May 29, 2008 by Christopher Born.

Don’t have too much time to write today - have to work on music for a short film…but this is WAY cool:  Trends in Japan Blog.

You can find out about latest technology, gadgets, fashions, and good websites.  For instance, the post on brand research with Nekore was published 5 days ago.  Nekore allows fashion seekers to use various magazines as brand catalogs (aren’t they already?)

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May 20, 2008 by Christopher Born.

Doing some digging for a future project, I discovered the Japan Media Review site at USC.There, you can find articles on anything from e-learning on cell phones to censorship, goings on at NHK to tabloid coverage.  The News Blog section is also noteworthy, as it covers unconventional topics.

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April 28, 2008 by Christopher Born.

I found a great Japanese fashion site today. 
Take a look at this graphic.



It shows the interrelationship between men’s styles and magazines that cover it.For the non -Japanese reader, the upper edge of the map is the shoshokusei ga tsuyoi/ryuuko. (This means “Heavy Ornamentation” and “Fashionable.) The orange left-most edge is Onauke-softo which means “Feminine/soft” while the grey right-edge says “Masculine/hard” in grey.  The bottom, in brown is shimpuru-teiban, which means simple, standard goods.  AAAGoing counter-clockwise, starting at the top-left, this quadrant is defined by  biyoushikei,  which is “The beautician style” which sports hyper-feminized, unisex, or even female looks.

In the darker orange box that stretches down in to the lower-right, Extreme quadrant, we find the urahara-kei.  Urahara is a play on words for “reverse;” these two kanji here, ura being hidden, or underneath, and hara being Harajuku’s hara.  Together they form “Reverse Hara or Harajuku Underground.”  It tends toward extreme fashion and is a layered look. 

The violet square in the middle, spanning all quadrants in the Mennon-kei, which gets its name from the famous fashion magazine “Men’s Non-No.”  This contains elements of all the styles out there and is most mainstream.Going to the bottom-left, the entire quadrant is defined by the Kireme-kei (This is characterized by freshness, put-togetherness, cleanliness, and safe fashions.)Within this quadrant, going slightly into the Biyoshi-kei, toward the “feminine” edge in the tan box is the Konsaba-kei (Conservative - “defined by elegance, glamor, soft, and a natural impression”.)

Moving right, we find ourselves in the ekusutoriimu-kei. This Extreme style is “hard” and “simple” style and “in the narrow sense, street fashion.”  It’s a mix of skater, outdoor, roomy, almost hip-hop fashion.  There are no sub-genres represented here. Moving back up into the top-right, the light-violet square is characterized by otona no rokku kei.  This “Adult’s Rock” fashion conjures up the words “Rock, Sexy, Hard, Tight” in many magazines, according to Elastic.  (Designer Kitahara Tetsuo comes from this trend.) This style gives you the feeling of street fashion meets high fashion, and the brands are quite costly. 

Inside of this box, we find the grey box of the onii-kei which corresponds to the onee-kei in the woman’s fashion chart below.  This is defined by tanned skin, brown hair, but a more mature presentation than the old-fashioned gyaru corollary of boys who felt left out by their yamamba compatriots.  (Being a group-based culture, the boys needed a group to belong to as well as they hung out with the pack of gyaru.) 

If you do read Japanese, here is the source material along with Japanese explanations of each fashion type.If you like, I can translate it for you you in the near future.  This is a good overview for those who think J-fashion is all decora and goth-loli. There’s a lot going on in the men’s world.

But not so nearly as much as in the women’s world!  

Take a look at this graphic!
On the top, you have the self-intended (Jibun shimu), on the left you have the elegant, on the right the casual, and the bottom, the mote (Mote refers to a girl who is popular with the guys, and vice versa.)In the upper-left quadrant, in olive green, you have the modo-kei (For the fashion addict, who pays attention to global trends, Paris, Milan, NYC, etc), and toward the bottom of the quadrant the arasaa in mauve (Arasaa is fashion for gyaru who never stopped being gyaru! - Araundo Satei or “around thirty”), which dips into mote.

In lavender, the hai-endo kei, (High end) spans the middle between the upper-left and the upper-right quadrants.

Moving to the right, the light-green box encompasses the street-kei, and you can see all of the magazines in that category. (Casual street clothes, fashion students, tops, skirts, jeans, etc.) Moving down to the bottom-right in the area of casual and mote, in the orange box is gaarii-kei, (Girly - think juniors) and the lime-green box is  gyaru-kei (gal, Used to be as in mamba, kogal, kawaii, etc. but according to the source site, it refers to a young lady who has overall fashion trendiness…”LA Celeb style” for whatever that’s worth!) 

On the bottom-left, in the pink box is the Onee-kei (Onee-san means “older sister and the Onee Kei refers to styles for women who have graduated from the Gyaru-kei).  Just above, in violet, is the OL-Kei which spans between elegant and casual. OL means “Office Lady” and tends to refer to women who, you guessed it, are professionals, and are going to be more conservative in appearance. 

Now, let’s go find some of these magazines!  Stay fresh, not stale! 

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April 25, 2008 by Christopher Born.

As if you have any more time for reading than I do…I’ve recently interacted over Facebook with one of my favorite writers and researchers on Japanese popular culture, Mr. Roland Kelts.  Those of you who have attended my classes or lectures know that I have gotten a lot of my material and raw content from his 2006 book, Japanamerica: How Japanese Popular Culture has Invaded the United States. I came to know about the subject of the previous post, Kuuhaku, after I searched for other works Mr. Kelts has written. In Kuuhaku, there is a story called “Father Hunters,” where Kelts writes so deftly about so many of the issues in the post modern, post bubble landscape, it made it onto my  ”Must Read” list for the next class I do.  He compressed many of the major points into a short 14 pages.  Subjects such as Oyaji-gari (hence the title), privileged kids and unemployed dads, ridiculous economic downturns, homelessness, freeter, hikikomori, and all the other early 2000’s stuff that has become commonplace and now is just part of the daily action in Japan. I am about midway through the entire book, and it is indeed a work that I like to ingest slowly and carefully, like a meal at Fletcher’s in Crestwood-savoring the smokiness of the uncomfortable and funny morsels, swishing around the melancholy wine in-between, and experiencing the graphics and drawings like hot bread pudding. Roland Kelts shared some of his new stuff with me, so, if you like this kind of thing, check out these links: Daily Yomiuri Arts Weekend  and  A Public Space

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April 3, 2008 by Christopher Born.

Below is the introduction I delivered for Linda, Linda, Linda at Washington University in St. Louis’ Japanese mini-film festival. I really liked this film and highly recommend it from an entertainment and from a sociological perspective. Someone needs to update Hendry and Sugimoto, because things are changing a bit!

In highly developed economies, it is hard to find a more universal theme than that of school life. Because of the compulsory educational standards found both in the United States and in Japan, nearly everyone has some commonality when it comes to memories of adolescent relationships, classroom happenings, and the general type of self-discovery that comes along with the experience we call “high school.”

Unsurprisingly, the film we are about to see does not revolve around classroom happenings, but on interpersonal relationships and group dynamics found within school clubs. Clubs are an important aspect of Japanese school life. Clubs or circles exist throughout school life, from the earliest grades throughout university life, and are integral for social acclimation. There are all sorts of clubs, from dance to martial arts, music to computers, anime to sports, chess to sewing and fashion. Yet, many times, the clubs exist more for the social interaction than the enjoyment of the activity itself!

Clubrooms are places where students can go after school or during breaks to hang out and enjoy spending time with likeminded people. Clubs provide an “in group” within a society that places a high premium on being part of “the group.” These “In” or “Sub” groups allow for individuality in numbers, thereby not causing someone to be a loner or stick out too greatly. If many people enjoy the same activity, there is safety in those numbers. Clubs at any given school also have long histories. Members of any given club may have more or less social capital depending on the status and reputation of the club. Even after members graduate, there is still a sense of community that endures into college years and beyond.

Part of fitting in with a club, or most of Japanese society for that matter, is maintaining group harmony. Not committing meiwaku or an annoyance against a given group is crucial to preserving wa, or harmony. In Linda, Linda, Linda we see a group where some interpersonal meiwaku has fragmented a rock band made up members of the pop music club. This band must still perform at the school festival, but finds itself without a singer. In an attempt to goad one of the members back into singing with the group, one of the band members rashly recruits Son, a Korean exchange student to sing for the band. Not only is Son an outsider in that she is a Gaijin, or foreigner, but the members of this club have been tight with one another since junior high. The offended member stalks off, and as the plot unfolds, the inexperienced Son gets a crash course in Japanese group behavior. Quickly acclimating to an established group in any cultural context, even your own, can be daunting at best. Perhaps some of you who have lived abroad may identify to an extent with Son; I am sure many of us have been on the other side where we are still figuring out how to best embrace and relate to those who are different from us.

At any rate, more than just being a good snapshot of Japanese school life, the movie we are about to see does a good job examining themes of cross-cultural exchange, group dynamics, perseverance, and friendship. Without further ado, please enjoy the show!

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April 3, 2008 by Christopher Born.

I mentioned a while back that I am giving a presentation on Confucian Cardnial relationships, so I thought I’d give a few more details about the presentation. The event begins at 10:00 AM in the Social Sciences Building at UMSL. The event is University of Missouri - St. Louis’ annual “Japan on Campus” day. I will be presenting how ancient Confucian values are still very much alive as the underpinnings of Japanese society, albeit with a twist. Certain cardinal relationships have greater meaning than others, while values of on, giri, rei, and jin are undeniably persistent. We will be applying this knowledge to contemporary Shonen animation to drive the point home. It will be fun to examine the postmodern animation in the context of Confucian values! Welcome to Mechademia - anime examined from the academic perspective.

I mentioned this book before, but since I recently re-read it, I think you may truly enjoy it. T.R. Reid presents a very positive, engaging, and entertaining take on East Asian societies, particularly Japan, and theorizes how Confucian values help keep society together. This book was published in 1999 and is a bit dated, so many other social issues have come up since then that this book could not have addressed. But, the theory and basics are still correct for most of society. Thought this would be a nice contrast to Zielenziger’s Shutting Out The Sun, which, while having good facts, is also a Western perspective and a bit negative.

I am ordering a bunch of Japanese books from Amazon.co.jp shortly that are about Shakai-Mondai (Societal problems and issues) by Japanese and for Japanese readers. I want to see their take and contrast as well.

Confucius Lives Next Door:

What Living in the East Teaches Us About Living In The West

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March 16, 2008 by Christopher Born.

So I am doing another presentation soon - but this time it’s going in different directions from where I’ve taken it before. See, last summer I used T.R.Reid’s book Confucius Lives Next Door: What Living In The East Teaches Us About Living In The West to walk the class through the idea the Confucian morality and philosophy still has great underpinnings in Japanese society. The thing is, from a postmodern perspective (I know, there I go again) the relationships look a bit different. The husband-wife relationship looks vastly different from that of husband and wife in the West in certain instances. The father-son relationship as well. The friend - friend and elder sibling-younger sibling have a huge impact on today’s younger generation, and the ruler-ruled? Well, the ruler tends to be the group that X-san or Y-san belong to. Not much attention is paid to the political leadership on day-to-day things. I’ll never forget my host family’s mother in 1994 saying that she really didn’t follow what was going on in the government, and that the emperor didn’t matter much to anyone anymore. This was so different from what we were led to believe from our global studies textbooks.

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March 7, 2008 by Christopher Born.

I thought I’d share the introduction I gave at Wash U before we watched Hanging Garden.  This movie is good in that it is a decent social commentary regarding  postmodern Japan, but it is quite jarring and hard to stomach. There are scenes of imagined violence and a lot of conversations about sexual themes.  Fortunately there is no nudity or otherwise R-rated content, but the movie is just over the top.  Most of the audience left pretty shaken; the movie is just a downer.  Some have compared it to American Beauty (which I haven’t seen yet, so I can’t say yet) but it at least has a bit of hope at the end.  Sadly, though, the idea of familial love at the end of the movie was very out of touch with what I believe true, self-sacrificing love to be.  It’s more than just paying the bills and keeping everyone together.  It’s actually caring for the emotional needs of those around you, even if you don’t feel like it, even if you’re empty from pouring yourself out all day.  At any rate, here’s the text:

Japanese society, much like our own, or any for that matter, has changed dramatically over the past 50, 20, even 10 years.  Many of us think of Japan as a fragmented scrapbook of images – geisha here, Mount Fuji there, zen here, samurai there, and sushi everywhere.  Sure, these are some of the cherished images of Japan that have intrigued the West over the past few centuries, only to be followed up with by Nintendo and Sony, anime and manga, fashion and economy.  On the outside, we think we know a lot about Japan because we experience the excellent technical, cultural, scientific, and artistic imports that can be picked up in most of our media outlets, restaurants, and boutique shops.  Japan is quickly becoming the progenitor of much of the cultural landscape in which we live; if I may be so bold, akin to Europe of the previous two centuries.

Yet, there is another side to Japan.  Societally speaking, the rate of marriages and births is declining, the population is aging, deaths outnumber births each year, and the workforce is shrinking.  Only until a few years ago, Japan was in the midst of an economic depression. As the promise of lifelong employment waned with each layoff, many sarariman were demoralized.  After the bubble burst in 1993, productivity went down, and investments showed little promise.  The Bastian of economic power, the Japan as Number One, of the 1980’s languished as they experienced global marginalization in the 1990’s, and the rise of China as the new economic power on the block.

As Japan’s former identity as an emergent world economic super power was stripped away, many began to question their own identity.  No longer were they able to look back on their economic achievements which had sustained them through their post-war demoralization and ignominy.  No longer could everyonel enjoy expensive, high-quality goods; their savings dwindled.  Debt started to accumulate. Working hard no longer equated with success.   Large, formerly unshakable firms, closed their doors for good.  The promise of a better tomorrow was no longer a promise, but an empty lie.

Part of the post-bubble doldrums was the apparent unraveling of the social fabric; fathers still work long hours as is expected of all sarariman, often staying out very late to satisfy the communal code of drinking together with colleagues.  This leaves very little time for the family.  Some just cannot handle the pressure and end it all through suicide or just drop dead from exhaustion.  Mothers languish at home and are left to raise the kids on their own with little or no support from the fathers.  If they do join the workforce, it tends to be for low-wage, manual labor type jobs.

Young adults have also begun to question the demands of society.  Some have abandoned the system of  university-bound exams and cram school.  Some choose to become “freeter,” or “Free-Timers” who take part-time jobs and stay at home, in essence, never growing up.  Others flee Japan to study art, music, dance, makeup, and whatever else they have a passion for.  (Just visit the lower-east side of Manhattan if you doubt it!)

For some adolescent boys, the specter of “not fitting in” at school, and being bullied as a result of any perceived differences, paralyzes them in fear – a fear that causes them to never leave the house again.  According to Michael Zielenziger’s 2007 book, Shutting out the Sun, there are some 133,000 males who shut themselves up as hikikomori, essentially withdrawing from society and living in their bedroom, even into their 30’s and 40’s.  They are often highly intelligent, deep thinkers who strive to be accepted for who they are, not what they are expected to be.  They feel imprisoned in their own homes.

Social pressure also hits women, as they decide to not live a dreary life at home, alone to raise the kids and be under-appreciated by absent husbands.  In the late 1990s, the phenomenon of the “parasite single” (obviously perjorative term due to their choice not to marry and have children) came into existence.  These women actually enjoy themselves as they live with their parents, spending their salaries on luxury goods and high-cost vacations abroad alone or with other girlfriends.

And so, many Japanese families are living a life of quiet desperation.  The movie we are about to see seeks to bring some of these issues to the fore.  In Kuuchuu Teien, or “Hanging Gardens,” implosion of the family unit becomes a metonymy for society that seems to be a “hanging garden” – it has no roots and floats in the air.  It is unnatural, without any firm foundation upon which to build.  Themes of motherhood and pregnancy, sex and childbirth, estranged spouses, repressed anger, and shut-in boys are explored as the subtext to what seems like a perfect family life where there are to be no secrets, no facades, or tatemae.   Everyone acts as if there is abject honesty and frankness, with there being “no taboos” at the dinner table…yet…there are many secrets and lies… It is a tale of subsistence, of doing whatever you can to hang together under the guise, and in the semblance, of what looks like the perfect family. I won’t say more, since you are here to see this film, not hear a critique of it.

Now, just one more thing, as is true of any social commentary, it is entirely unfair to say that “all Japanese” are living in X way or in Y conditions; every family is unique.  While these issues are a growing concern for growing numbers of families, many families do not experience the levels of trauma found in this film…suffice it to say that Japan, just like any other society, is dynamic and is dealing with the vicissitudes of life, which to be honest, we must all experience, understand, and live with.  While it is quite easy for us, sitting in a Western, academic setting to pass judgment on what we will see, it is important for us to remember that this film by no means gives us the full right to do so.  While we can learn much from a culture through its media, seeing the whole societal picture is not possible.

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August 17, 2007 by Christopher Born.

最近僕は日本の引きこもりという人々について”Shutting Out the Sun”の本を読んで始めました。日本の社会はそんなに複雑だってしらなかったです。苦しいいじめをうけられた日本の若い人がある程度恥を忍ぶことができなくて、社会を抜けている。引きこもりの人々の霊はこんなに全身不随の状態になるぐらいで、うちを出ません。そのまま、自分の部屋にいて、社会の建前を深く眺めると、もともと凝然になってきるだと書かれています。

このありにくい生活を考えれば、この引きこもりのやつらが本当の辛苦艱難を経験しているだと信じています。実は引きこもりの人たちに心を寄せるのです。しかし、希望がある。強いつくい主がいるー彼の名前はイエスさまです。イエスは「すべて重荷を負うて苦労している者は、わたしのもとにきなさい。あなたがたを休ませてあげよう。」といいました。この誠のことばの意味は、社会の苦しみはイエス様にあげられる。これはどういう意味ですか。イエスの名前にお祈りするなら、イエス様に本当の休みや自信をもらえることです。もしこをちょっと話したかったら、教えてください。

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