserable wherever you visit for however long.

It looks like your mind is made up on the matter of the U.S. of A. sorry to hear you had such a miserable time. Then again context is everything; if I went to Aomori-ken (or North Rhine Westphalia or pretty much any non big metropolitain city) and acted up, personally I wouldnt expect people to be really warm to me. Where are you from out of curiosity? Are things better for you there?

Thanks Chris, I accept the fact that society may not accept me for who I am. I don't have a problem with that. I only feel that Japanese culture is more tolarant of eccentric behaveiour (for example my eccentric, though in no way hostile activities, which mostly consist of painting myself and others in public in ways that I have not seen on record, and having a lot of fun while at it.)

I just wanted to provide you with a comparison, of Japan and America given by someone who was an outsider in both societies. But really, I did was not fishing for pity. So let's forget that.

To answer your other question, I have lived in Poland, Greece, America, Korea, Japan, and I've spent some time in Germany. Right now I'm in Canada, and things are really quite fine here. Though I must admit, a bit boring. I guess the reason I'm writing this is that I miss Japan, cause I can't have the kind of fun that it's possible to have there. Only noisy bars, and occasionally nice music.

Perhaps the reason people in Japan find it easier to celebrate life, and to express themselves during these festivities, or exhibit strange behaviour, is because the isakayas are set up, especially those in kabukicho, goldengai. In western countries people rely on entertainment from the pub (which is usually just really loud music). In Japan, people entertain themselves in the pubs. This is conducive to self expression, and thus people let their guard down and have a good time, and let strange things happen.

Yes Japanese people are usually really reserved, but when the alcohol pours, and you're in the right place, anything can happen.

In a western bar or pub, the space is static. You can barely communicate because the music is too loud, often so loud you can't even hear it, let alone your friends. Otherwise, the focus is on the bend. You're also thrown into a crowd of people, and are often not seperated from them by seating. However the music isolates everone. Maybe you can pass on a few words to your friend, but usually nothing interesting is said.

The space in a Japanse pub brings everyone together and makese communication easier. Often this is also due the lack of space.

However, because there is no overly loud music, you can often communicate with other patrons. And they often want to communicate with you. However, I will agree that there are many izakayas where it feels nearly impossible to associate with strangers.

Nevertheless, there are izakayas i have found where you can easily get to know others in the bar, either because there is communal karaoke, or because the restaurant has a theme, (For example "Strawberry Fields" which plays almost exlusively Beattles, Queen and that ilk. People with common interests come together, and by making requsts from the DJ, have more fun through a sense of community.

And it is in these kinds of places where you can really have fun, and get Japanse people to do the craziest things. Once everyone feels safely part of the group, and noone is judging you can start doing really incredible things. And than you can take everyone with their painted faces, and walk across town in the night or early dawn and find another club, where they'll welcome you with open arms. Often we'd get free admission just for the freakishness.

While it is the spaces that promote the behaviour, it's also Japanese people's sense of comfort in the group that helps them to express themselves, and to loosen up, and do things that were previously unimaginable.

Now the only way I could achieve anything like this in Canada was at private parties, and it did not have a very interesting effect. Maybe it's just the purtanism, but rarely to people here start dancing, or even experimenting with their voice, let alone singing something.

This is not complainging, just observation, but I really had more fun in Japan. While it's true that you can get gaijin in Japan to do things like this, even if you try to recreate the izakaya style setting in the west, it's nearly impossible to get westerners have so much fun. Hence my conclusion, that Japanese really know better how to enjoy life, and celebrate it.

oh and i corrected the immigrant thing, if you check the timeline.

aomori! w00t. Nah, they love whitey here too. My cop friends still blame the crime on the non-existant chinese population though.

Tomek, if you want to defend japan against people who for no good reason think it's utterly terrible, talk to the bigdaikon.com kids, or my new kouhai this year from canada.

http://www.ilovenewtokyo.com/

1) Is this not solely part of a marketing campaign to sell high-price apartments in the Tokyo Towers to rich urban citizens?

gee, i begged you not to say this. (and the tShirt epic discussion was only due the following day)
it might have been initially used in a marketing campaign OK, do consider though that the people responsible for it do probably live in Tokyo and most likely do love Tokyo and just like you creative folks at Tokion magazine they might actually have put some of their own feeling and sense of cool into the work.

anyway the symbol has been de-contextualized and floats it all sorts of contexts and pretty much does reflect the zeitgeist of tokyo now - like it or not.

The point was that the "I love New Tokyo" is an ad for a private company, not a public relations statement. It has more to do with "J'adore Dior" than "I love New York"

too bad there aint no symbolic way to say "I find New Tokyo duller than dirt".