Ok, time for an update!
It’s been a little bit since the last one, but most of my time has been
spent in classes and around the dorm. I’m
a little broke at the moment, but expecting a scholarship pay out soon that
should fix that. In the meantime, I’m
spending a little more time at the dorm and on campus trying to squeak by on
the cheap. That being said, I did go out
with some friends over the weekend.
Friday night, David, Sara and I went to a few new bars. Then on Saturday, Sara and I went and met up
with David and his wife and their son at Osu Kannon. Please note that in addition to the Hirigana
and Katakana I’ve been using, I’m going to begin introducing a little Kanji as
I learn and remember it.
In the classroom department, Japanese Language is still a
review for me at this point, and is likely to be until the middle of the semester
or so. While that may not sound very
exciting or helpful, it actually is hugely beneficial for me, since the last
time I had any formal instruction was about 2 years ago. I’m doing well on the vocabulary quizzes (たんごクイーズ), and the dialog check we’ve had so far was very
easy for me. We’ve also finally begun to
learn Kanji, which is good because my last formal teacher didn’t focus on it at
all and it has proven to be a rather notable weakness since I got here.
My other two lecture classes haven’t been so bad at
all. Japanese Culture and Art 1 is a little
dry, but I find the material fascinating.
The lectures have been primarily about ancient history in Japan and the
earliest art that developed as part of it.
The lecture yesterday began to include some of my favorite history
topics; swords, weapons, and warfare.
Japanese Religion on the other hand is going to be a lot of fun. I enjoy both the topics we’re going to learn
about as well as the lecture style the professor or sensei (先生 －せんせい) has used so far. He is the most interactive teacher I’ve had
in a while.
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| On the left, my first attempt at すみえ. I'm afraid it's still a very western style of art. Hopefully I get better! In the middle is my first work at はんが. It is my name spelled out in Katakana. I decided the straight lines would be easier than actually trying to go through the "e"s and such! Not to mention I think it looks more interesting anyway. And on the right is a study sheet from my most recent たんごクイーズ. |
The classical Japanese arts classes I’m taking are very
intense. I’ve actually began to do a
little carving for the woodblock printing or hanga (はんが)
class. I don’t feel like I’m doing very
well yet, but I think I can figure it out.
It seems to be a lot less structured than the painting class I’m
in. The painting class, which is Sumie (すみえ), is actually derived from Chinese black ink
painting. So far, the sensei has taught
us how to mix our ink to water it down to different shades and then how to
perform one of the basic brush strokes. I can’t say with a straight face that I was
any good at the more structured side of it, but I’m looking forward to learning
and attempting more. The painting itself
was interesting, if challenging. Both of
the classes are taught entirely in Japanese, with a few English words or
phrases mixed in to the best of the sensei’s abilities. Basically, I sit in the front of the class
and listen carefully while watching the example work like a hawk.
Osu Kannon was interesting.
As the locals put it, it is the “otaku” hangout. For those not in the know, otaku in Japan is
a similar term to “nerd” in the U.S. It
basically means someone that is a devoted fan to a given subject. In Osu Kannon, unlike the majority of Nogoya,
which is very conservative, it is perfectly acceptable for these folks to go
all out on their favorite things. There
were people dressed in cosplay, some were in dressed in the unique Japanese
styles. I can’t begin to name most of the
styles, or the cosplay characters, but it was interesting to see. The clothes are very colorful, to say the
least. That’s where the maid café is, as
well. I didn’t go in, but I would like
to at some point. I guess they’re a
pretty interesting part of the culture.
The waitresses are dressed up in very anime styled maid uniforms and at
least one I saw had cat’s ears and a tail.
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| Osu Kannon is a perfect example of Japanese street culture. There are vendors of all sorts including food stalls, bars barely big enough for four people, modern shopping, and ancient traditions all existing side by side. The picture on the left is of a folk musician that was interesting. I'm looking forward to actually understanding Japanese music lyrics someday! The picture on the right is a street magician. He was making balloon animals and performing for the amusement of the crowd. |
One of the very interesting things about Osu Kannon (and Japan in general) is the way that such modern shopping and style exist side by side with ancient temples and shrines that have been there for centuries. This shopping area may be new, and feature all of the latest technology and clothing, but at the heart of it exists very old traditions. When we got off of the train, we had to walk a few blocks and passed all the modern conveniences and passed into the main temple. People were feeding birds, and saying prayer inside the shrine itself. Yet just passed the temple's western gate were packed side streets, crowded with shoppers from all over the world. Seeing the distinctly Japanese way that past and present coexist and thrive side by side is almost hard to imagine.
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| These things all exist side by side within a few blocks of each other. The picture on the left is the entrance to what I believe was a Shinto shrine or jinja (じんじゃ). The pic in the middle is of outside of the maid cafe. You can see one of the waitresses dressed in uniform towards the lower right corner. And on the right, the central Buddhist Temple or otera (おてら). |
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| These pics are of some things that I'm more familiar with and wanted to share! Japan has some of the biggest arcades ever, as seen in the middle picture As a kid that grew up during the height of the arcade, before the predominance of home video game consoles, this is pretty fantastic! When I have more money, I'll be doing a post all about them! On the left, a picture of an American nerd that managed to find his natural habitat a long way from home. I found some great stores for electronics, including computer part stores that have everything I could ever want! On the right is a lucky cat or meneki neko (まねき ねこ). It's supposed to bring good luck, and this one is a big 10 foot monster that sits on top of an entertainment kiosk in the middle of the shopping areas. |
All in all, it’s been a pretty great first few weeks. Tonight, a typhoon is moving through. It’s the second one of the season, but the
first one missed us. Nanzan and most of
Nagoya is located fairly high up in the hills, and on the edge of a mountain,
so while it’s raining and the wind is blowing some, the worst of it only effects
the lower parts of the city.
Next time I write, it will probably be about Nogoya Castle, since I'm taking a field trip there tomorrow! I think I'll be including more observations about culture mixed in with the current topics in upcoming posts. I've seen a few things I think are interesting and I want to share! I will also be adding some more in depth stuff about the temples and shrines as soon as I have the chance to actually go on some more tours.
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