Traditional who in the what now? (delays due to technological difficulties)

I have read Miyamoto Musashi, I have perused the Wikipedia article on the aesthetic of the world of Wabi-sabi (with the knowledge of the name itself gleaned from a manga about breadmaking)...yet some way, somehow I still felt that my expertise concerning the true essence of traditional Japanese culture. Second hand knowledge was no good; I would have to find out myself.

Donning a hakama and substituting a convenient butter knife for a wakizashi I set out for the countryside in hopes of finding the true spirit of Japan`s traditions. Perhaps I would also hone my skill as an artisan of death with my trusty sidearm.



An hour into my walk and I was yet to find the long, winding roads calling me to my destiny. However, I did stumble upon a teahouse in which I might be able to lighten my wallet in exchange for a calming, comfortable atmosphere.



Perhaps I should have taken the sign promoting it as a teahouse as a warning. It was not the establishment I was expecting. After being ousted rather violently I continued my journey.

Perhaps it was the mild concussion I sustained after being hoisted out by the waistband on my undergarments, but my continued journey produced no sword emporiums, an excess of garish and noisy pachinko parlors, and vending machine after vending machine...I did find solace in a refreshing can of Mitsuya Cider (TM).

I]ll spare my beloved readers the analyzation, but will once again state that much of the traditional culture that many feel is missing was more the tradition of the minority (if not the elite) that that of the overarching notion of Japan. Many seem to take unchanging physical manifestations as a sign of tradtion rather than the customs themselves.

To give a more concrete example, last year I attended a lecture concerning David Rumsey`s Historical Map Collection. One of the maps shown was less a dry, overly-lined geographical map than a colorfully detailed picture noting where travelers could find places in order to make the most of their trip. Who exactly had access to such maps was not revealed, and it it could very well be another example of activities kept from the general populace, but judging from the number of agencies not only dealing in international but domestic travel show that the business of providing informed access to areas unknown to Japanese folk is quite alive and well.



As with the "teahouse" above and the example of travel, tradition doesn:t seem to be so much a matter of keeping secrets closely guarded within specific communities, but what becomes reproduced (or poorly mimicked...damn the teahouse once it has the potential to do so.

Globalization and why Japan is ruining my college dietary habits

The trend continues: a continued influx of odd foreign culture into the once pure nation of Japan. Baggy pants, loud music, garish makeup, with those who choose to wear such dastardly facepaint having the audacity to apply it in public places. Even the apparent innocence of a magic show is naught but the Grim Reaper knocking on the door of good culture. Goodbye, o halcyon days.



Or so some say.

While criticisms of Japan's modern, "less-Japanese-y" age are not always leveled at the menacing spectre of foreign influence, such alarmist views are by no means hard to find.

The idea of sullied or somehow unpure "modern" Japanese culture becomes a bit more ludicrous, if not laughable, when one takes a step back in order to realize that the trend has been continuing since the Meiji restoration, where land reformations begat tales of "Poison women" using new systems to exploit others and the rebellious youth were flowing from their cozy agricultural lives to thriving urban centers, forsaking the old ways. Finishing schools for the modern woman and new housing structures putting emphasis on filial harmony with little regard for tradition threatened to destroy what is and always has been(TM). All that and it's not even 1930.

While I don't want to delve too deeply into why Japan has never been "Japan" due to general unawareness on the part of both preceding and succeeding generations, it is something to consider. However, the hodgepodge of historical confusedness pales in comparison to the fact that



I can barely eat pizza here. Mayonnaise, corn, teriyaki sauce, all manner of weird toppings is tantamount to blasphemy. While my opinion has little consequence in the matter I have a hard time believing that most anything I find here pizza-wise would be considered anything other than Japanese overseas. Yes, that includes California. I also understand the slightly ludicrous criticism that a food that originated in Italy, made from a fruit native to South America, of which the style I consume was localized in the States, does not translate in the exact same way in Japan.

The idea is that while the views of nay-sayers on the topic of Globalization are not entirely invalid, the tendency for an "influencing" culture to be countered, warped, and localized to the point it becomes unique if not entirely recognizable from its point of origin is an especially strong one. There are quite a few objects, food (PIZZA!), clothing (of course, kimonos haven't been en vogue as everyday attire for quite a while), landmarks (America Town, save for the tiny statue of liberty and being a monument to endless consumerism, has very little "American-ness" about it) most likely would not be easily reabsorbed into the countries which supposedly spawned them.



An issue to ponder is what exactly makes something adoptable? Why does one mode of expression from a "foreign" culture spark a movement in a separate social space where the social dynamic can range from just slightly dissimilar to drastically different. So-called "World Culture" as represented in the myriad of fashions, music, art, and any number of other things is a very real phenomenon. However, the culture in which those foreign seeds are planted tend to give rise to very different interpretations of the same idea.