I have never before in my life felt like I was a minority, until Japan. It is an interesting experience, and I think that it speaks a lot about Japanese culture. You see, being foreign, you get a lot of stares. And for a nation that produced ninjas, Japan has a lot to learn about being subtle.
I had fully researched the pros and cons of living in Japan. I actually expected the stares and such to be much worse. I generally do not even notice it, and it never has bothered me, but last night I went out with some friends after work and my friends were venting about how tired they were of the stares and whispers and pointing. Given that I usually don't pay attention, it took her pointing out a specific table before I noticed how blatantly rude some Japanese people were being.
It is interesting to me, that for a culture that places so much emphasis on politeness, that they can be so incredibly rude. Granted, it is stupid to put any large group of people into a category and be surprised when there are some who don't conform to that category, but it is my impression that Japanese people "lose face" if they are rude. That it is shameful. I was trying to bridge my understanding with the fact that these Japanese people were being extremely rude, and I came up with two possibilities:
Perhaps they were just drunk. It was 11pm on a friday night, and Japanese generally love their alchohol. Another possibility occurred to me, however: maybe the "rules" of Japanese society only apply to Japanese people. Perhaps it is totally acceptable to be rude to foreigners? It certainly would make sense given some of the outright rudeness I have experienced. However, and it says alot about such a homogenous nation, that the rudeness I've experienced (noticed?) has been the vast minority compared to the Japanese people who have been extremely kind to me. I have had many experiences of complete strangers going out of their way to help me or show me kindness, and this has helped my enjoyment of Japan immensely. Just knowing that there are some people, just like everywhere else, that are kind and giving... its nice.
It seems that being awed by foreigners isn't merely racism or xenophobia, but rather, it is a facet of being Japanese. By being completely awestruck by someone that is different, that is not Japanese, they are reinforcing what it means to be Japanese. I think that Japanese culture has long prided itself on how it was different, special, unique. The modern xenophobia that is so prevalent in Japan is simply a manifestation of how Japanese are still so desperate to be different. (And I bet most Japanese wouldn't stop at different, but would say "superior".)
Now, this might sound like an overly critical observation, but I would like to state that this is all (at least, attempting to be) from a detatched, scholarly point of view. I daresay that arrogance and the idea of superiority is by far a bigger problem in the West. I think every culture, every group of people, wants to think of itself as the best. Nothing new there, and ironically, nothing unique.
All in all, Japan is definately a foreign culture, far more foreign than I had ever before realized. The glimmers of understanding that I thought I had gained in college are actually just the tip of the iceberg. So now I sail onward, into the unknown future, and hopefully find a gradschool scholarship at the end of my voyage... I just have to watch out for those icebergs.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Monday, January 22, 2007
Getting a haircut... in Japan
So today, I only worked a half-day. That means I go in to work at 6:40 instead of 3:10. Today in particular, I decided to go get my haircut after I went out for lunch. I had biked to a ramen shop in my neighborhood, and knew of a barber I had been wanting to try out on my way home; it was a small barbershop, husband and wife type of place, and I pass it all the time as its on one of the routes I take to the station. Today, however, he was closed! I had never seen him closed before and wasn't sure what was up, but I figured I could find another barbershop somewhere close.
I biked through my neighborhood passing another barbershop that was closed, and I began wondering if all barbarshops close early or something, even though I knew I had seen some open later. I pass a third and fourth that are closed, and decide to head to my friend TK's clothing store to ask about it. (TK is a Japanese guy who spent two years living in America while studying. He completely immersed himself in the culture, lived with American roommates, and as a result he speaks very natural, very excellent English.)
Anyways, on the way to his store, I pass yet another barbershop I knew of, and it too was closed. At this point I am wondering if there is some sort of holiday, (there are a TON of holidays in Japan), but no other store seems to be closed. "Maybe its some sort of whacky barber-only holiday?", I think to myself.
I get to TK's store, and as I walk in he laughs.
"Good timing, I just got back."
"Where from?"
"Getting a haircut."
I laugh and explain how I was on my way to get a haircut, but I couldn't find any that are open. I jokingly ask if there is some sort of barber holiday, and alas... there is! Apparently every Monday, most barbers close up shop and take a day off. I knew of at least one place that might still be open today, since I didn't want to pay the equivalent of $20 for my haircut. (That is what TK paid at the hair stylist he went to.) So I continue on to the station, which, like most big stations, doubles as a sort of minimall. Sure enough, the super high tech "10 minutes, $10" haircut place was open today! "Sugoi!", I thought to myself. (This means "wonderful!")
I walk in and the it was totally empty, save for the three barbers, who all welcome me to the store. I look at them expectantly, and they look back at me equally expectantly. Keep in mind, my Japanese is mostly nonexistant at this point. I keep waiting for someone to gesture to one of the empty chairs and say "Dozo" (which in this case would mean, "take a seat", and generally means something along the lines of "here you go" modified by context), but instead he gestured behind me. I look behind me and see a bench and think he means for me to take off my jacket, so I do so, and then walk up to the chair. Again, he is gesturing behind me, and saying "ticket".
I look around and notice a big machine that has lots of lights and Japanese characters on it, but I recognize the "1000 yen" part near what looks like a hole used to insert money, and it finally clicks. This is one of the crazy places that operates on "tickets". Keep in mind, that Japan is a very small place where space is at a premium. I could understand a set up like this if it were, say, a sprawling empire of a barbershop, but it is about as big as the room you are reading this from, if not smaller. There are restaurants that have the same principle. Its like, you walk in and walk up to the ticket machine, insert your money, and press the buttons for your order. It just doesn't seem to make sense, aside from perhaps being a security measure to protect the cash profits? Still seems a little overkill, in my opinion, especially in a country with such little crime.
Anyhoo, I get a ticket and he takes it from me, then opens up the mirror like a door, revealing a closet for my jacket. I sit down, and notice that directly below the mirror, still a part of the door, is a flatscreen display monitor showing the latest news headlines. This place is HIGH TECH! All the hair styling instruments are in what look like a microwave oven, which apparently somehow desanitizes the hair styling things in between use. At the end of my haircut, he pulls out a sweeper from the cabinet above the microwave thing, and uses it to effectively get all of the stray hairs from my haircut. And finally he uses some sort of... like a toothbrush without bristles, I guess, and rubs it in my ears and it collects all of the stray hairs that fell in them.
All in all, this story pretty much sums up the majority of my experiences thus far; even something so mundane as getting your haircut can be quite an adventure!!!
I biked through my neighborhood passing another barbershop that was closed, and I began wondering if all barbarshops close early or something, even though I knew I had seen some open later. I pass a third and fourth that are closed, and decide to head to my friend TK's clothing store to ask about it. (TK is a Japanese guy who spent two years living in America while studying. He completely immersed himself in the culture, lived with American roommates, and as a result he speaks very natural, very excellent English.)
Anyways, on the way to his store, I pass yet another barbershop I knew of, and it too was closed. At this point I am wondering if there is some sort of holiday, (there are a TON of holidays in Japan), but no other store seems to be closed. "Maybe its some sort of whacky barber-only holiday?", I think to myself.
I get to TK's store, and as I walk in he laughs.
"Good timing, I just got back."
"Where from?"
"Getting a haircut."
I laugh and explain how I was on my way to get a haircut, but I couldn't find any that are open. I jokingly ask if there is some sort of barber holiday, and alas... there is! Apparently every Monday, most barbers close up shop and take a day off. I knew of at least one place that might still be open today, since I didn't want to pay the equivalent of $20 for my haircut. (That is what TK paid at the hair stylist he went to.) So I continue on to the station, which, like most big stations, doubles as a sort of minimall. Sure enough, the super high tech "10 minutes, $10" haircut place was open today! "Sugoi!", I thought to myself. (This means "wonderful!")
I walk in and the it was totally empty, save for the three barbers, who all welcome me to the store. I look at them expectantly, and they look back at me equally expectantly. Keep in mind, my Japanese is mostly nonexistant at this point. I keep waiting for someone to gesture to one of the empty chairs and say "Dozo" (which in this case would mean, "take a seat", and generally means something along the lines of "here you go" modified by context), but instead he gestured behind me. I look behind me and see a bench and think he means for me to take off my jacket, so I do so, and then walk up to the chair. Again, he is gesturing behind me, and saying "ticket".
I look around and notice a big machine that has lots of lights and Japanese characters on it, but I recognize the "1000 yen" part near what looks like a hole used to insert money, and it finally clicks. This is one of the crazy places that operates on "tickets". Keep in mind, that Japan is a very small place where space is at a premium. I could understand a set up like this if it were, say, a sprawling empire of a barbershop, but it is about as big as the room you are reading this from, if not smaller. There are restaurants that have the same principle. Its like, you walk in and walk up to the ticket machine, insert your money, and press the buttons for your order. It just doesn't seem to make sense, aside from perhaps being a security measure to protect the cash profits? Still seems a little overkill, in my opinion, especially in a country with such little crime.
Anyhoo, I get a ticket and he takes it from me, then opens up the mirror like a door, revealing a closet for my jacket. I sit down, and notice that directly below the mirror, still a part of the door, is a flatscreen display monitor showing the latest news headlines. This place is HIGH TECH! All the hair styling instruments are in what look like a microwave oven, which apparently somehow desanitizes the hair styling things in between use. At the end of my haircut, he pulls out a sweeper from the cabinet above the microwave thing, and uses it to effectively get all of the stray hairs from my haircut. And finally he uses some sort of... like a toothbrush without bristles, I guess, and rubs it in my ears and it collects all of the stray hairs that fell in them.
All in all, this story pretty much sums up the majority of my experiences thus far; even something so mundane as getting your haircut can be quite an adventure!!!
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