REFLECTIONS ON THE JAPANESE CULTURAL CONTEXT
Journal Assignment III
Kehr
S. Bailey
HIS 373: Contemporary Japan
Prof. Lee Makela
19 April 2002
Part A
As I consider the artifacts we
saw in class when discussing the popular culture of Japan,
I think the best term to describe my reaction is baffled. When looking at the huge volumes of manga and the women’s magazines particularly, I was
somewhat surprised by certain similarities and differences that exist between
parallel pop culture elements in our own society. Those people I know in this country with an
interest in comics treat them in a completely different manner. While it certainly represents an escapist
pastime in America,
more attention seems to be paid to the plot and comics are read with more
attentiveness. I actually subscribe to a
monthly volume similar to the ones that were shown in class (in translation of
course), and I actually read the stories rather than just flip through
them. I guess this really shows the
difference between the visual orientation of Japanese and the more verbal
orientation of our own culture. The
women’s magazines gave me a very similar impression. As I flipped through them, the majority of
the magazine seemed to be pages and pages of photographs, whether they are of
food, furniture, the latest hairdryers, or other decorative products. While women’s magazines in the U.S.
tend to provide lists of new products, they seem to be far more article
based. Not knowing Japanese, I really
couldn’t delve any deeper into the magazines then the pictures, but I found
myself wondering if Japanese magazines contain the same kinds of ridiculous
quizzes that are all over American women’s magazines.
I would have to say that it was the anime
and manga that caught my attention the
most as we looked through elements of popular culture. Having had an interest in Japanese animation
for at least the past 12 years, it was interesting to see some examples of how
such works fit into a Japanese context.
This may seem slightly trivial, but when looking at the volumes of manga and the other books that were in class, I was
surprised I had never thought of the fact that books in Japan would most likely
open in the opposite direction from our own.
Other than that, I was surprised to find out that they are treated as
picture books more than involved works of “graphic literature”. I suppose that may be indicative of some sort
of derivative nature behind contemporary manga. Since people may have a basic idea of what
sorts of plots get repeated in manga, the
pictures are really all one has to look at to get something from it. In terms of how these animated art forms are
representative of traditional culture, I am reminded in many ways of woodblock
prints. In fact, the print by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi called The
Fox Woman Kuzu-no-ha Leaving Her Child seems like
it could be a frame in a manga. Manga and anime
seem to clearly represent a “floating world” that is free from the cultural
mainstream and reality (reality as defined by cultural expectations that
are placed on everyone). Much of it
takes place outside of any real time or place, and in a world that may share
some characteristics with our own but is also quite divergent in other
respects. This certainly comes out of
the notion of ukiyo, in which the world of art
and fantasy exists outside of the world of responsibility, family, and mundane
everyday realities. In manga, we certainly see that there are certain real
truths about human existence portrayed (murder, sexuality, love) but there is
also the fantastic and the unreal (mecha,
vampires, forest spirits, angels). In
such portrayals of the unreal, I am even reminded of the traditional belief in kami when I
see an anime like Princess Mononoke.
Clearly,
the traditional does impact the subject matter and the depictions in popular
animation in Japan. These links to tradition are what help to
maintain a Japanese feel while Western elements are added to popular
culture. While the appearance of
animated characters may begin to take on a more Western feel, while pop music
may turn more toward Western musical conventions rather than Japanese, and
while Westerners can find fame on Japanese television, all of this is done in a
Japanese context. I was struck by the
portrayal of the Western cowboy bars in Tokyo,
which were clearly frequented by men who dressed in such a way as to define
themselves as part of a distinct nakama. These people are clearly Japanese, but step
outside of their normal roles in such a place as a matter of fulfilling a
fantasy, not as a matter of copying Americans in every respect. This represents the lingering notion of
escapism in Japanese popular culture.
Also, by adopting elements of other cultures but using them in a
completely different context, like the Christian wedding outside of any Western
religious context, the Japanese nature of an adopted element is
maintained. An element is adopted, made
to fit into Japanese culture, and then used in this way. In the case of weddings, people are not
married like Christians as a result of adopting Western religious beliefs; they
are married in this manner because it is aesthetically appealing to the
Japanese. Even so, there are even
different elements within the wedding itself, such as rubber cakes.
It
seems to me that popular culture is far more representative of honne
values in Japan. We do not see portrayals of
ideal family life, Neo-Confucian values at work, women engaging in “women’s
work” or men as salary men. What we do
see is portrayals of exciting events, women and men acting as equals in some
respects, and portrayals of acts of love (which we have seen are not extremely
important in tatemae values).
In some ways, it seems that even the desire for these things
that exist outside of the realities for most Japanese is a reflection of honne values, since it seems that there is little
room or time allowed in the cultural expectations of Japan for most people to
step outside of their tasks and dream about another existence.
The fact that popular culture in Japan usually represents a world removed from
everyday realities seems to make it extremely susceptible to postmodern
influences. Since popular culture is not
expected to be reality, it provides a place where one is able to step outside of
time, forget about one’s cultural past, and adopt elements and images from many
cultures in order to create a world that is totally unique and without any
roots in reality. As an example, I think
of the notion of the random, nameless, future city that finds its way into manga, anime,
and even postmodern science
fiction literature. This place has no
name, in appearance it looks like a combination of many different architectural
traditions as well as traditions that have never existed, and people who appear
to have no race or are representative of many races that are not necessarily
depicted as they actually appear in reality populate it. The notion of ukiyo seems to make a place like this easy to depict, as the concept of a
“floating world” is very similar to the defining characteristics of the
postmodern. Traditionally based
modernization can be forgotten, and one can create a world that draws on the
modern elements of many cultures without paying any respect to the traditional
elements of any.
It
seems that contemporary popular culture in Japan helps to define it as a gemeinshaft culture. Japan seems to treat everything, even those
things that it adopts from other cultures, as its own unique invention. While something may look Western on the
outside, that is where the similarity ends in many cases. Understanding that popular culture is an
escape from reality really helps me to understand why it does not have the same
effect on Japanese as it does on some Americans. One can really see the unique gemeinschaft nature
of Japanese culture when one compares manga like Rape Man to a song like Cop Killer by Ice-T. Rape
Man is a fictitious character, in
a world that exists outside of reality.
As such, he does not represent any form of tatemae values, nor does he
represent a behavior that should be mimicked in reality. In the West, we do not divorce popular
culture from reality. We stay true to
the notion that art is representing life or vice versa, but cannot consider art
to be a world of its own. Thus, to many
Americans, Cop Killer is not a character outside of reality and
easily arouses the anger and revulsion of many individuals (or empathy and the
desire to imitate in some cases). In
fact, in all likelihood Ice-T did not intend to write or perform this song in
such a way as to place it outside of reality.
The notion in the West that art and life operate together is as much a
notion in the minds of the artists as it is in the viewer or listener. Because Japanese and Westerners see popular
culture in such different ways, it is clear that popular culture helps to
define Japanese as a gemeinschaft
society. By seeing Japan as such, it really helps one understand why
the Japanese do not feel the same societal effects from neutral portrayals of
violence or rape (in terms of crime rates) as we believe we do from art in America.
Since Japanese pop culture does not necessarily reflect life (or vice
versa), but in fact exists completely outside of life, it makes sense that any
subject matter, no matter how violent or uncomfortable to a Western observer,
could be tackled in Japan without necessarily causing a major uproar. The traditionally situational ethics of
Japanese society can also help to explain why, in this context, rape in comics
is of no concern whereas rape in real life would be a horrible, unspeakable
act.
Part B
When
discussing the fine arts in class, I was most impressed with the theatrical
forms of no, kabuki, and bunraku. While I am not certain if we discussed
specific terminology relating to the movement aspect of these forms of art, it
was the emphasis on movement and form that I found most appealing about all
three forms. In no, kabuki, and Bunraku movement and posing were a very important
part of each. Bunraku, in many ways, is primarily about the movement of the puppets
involved. While plot may be important in
a Japanese context, the traditionally visual nature of Japanese culture seems
to indicate that even in this setting the movement aspect of such an art form
is an essential element. The level of
mastery involved in being able to make puppets appear so completely human like
is astonishing. The value placed on
movement is also highly visible in no
theater, since emotion seems to be
portrayed in many ways by the movement of a character while a static mask
portrays facial expression. The
importance of movement was clear when we saw a young man training for a no
performance being drilled on the proper body positioning.
Kabuki also places a major
emphasis on movement and form, and posing is a very important part of a kabuki actor’s trade. Properly
expressed movement is key in portraying things like a fox, and becomes
important in transformation scenes. The
importance of movement in Japanese theater is an interesting contrast to our culture’s
focus on plot. Due to the visual
representations I saw in the examples of Japanese theater that we saw, it
seemed that even a Western observer like myself could grasp the main notions of
a play without understanding the dialogue.
I appreciated the apparent universality of Japanese theater as a result
of this emphasis on movement.
In
Japan, it seems that many traditions in the
fields of art, architecture, and literature and drama have maintained
themselves to the present day.
Traditional drama forms clearly continue to exist in modern day Japan, and in a form that is almost identical to
their traditional origins. Even with
adaptations based on modern technology, like the development of super kabuki, the traditional forms are still there. Literature, especially in the field of
poetry, still turns towards traditional forms in subject matter and
structure. In this respect, the notion
of “referencing” in poetry has been alive in Japan for hundreds of years, as we have seen in
the thread of poems presented in class.
Because of this, even referencing as a “postmodern” element of
literature and culture is actually, in some respects, a traditional element of
Japanese literature. Having not dealt
with contemporary high graphic arts in Japan, I cannot say how traditional forms are
represented in such work. Architecture,
however, clearly draws on the past.
Contemporary suburban houses are very much like those in traditional Japan. The
notions of modularity, and temporality are very apparent, and while these
notions have been adapted to make room for modern conventions, like
electricity, plumbing, and telephones, they are still a part of modern design.
When one comes across literature,
art, architecture, and drama in contemporary Japan,
it seems that all of these forms are representative of traditions that have
been maintained, reinvented, and transformed. Kabuki is representative of a form
that has been through all three. Super
kabuki is the outcome of maintaining some traditions, reinventing others (perhaps
illustrated by the notion of referencing other contemporary events), and
transforming the original form through modern technology. Architecture also maintains some traditions,
like the temporary nature of most dwellings, modifies them to meet the demands
of modern technology, and reinvents some aspects, like the building with the
elevated garden. While internal gardens
have long been an aspect of Japanese architecture, the elevated one in the
building we saw in Osaka shows that
they can be designed in a totally unique fashion thanks to modern engineering
technology.
It seems clear that many cultural
traditions in Japan
do continue to be “alive” despite the processes of modernization and
Westernization. Most of the forms of art
that we talked about with respect to traditional Japan
still exist today in some form or another.
Bunraku, kabuki, and no exist
today in pretty much the same form that they did in traditional Japan. While kabuki has been shown to have
undergone some change as a result of modern technological influence, and
possibly Western influence as well, it still shares elements with classical kabuki. Similarly, Japanese architecture still
represents the need for temporary, modular structures despite these twin
forces. While the outward appearance of
modern homes does differ from traditional homes, the same concerns must
motivate modern builders as those that motivated traditional builders. Earthquakes and spatial constraints are still
an issue, and must be balanced with the need to provide a useable level of
area. Also, despite the influences of
Westernization that have been a factor in Japanese development for the last
century and a half, an unique Japanese style of architecture has survived, and
has even been praised by Westerners who have adopted Japanese aesthetics to a
greater degree than it seems the Japanese have conformed to Western
architectural standards.
I think that artistic values in Japan
have played a rather large role in defining Japanese cultural uniqueness. As one looks at traditional fan paintings,
screen paintings, and woodblock prints, one is looking at the culmination of
values and conventions that are totally unlike those values that were operating
at the same times in the West. The
difference in how perspective is handled or the difference in how humans are
portrayed is apparent. The lack of
perspective based on a single focal point and the flat portrayal of human
subjects certainly distinguishes Japanese art from Western, as realistic
perspective and ultra-lifelike portraiture have been a defining point of
Western art since the Renaissance. The
Japanese manner of handling art in this way seems to be a representation of the
“floating world” of art, as these portrayals seem only to be representations
of the real that by design have many unreal qualities. The importance of visual representations in
drama is clearly an important and unique aspect of traditional Japanese
drama. Where Shakespeare is important
for the universality of the stories he tells and the actual language he uses, a
Japanese form like kabuki, or no seems to focus on movement and
expression for its appeal and for the exposition of many important
elements. The importance of expression
in conveying emotion and ideas rather than language can be seen even in popular
forms like manga, where the shape of the eyes
will indicate a specific emotion, or a teardrop shape above a character can
indicate frustration. Clearly, posing
and facial expression is an important element of art that crosses artistic
types as well as the boundaries between high art and popular culture. There also seems to be a level of
intersection between woodblock printing and manga. In many ways they both seem to tackle the
humorous, sexual, and fantastic, turning those things that are acceptable
topics in the “floating world” into a physical, visual representation for the
real world.
Part C
The Japanese garden in one of
the most interesting topics we have covered in terms of the artistic aspects of
Japanese culture. One can see many
traditional values that come from such varying sources as Buddhism and literary
aesthetics. The video we saw as well as
the slide presentation really impressed upon me the utter complexity and the meticulous
planning that goes into these gardens.
They seem to represent a nearly perfect environmental ideal that
conforms to certain traditional concepts but in many ways allows for extreme
creativity. As one looks at the gardens,
one is clearly aware of certain fundamental forms and concepts. One can see how sand gardens are
representative of Zen ideals, and how the simple task of raking the sand
could create such a powerful effect on the viewer or the one doing the
raking. It is also apparent why gardens
are an important feature of many temple complexes, since they create a
remarkable peaceful natural environment which represents not only the beauty of
the natural world, but the amazing potential humans have for not only
maintaining that beauty but also for adding to it.
In some ways, the Japanese garden
represents many of the same ideals that one can find in Zen calligraphy
and ink drawing. Within the gardens, the
empty space (especially in sand gardens) and that which is unseen are important
aspects of design. Because of another
theme that seems to run in garden design, the theme of fluidity and change,
that which is unseen will become apparent if one were to change their point of
view. Additionally, as a result of
seasonal change, there are always unseen things in any particular garden. Changes due to seasonal change as well as a
level of fluidity that exists at any time in a garden are carefully thought out
elements that represent consideration of the traditional aesthetic concepts of wabi and sabi. The unexpressed and the permission of an
individual’s singular perception of any scene are important to garden design
and remind me in some ways of certain drawings that we have seen in our
readings. Sengai
Gibon’s Circle, Triangle, and Square is one
such painting. These three figures are
simply brushed onto paper. No
explanation or inscription (other than the painter’s signature) is given, and
thus individuals must interpret such a scene for themselves. Another scene that struck me as having
similar elements to garden design is Akashi Bay
by Ike Gyokuran.
This work reminds me in some ways of Zen gardens, with the
islands standing in for rock formations and the empty space (which can only be
identified as water due to the boats) standing in for the raked sand. The way the viewer must interpret the unseen
in relation to that which is seen seems to parallel the way one must look at
the empty space created by sand.
Similarly, the notion of fluidity seems to parallel the inherent
fluidity one can find in traditional Zen calligraphy, in which
characters are painted with single, smooth strokes. It is in these ways that it seems fair to say
that gardens help to represent artistic traditions and conventions that cross
over from one art form to another.
It seems that the garden can become
an inspiration to musicians and other contemporary artists because of the
fluidity and the incorporation of changing elements. It seems that these elements may help to
arouse an artist not only to accept elements handed down from the past but also
to allow for change and flow. In garden
design, it is clear that the gardens will change over seasons, and over
time. One garden we studied, which I am
having trouble finding reference to, became covered in moss over time. The garden is still beautiful despite the
change that had occurred over years, and in some ways this seems to reflect how
a play maintains its beauty and accessibility despite the tradition of altering
drama over time. In many ways, I think a
modern artist must look to the same qualities when creating a piece as garden
designers. Whether it is a painter, and
artist, or a writer, I think that a consideration of what is not apparent and a
consideration of how a story or work might take on different characteristics
depending on the specific individual state of a viewer are very important
factors. I think garden design might
also be a major inspiration in that such great care is taken in making sure
that each individual element of the whole is perfect, as well as in perfect
sync with each other individual element, calling to mind a symphony or any work
of music. As a garden goes through its
cycle, the individual parts change and progress, yet the underlying harmony
remains.
I think that based on these
similarities to other art traditions as well as the lingering concepts that
have helped to define the Japanese garden, such gardens are very much like
calligraphy in that they represent a continuation of tradition into the
present. Even the designs themselves take
into account the change that occurs over time, whether it is over the seasonal
cycles or over hundreds of years. In a
way, this mirrors the adaptability of Japanese tradition and the way that
change must be allowed, even if it does fit into a framework that is
traditionally designed. Certainly,
artists of all walks can look at a Japanese garden and find some level of
inspiration, and not only inspiration within certain boundaries in the way that
poetry in Japan
must conform to certain rules. One can
see inspiration for adaptation and development of tradition in gardens like the
Ryo-gin-tei with its
divided, multi-colored pools of gravel surrounded by an artistically designed
wood border, and in the rooftop garden at Tokyo’s
International House. While still
conforming to traditional standards, they take it in a new direction that is
unique. Clearly, the notions that lead
to these innovations must influence and affect a contemporary artist, looking
for inspiration to alter what has come before and create something new, even if
it is a work that is based in tradition.
This seems to be why traditional gardens continue to maintain their
popularity and continue to motivate artists.