Wednesday, December 18, 2013

'Be not Defeated by the Rain'

While watching t.v. with our 14 month old son here in Osaka, Japan; I was introduced to a remarkable piece of popular poetry. We often watch 'Nihongo de asobo' (にほんごであそぼ) , a lovely children's program, the title of which translates as 'Let's play with Japanese language'.

Today's program featured a group of children reciting a famous poem which is very popular  here in Japan.

'Ame ni mo makezu' or, 'Be not Defeated by the Rain' or, 'Not losing to the Rain' is a famous poem written by Kenji Miyazawa, a poet from the northern prefecture of Iwate in Japan who lived from 1896 to 1933. The poem was found posthumously in a small black notebook in one of the poet's trunks.

Here is some of the true "Wisdom of the East" many hunger for.
It is so simple and so common that we often overlook it.

Also, when we are surrounded by avaricious greed and materialism in all our politics and big business corporations - our so-called leaders leading us in the wrong direction - where all are working for selfish ends, directed by ignorance.

I would like to share this here and hope that reading this, especially at this special holiday season, will remind us all that what is important, what is most essential, is often invisible to the eye. Contentment in the simplicity of things is traditionally a Japanese virtue. The spirit of this poem is also seen in how civilly the Japanese reacted after the disastrous earthquake and tsunami of 2011.

"Greed is the undoing and ruin of (Dharma) Truth and righteousness."
                                                                                                       - The Mahabharata



ame ni mo makezu
「雨ニモマケズ」
“Not losing to the Rain”

miyazawa kenji
宮澤賢治
by Miyazawa Kenji
 
ame ni mo makezu
雨にも負けず
not losing to the rain

kaze ni mo makezu
風にも負けず
not losing to the wind

yuki ni mo natsu no atsusa ni mo makenu
雪にも夏の暑さにも負けぬ
not losing to the snow nor to summer's heat

joubu na karada wo mochi
丈夫なからだをもち
with a strong body

yoku wa naku
慾はなく
unfettered by desire

kesshite ikarazu
決して怒らず
never losing temper

itsu mo shizuka ni waratte iru
いつも静かに笑っている
cultivating a quiet joy

ichi nichi ni genmai yon gou to
一日に玄米四合と
every day four bowls of brown rice

miso to sukoshi no yasai wo tabe
味噌と少しの野菜を食べ
miso and some vegetables to eat

arayuru koto wo
あらゆることを
in everything

jibun wo kanjou ni irezu ni
自分を勘定に入れずに
count yourself last and put others before you

yoku mikiki shi wakari
よく見聞きし分かり
watching and listening, and understanding

soshite wasurezu
そして忘れず
and never forgetting

nohara no matsu no hayashi no kage no
野原の松の林の陰の
in the shade of the woods of the pines of the fields

chiisa na kayabuki no koya ni ite
小さな萱ぶきの小屋にいて
being in a little thatched hut

higashi ni byouki no kodomo areba
東に病気の子供あれば
if there is a sick child to the east

itte kanbyou shite yari
行って看病してやり
going and nursing over them

nishi ni tsukareta haha areba
西に疲れた母あれば
if there is a tired mother to the west

itte sono ine no taba wo oi
行ってその稲の束を負い
going and shouldering her sheaf of rice

minami ni shinisō na hito areba
南に死にそうな人あれば
if there is someone near death to the south

itte kowagaranakute mo ii to ii
行ってこわがらなくてもいいといい
going and saying there's no need to be afraid

kita ni kenka ya soshou ga areba
北に喧嘩や訴訟があれば
if there is a quarrel or a suit to the north

tsumaranai kara yamero to ii
つまらないからやめろといい
telling them to leave off with such waste

hideri no toki wa namida wo nagashi
日照りの時は涙を流し
when there's drought, shedding tears of sympathy

samusa no natsu wa oro-oro aruki
寒さの夏はおろおろ歩き
when the summer's cold, wandering upset

minna ni deku-no-bō to yobare
みんなにでくのぼーと呼ばれ
called worthless by everyone

homerare mo sezu
褒められもせず
without being praised

ku ni mo sarezu
苦にもされず
without being blamed

sou iu mono ni
そういうものに
such a person

watashi wa naritai
わたしはなりたい
I want to become


 

Saturday, September 14, 2013

When I say 'PSYCHO' / "SAIKO"... I mean something else...

Poster for the 1960 film that changed cinematic horror forever.
When most people hear the word 'psycho' we immediately picture a shower curtain hissing as it's ripped back to reveal a stark menacing silhouette to the piercing shriek of violins and a helpless woman screaming !

We're never more vulnerable than when we're naked.





AAAAAAAARRRHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

This is due to the influence in pop culture of the art and craft of the great movie director Alfred Hitchcock who understood how to keep us in suspense and terrify us. The visuals and music from this less than 1 minute segment of cinema history has influenced and inspired many, many parodies and imitations for decades.

Because of this one very popular movie, we now have the word "psycho" as a commonly used word in the English language. It means a crazy person. A mentally deranged person who is seriously dangerous.
The proper English word for this condition is "insane".

"Allow me to introduce myself: my name is Alfred Hitchcock."

IN JAPAN HOWEVER when people say "saiko" 最高 , which sounds exactly the same as our English 'psycho', people mean "the best", "highest", or "supreme"!!!

I've heard it used several times while living in Japan. People say it when declaring something to be really great or "Awesome!"... but, I can't help thinking of Norman Bates,  his "Mother", and the spooky, old, dark house on the hill overlooking the desolate Bates Motel.... and smiling to myself.

He wouldn't even harm a fly. But what about his Mother?

"VACANCY".... always room for one more.

Check-in. Relax. Take a shower.
The English term "psycho" is taken directly from the word:
 "psychopath" 精神病質者
 or "psychotic" 精神病 患者 - seishinbyo kanja
These Japanese words are technical medical jargon.

"Psycho" also relates (directly or indirectly) to words like:

psychology 心理学 - shinrigaku (mind-science)
psychiatrist 精神科医 - seishinkai
psychiatry 精神医学 - seishin igaku

Which all come from the root-word "psyche" - 精神 - seishin
Psyche is the totality of the human mind, conscious, and unconscious.
Psychology is the scientific or objective study of the psyche.

The word "Psyche" means the mind but is also actually a name.
Psyche is a female character from Greek and Roman mythology 神話学.
Psyche (the Mind, or human Soul 魂 - tamashi) fell in love with Cupid (Love).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupid_and_Psyche

Cupid & Psyche: In love with Love.

Alfred Hitchcock created a masterpiece of suspense cinema with 'Psycho', but he didn't write it.
The book Psycho by Robert Bloch was published in 1959. Old Hitch was "on that like white on rice!"



This directly inspired the novel American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991 and made into a graphically violent horror film starring Christian Bale in 2000.


Christian Bale: American Psycho



NOTE: I'm told the Japanese words for "insane" {Not the technical terms mentioned above; check your Japanese dictionary} are considered very highly offensive in Japan! They are not even used on radio or T.V. in the same way network T.V. in the U.S. doesn't use the "F" or "S" words; but they are more akin in offensiveness to the "N" word when used as curse words in Japan. Yes, that offensive! Just don't use them. I note it here only because foreigners using a dictionary may not be aware of this sensitivity in Japan. In America we often say things like "You're so crazy!" or "That's insane!" to friends in a humorous way; NOT so in Japan.

So, it is better just to say "PSYCHO!" / "SAIKO!" just to be safely polite... or, politely safe!




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Tuesday, July 16, 2013

CULT MOVIES...

Malcolm McDowell in 'A Clockwork Orange'

Have you ever seen a cult movie?

Which is your favorite?

What kinds of movies do you like?


It can be a little difficult to explain just exactly what a cult movie is. And there are a couple different opinions. Cult films can be almost of any genre ( 部類 burui): Horror, Action, Drama, Comedy, Sci-Fi etc.) ...
One of the best horror films, 'The Shining' is often quoted and imitated and "spoofed" by other shows and movies; but does that make it a Cult Film?


but some Cult Films often fall outside, or between, these genre themes as well. And if a Cult Horror movie is not really terrifying there is certainly plenty of strangeness.


'Naked Lunch', is not exactly what you may think it means
A VERY Strange movie...

According to Wikipedia a cult film is

a film that has acquired a cult following. 
(Fans of a certain movie are seen as a group, like a cult).

Cult films are known for their dedicated fanbase (devoted "Hardcore" fans),
an elaborate subculture that engage in repeated viewings (watch the movie many times, as a group or alone),
quoting dialogue = 台詞を真似する, and audience participation=観客が役者の身なりや動作、台詞などを真似する. 

In the past these movies were not big Hollywood productions. They were smaller budget (low cost, with new or untrained actors), obscure 無名の映画 or difficult to see films often with transgressive  度が超えた映画  themes.

Like Divine in 'Pink Flamingos'...
'Pink Flamingos' 1972
Divine struggles to become "The Filthiest Person Alive"

Or some films that were not popular when they first premiered but gained a huge cult following with late night midnight movie shows... like 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show'...
'The Rocky Horror Picture Show'.  The Queen Mother of Cult Movies
features cross dressing space aliens.
Rocky Horror has the longest-running theatrical release in film history. It gained notoriety as a midnight movie in 1977 when audiences began participating with the film in theaters. 
Audience participating at a midnight showing of 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show'


Hardcore fans at a midnight showing of 'Rocky Horror'. Many dress like characters from the film.

Rocky Horror is the first film from a major Hollywood studio to be in the midnight movie market. The motion picture musical has a large international cult following and is one of the most well-known and financially successful midnight movies of all time. Even almost 40 years later it is still shown in theaters worldwide as a midnight movie! 

Audiences are encouraged to participate in the 'Rocky' experience by dressing up as characters, yelling dialogue at the characters on the screen, dancing, singing and even using props like newspapers, noisemakers, rice or tissue paper (at appropriate times during the movie).

I first saw 'Rocky Horror' in 1989 in Madison, Wisconsin. A year or so later I joined the 'Rocky' cult in Daytona Beach and Orlando Florida. 'Rocky Horror' is a guaranteed weekend party. It is really remarkable how the mutual love of a single film can bring people together and form friendships that can last a lifetime. 

Japan has some of it's own Cult films of Horror, New Wave, and Crime - Drama. Akira Kurosawa's films are known all over the world and are known in the West as "Samurai Cinema". So, there is a Kurosawa Film Cult, a Japanese Horror Film Cult, Japanese Big Monster Film Cult etc.
Some examples of Japanese Cult Movies (of the Horror genre) would be 

Godzilla (1954)

Onibaba (1964)

Jigoku ("HELL") (1960)

House ("Hausu") (1977)

Kwaidan (1964) THIS ONE IS A MUST SEE!! Very ghostly traditional Japanese atmosphere



At the risk of dating myself... here is a list of some of my favorite Cult Films, (of course I really enjoy Horror films), in no particular order.

#1. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
"Don't Dream It.... Be It"

Horror - Sci-Fi - Rock-n-Roll Musical - Comedy.


#2. Suspiria (1977)
Italian Horror with marvelous color, music, sound and atmosphere. Spectacular murder scenes.


#3. Harold and Maude (1971)
Black Comedy - Drama - Romance (?) and 70's touchstone. Great music by Cat Stevens.


#4. Any Horror Film starring Vincent Price (usually based on an Edgar Allan Poe story)
Masque of the Red Death (1964)

The Raven (1963) with Boris Karloff (Frankenstein, The Mummy), Peter Lorre and a very young Jack Nicholson

The Abominable Doctor Phibes (1971)

Cult Horror - Overacting, overkilling, overdressing (in a really great way!) etc... etc... etc...


#5. The Boondock Saints (1999)
Action - Black Comedy - Crime Drama.


#6. Female Trouble (1974)

A new high in low taste... Cult Comedy based on the idea that "Crime = Beauty".


#7. The Company of Wolves (1984)

Dark Fantasy - Horror - Subtle erotic symbolism played on the Little Red Riding Hood theme.


#8. The Hunger (1983)


Stylish Horror starring Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie and Susan Sarandon. A vampire film that never mentions the word "vampire".


#9. Flash Gordon (1980)

Sci-Fi - Fantasy - Action - Adventure with a rocking soundtrack by QUEEN !


#10. FREAKS (1932)

Human Drama - Horror. A deeply moving and disturbing film that features real people with various deformities as circus sideshow performers. The film was banned for years and received limited showings. It is now a classic of Cinema. The ending where the "freaks" get their revenge on the malicious couple is one of the most disturbing scenes in cinema. Here is a trailer:


I must also give honorable mention to ...
Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Horror - Suspense - Mystery -Thriller that smells of brimstone.

Technically Rosemary's Baby is not a "Cult Film" because it is a very widely known and popular major studio release with an all star cast and crew. But that doesn't stop me from being a devoted fan of the movie. I sometimes imagine acting it out 'Rocky Horror' style in a theater; I even imagine casting people I meet in daily life in various roles LOL.

Of course there are many other films I haven't mentioned (Island of Lost Souls, Carnival of Souls, Daughters of Darkness, any film directed by David Cronenberg or David Lynch etc...just to name a few) but I hope this gives a small introduction to Cult Movies to my Japanese friends. Watching foreign language films are an excellent supplement to foreign language study. It improves listening ability and pronunciation with repeated viewings.

You can check out other Cult Films by copying and pasting these links here into your browser:

http://www.criterion.com/explore/1-cult-movies

http://www.totalfilm.com/features/the-34-greatest-cult-movies-of-all-time/labyrinth-1986


Friday, February 15, 2013

LOVE: Japanese Style



So how was your Valentine's Day?

Did you do anything romantic with your sweetheart?
Were chocolates or flowers a part of your plans?
Or, If you are single, did you take the time to let a close friend know how much they mean to you? Or treat (もてなす = motenasu) yourself?

However you spent VD (Valentine's Day) I hope it was enjoyable and satisfactory.
By the way, a few of us Americans often joke when we refer to Valentine's Day as "VD" because "VD" is also a way to say 'Venereal Disease'
A Dis-ease of Venus, the Roman Goddess of Love....
"I'm so embarrassed!"
"恥ずかしい!"
"Hazukashii!"
Some tasteless American sense of humor for you.....

Anyway, I asked some of my Japanese English students about love because "love" is usually an unspoken word in Japan. Japanese people in general are too embarrassed to say "I love you", even to their own spouses and children!

"Saying "love" in Japanese can be a bit tricky. Ai (愛  or あい) is the direct translation of "love," but it's generally only for movie titles or as a joke."

       - from: 'More Making Out in Japanese' by Todd & Erica Geers


"AI" will always love you

In fact any open or outwards displays of affection in Japan are extremely rare. I've never seen Japanese friends or families hug each other, let alone kiss. I have seen a few people holding hands... that's about it. This is quite shocking and bewildering to an American like me. I remember my surprise when, visiting Japan years ago with my wife Mia, she did not hug her parents hello or goodbye,  even though we saw them only once a year then. When I asked her about it she said Japanese families don't hug each other, even after a long time spent apart. I have hugged friends and even co-workers in the past even though I would see them again in a day or two!

"Aishiteiryo" literally "I love you" has a very heavy, serious tone to it and is (almost) never said to one's spouse and never to one's children or parents. The only time it may be appropriate is if you are about to die while engulfed in flames together with your dearest.

None of my English students, from college age to retirement age, have ever said "I love you" to their girl/boyfriends, spouses or children! Please re-read that last sentence. It is considered too embarrassing. One or two did admit to saying it to their spouse once many, many years ago before marriage. One father admitted to saying "Daisuki-daiyo" ("I REALLY like you") once to his small child to calm her crying. Some Japanese men seem to think it is not "manly" (otokorashii = 男らしい ) behavior for a man to profess his love in words. It is an unspoken sentiment in Japanese culture. Meant to be inferred rather than expressed.

Instead of saying "I love you", Japanese say suki  好き= "I like (you)", or maybe they will say "Daisuki"  大好き= "I (really) like you a lot".... but that's even rarer than suki. I often hear "Eigo suki" (= I like English), or "Choco suki" (= I like chocolate), or maybe even "Eigo daisuki" (= I really like English), but Japanese people (in general) seem to not feel comfortable expressing love, or other emotions for that matter, outwardly.

"Go easy (at first) on the sweet talk. Japanese boys don't throw around a lot of compliments or terms of endearment, so most girls are not accustomed to such attention. However, in the long run, most will definitely enjoy it."

    - from: 'More Making Out in Japanese' by Todd & Erica Geers

Maybe we Americans overuse the word "love". We say it so often, so easily and carelessly: "I love horror movies", "I love pizza" etc... and maybe we hug out of a desperate need for connection. Nevertheless (sore demo = それでも), I can't imagine growing up or living without hugs, kisses or hearing the word "love" from all my family and friends, can you?

Friday, January 11, 2013

What Americans Think About When We Think Of Japan

What image does Japan project to the rest of the world?
How do people in other countries see Japan?

I asked my friends and my wife and myself  for some ideas associated with
'The Land of the Rising Sun', and it's people. So, here's some of what came up... in no particular order (bara-bara de, ranking dewa-nai) when we ask:

 WHAT DO AMERICANS THINK ABOUT WHEN THEY THINK ABOUT JAPAN???

1. SUSHI / SASHIMI
Sushi
Rice rolled in seaweed usually w/ (pickled) vegetables and/or raw fish
Different types of sushi
Sashimi
Raw Fish
 Americans have developed a love for sushi in recent years. Many sushi restaurants have popped up all across the country since about the 1980's. However, sushi restaurants that are actually owned and operated by Japanese people in the U.S. are quite rare. Sushi and "Japanese" restaurants in the U.S.A. are more often run by Korean, Chinese or even Vietnamese immigrants who have the wisdom to cash-in on (make money from) the sushi craze (sushi boom).

Moreover, American sushi is often different when compared with what you find in Japan. Most commonly, American sushi restaurants roll the seaweed (nori) on the inside and have the rice on the outside of the sushi roll! !!! Like this:
This is never seen in Japan. Westerners do this because seaweed is not seen as appetizing so they try to hide it! This also causes the sticky rice to dry-out swiftly! Crazy Americans!
One of the benefits of living in Japan is having easy access to delicious quality sushi at reasonable prices. Sometimes I pick up sushi at the supermarket on my way home after work. In late evening it drops to half price! In Japan a good quality large pizza is usually more expensive than a platter of sushi (which reminds me, I must write a blog about Japanese pizza and it's .....toppings.....).


2. SAKE
Japanese sake (pronounced sah-kay) is rice wine. It comes in almost as many varieties as red wine. Sake, clear sake, sweet - cloudy sake, and many local varieties, served warm or chilled, is the perfect compliment to Japanese cuisine. Drunk daily after a long, hard day's work or on special ritualistic occasions such as New Year's or weddings, sake is the ubiquitous alcoholic drink of Japan.
Gekeikan sake is a personal favorite.

Sake is a form of alcoholic beverage; a rice wine to be precise, NOT a liquor or spirit such as whisky or vodka (for Japanese spirits you will want to try shochu or imo-shochu). 
The process of making sake is very interesting and even the by-products can be used in cosmetics like hand and face lotions, hair care products, baths etc...
Casks of Sake are often given as offerings at shrines and temples.
3. SAMURAI and SAMURAI MOVIES

Toshiro Mifune exemplified the samurai spirit to international movie audiences in many films.
The Term samurai originally meant "those who serve in close attendance to nobility". Fierce and noble warriors akin to the European tradition of knighthood but with a style uniquely and deeply Japanese.
Willing to lay down their lives for their master's honor. Not the least case of which is their fame for ritual suicide (seppuku, or "Hara-Kiri" literally "Belly-Cut") when honor or respect required it. 

People  outside and inside Japan have an image of the samurai warrior that is largely shaped by cinema in general and the films of Akira Kurosawa in particular. Brilliant samurai films such as 'Seven Samurai', 'Yojimbo', and 'Sanjuro' are enduringly popular examples of samurai cinema.

Here is a 5 min. clip from 'Yojimbo'. Mifune plays a strong, quiet 'Ronin', a masterless samurai, who wanders into a village that's been taken over by two rival gangs of bad guys. By wit and moral strength he manages to turn the tables on the baddies and free the village from tyranny. Years later Hollywood remade it as a Western with Clint Eastwood in 'A Fist Full of Dollars'; (just as 'Seven Samurai' was reincarnated as 'The Magnificent Seven').


The samurai spirit is still alive and well in modern day Japan in the ubiquitous....

4. JAPANESE SALARYMAN

Exhausted, over-worked, stressed-out, borderline suicidal,  enduring the slings and arrows of a pitiless corporate world based on a militaristic code of responsibility to meet impossible demands in a short period of time within a pecking-order plagued with bullying as much as any Japanese high school student.

I think this brief anime accurately shows the daily struggle of your average Japanese salaryman 
(o.k., not really. I just thought it was funny):

Speaking of samurai salaryman, that brings us to...

5. NINJA
Silent but deadly
The kanji character for 'Nin' carries the double meaning of "To walk very softly" & "To bear what is unbearable". These shadowy and mysterious assassins were as deceptive and clever as the samurai were noble and brave. They actually play a very small part in Japan's history, merely an odd footnote; but their fascinating aura and skills with exotic weapons and devices, plus their habit of working deadly magic in the dead of night, have exploded their actual historical relevance beyond all reality and insured them a place in American pop culture. Or, maybe, it was the secret nature of their art and their intention not to leave a mark in the history books! Hhmmmm....

They often lived normal lives to all outward appearances: farmers, pharmacologists, merchants; but they had a secret underground society in which they perfected martial skills, techniques of swift (or slow) death, the use of drugs and poisons, pyrotechnics, occult techniques said to give invisibility and strength. They were assassins for hire. While the samurai were bound by a code of honor (Bushido), the ninja were not above fighting dirty. In fact, they excelled at just that! Also, there were female ninja (kunoichi) while samurai was for men only.

But to really see the feminine side of Japan we must take a look at...

6. GEISHA / MAIKO and Ladies wearing KIMONOS
What can I say about Geisha that has not already been said a million times, whether true or untrue?
 I have had the pleasure of observing a public traditional dance and musical performance by Maiko (young apprentice Geisha) in Kyoto a few New Years ago. The elegance, grace, beauty, style and severe professionalism of these women is remarkable. They are rare even in Japan, but to catch a glimpse is to make your heart beat a little faster and take your breath away. Consummate entertainers and hostesses trained for years to the the highest possible degree in various arts and traditions, these beautiful and skilled women are for many Americans the "face of Japan". 

However, seeing women wearing kimonos is a normal everyday occurrence here in Japan. Usually older women (or sometimes younger women) on their way to flower arranging or tea ceremony lessons. I always marvel at how they manage to get around and look so good in a kimono. I used to think the obi (sash) had some kind of backpack in back but no, that's just how it's worn, she's not packing a tea set back there! But she may be stashing something in those sleeves!

7. ANIME / MANGA

'My Neighbor Totorro' is one of Hayao Miyazaki's exceptional anime films produced by Ghibli studios.
Typical anime girl
IT IS EVERYWHERE!!!! You can't escape it ! Anime is here to stay! I really have only a mild, occasional interest in certain anime films so I'm not really familiar with it. It's a huge industry here in Japan! Massive manga magazines (and smaller ones too) are overflowing in the bookshops here. Big-eyed, androgynous, colorfully dressed, cute characters with cat ears stare at you from pachinko parlors, train stations, restaurants, the supermarket... EVERYWHERE! In recent years the boom has spread abroad and Pokemon, Dragonball and Deathnote are now household words in the U.S.. The best films are those directed by Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. They are artistically stunning, and the stories carry deep, universal, human messages.

8. GODZILLA
One of my favorite things in childhood was watching monster movies. O.k., actually it still is one of my favorite things. My first exposure to Japanese culture was through big monster movies, especially Godzilla. Or, Godzilla vs. King Kong, or Godzilla vs. Mothra, or Godzilla vs. Rodan etc... I was hooked immediately! The monsters were cool, the Japanese actors and the settings seemed exotic to me. 

Did you know that the original Godzilla film appeared in 1954? Only 9 years after the end of WWII? The original Godzilla is a cathartic image of radioactive destruction on a massive scale... a giant, moving, radioactive fire-breathing, city-stomping nightmare which inevitably brings us to the hardest associations we Americans have of Japan....

9. WWII
I am at a loss for words on this subject. I will let a few pictures speak for themselves. All I want to say is that this happened within living memory. People are still alive today who lived through these experiences and saw these images as they happened.
Atomic bomb mushroom clouds over Hiroshima (left) and Nagasaki (right)

Surprise Attack on Pearl Harbor

Japanese-American Internment
Japanese American Internment Camp
Japanese-American family being sent to internment camp
Hiroshima



They died saying "Water, Water! I thirst!"

Japanese soldier executing a POW (Prisoner of  War)
I'll just say one more thing on this topic: 
War is as empty, ugly and cold as a 2 day old corpse.

But let's not dwell on the sad, sad past. Many of my friends have remarked on how well behaved, how civilized, Japanese people are in the midst of mass destruction and devastation. When the Earthquake & Tsunami hit Japan in March 2011, the planet sat stunned watching the images, not only of the incredible devastation, but of how people would stand waiting in line for hours for water or supplies and didn't start running around looting or doing harm or committing crimes as we've seen happen so often in the U.S.A. after major hurricanes. This is because of 

10. RESPECT & TRADITION

Yes, Japan has a rather militaristic flavor which I sense has something to do with Bushido, the way of the samurai from ancient times. For example, people are called by their family (last) names, from school age on up to work, and even among old friends. "Military time" is standard here (1600 instead of 4pm). While this culture may be stiff and rigid and with unbending rules that will bend your mind (as compared with America) there is a sense of respect and tradition, and a sense of "we" being bigger than "I". This is a tough pill to swallow for an individualistic American such as myself. This also has a terrible side which is obvious in the stress on conformity and "Harmony" (read: don't complain, and don't voice your truth) resulting in a high ratio of bullying and suicide.

 Ideally Americans could get a little more restraint and discipline from the Japanese. And in return, Japanese could learn how to take it easy, to not work quite so hard and slavishly and to spend more quality time with their families (however, this would require an entire overhaul of the massive coiling tentacles of bureaucracy - see a previous blog of mine for that particular subject). 

There is a joke in Japan about 7-11. You know, 7-11? That's standard working hours for Japanese. Or how about starting a loving relationship with a real person instead of a virtual relationship with an anime character on their iPhone (but hey, whatever makes you happy). 
If only they can get the time off from work to have a relationship. 

But this tradition of respect manifests in a very low overall crime rate so they must be doing something right. I mean, I can leave by bag with my stuff in it sitting on a seat in a cafe or on a subway platform bench and go to the bathroom and expect to find it sitting just as I left it when I return. That's respect. That's being civilized.