Fujisaka Sanchoume is, by any standard definition, unremarkable. In contrast to the area surrounding Kansai Gaidai's Seminar Houses, relatively quiet and lacking in the glare of neon signs and (slightly alarmingly) the normal overabundance of vending machines. When matched against Katahoko Higashimachi Fujisaka is a calm sea of middle-class residential tranquility.
Within a five-to-ten minute walk of the Seminar Houses there are two supermarkets, two clothing shops, several eating establishments of the mom-and-pop persuasion, and a heavy number of vending machines (including the infamous "Beer Vending Machine"). Endure the horrendous pain of walking for five more minutes and the number of supermarkets increases by two, karaoke of the large-scale and hole-in-the wall variety appears, access to eateries moves up the scale to family style restaurant, kaitenzushi, and the ability to buy high-calorie, low-nutritional value snack foods from the ever-willing conbini goes from 0 to 2. Add to that the sweet temptation of three or four pachinko/slot parlors. There are also fashion boutiques (this is possibly qualified by the size of the shop and the abstractness of its' name). Classy.
The domain of Fujisaka is considerably different. While there are obviously houses and families residing within Katahoko, the environment of the former is considerably more...family friendly. This does not mean that the neighborhood lacks pachinko, conbini, and supermarkets (though it does seem to be completely lacking in seedy dives), but that they are fewer and far between: better hidden and thus increasing the potency of the neighborhood-ish appearance. The supermarkets (side by side) are a fair ten or fifteen minute walk away. None of these places face roads that are not fairly traffic-heavy in terms of cars, people, or trains. The remaining conbinis, bakeries, youth centers, and other commercial establishments hover around other types of buildings.
This may be more a conclusion based on correlation than cause, but the lifestyle of the apartment-dweller seems to demand more the type of structures that surround and permeate the neighborhoods around Katahoko more than that of Fujisaka. Those who inhabit Fujisaka seem to demand those more "family-friendly" structures. The seifuku, gakuran, blazer, and yellow-hat attired children tell of numerous schools, the people jogging in the park or watching their children play give hint to people whose lifestyle has moved beyond the necessity of quick convenience or late-night snack runs in order to keep going through study sessions (euphemisms included). The space that encourages a larger amount of self-indulgence is not totally erased, it is only displaced, if only for the sake of appearance.
Fujisaka is by no means the sterile shadow of life that is modern suburbia, but it's certainly more subdued and not a place for the go-go behavior of those perpetual excitement-seekers. It feels like home.
1 comment:
I like the links to the google maps - nice idea. The beginning of your post seems to follow the unfortunate listing exercise of a recent film we viewed in class. But in the end you provide some interesting comments on your perspectives of the contrasting neighborhoods. I'd like to read more...
As for your photos, I wonder what you are trying to do with them. I recognize what these things are, but people not familiar with Japan might not understand what they are or why they are placed where they are in relation to the text. Perhaps you don't want to get caught up with having to explain every detail of every picture (and you shouldn't), but something should be there so that the reader understands how the pictures are contributing to your text. What is this something? That is the challenge. I think you are playing with the boundaries of art and science in your visual anthro blog and I enjoy this aspect. Keep up your interesting work/approach while also considering your audience.
-scf
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