Manga

For those of you that don't know what manga is, manga is the genre name for comic books in Japan. They are distinguished in the West as being illustrated in anime, but here in Japan, pretty much all cartoon illustrations are "anime". It's the most common style in Japan in which to cartoon.

In Japan, manga comics are popular with every generation. Manga comics range in all kinds of subject matter and age ranges. It is not uncommon to see a "salary man", college student, or 12 year-old reading a manga on the train on their way home from work/class/school, for example. Ironically enough however, any interest in anything beyond reading manga starts bordering on the "otaku". Otaku in essence only means "geek", but it sometimes has a much more negative connotation, as being associated with an obssession [bordering on perverse] with anime. As with everything in Japan, it involves contradiction; it's ok to obsessively read manga series after series, but its not ok to get into manga movies, characters, etc., because, oh no, you might become otaku.

As for me, I have on some occasions attempted to read manga in hirgana and katakana. Suprisingly enough [or perhaps not], many of the manga comics do have interesting storylines, but I have generally gotten into only the illustration part of it. And although I do remember having seen anime back home, maybe on some Saturday morning cartoon I let myself watch for a minute or so, I never really paid attention to it enough to dissect it visually. Even while in Japan, particularly during my first year here, I noticed it, but made little attempt to explore it.

Lately, in my recent spout of creativity, I have decided to check it out. First I began by differentiating between cartooning styles and manga artists. I've been experimenting with my own illustrating, applying existing styles to my own versions. In attempting to actually copy the style, I have come to appreciate how unseemingly complicated and intricate it is. If you just look it at quickly, it just seems like an outline with random lines used to identify facial features and clothes. But in reality it is littered with dramatic shadows, in solid colors. That's probably the most difficult part of it--the shadows-- since shadows do not exist in solid colors, and so transforming them to the appropriate one-shade in any particular instance takes skill. The use of color is also tremendous, which makes it really fun--bright reds, greens, blues--and this is only the hair.

If you look on the right-hand panel, you can check out some of my rough sketches. It isn't much, but I thought I would exhibit some of my progress. I'll be careful though, and not get into it too much--I wouldn't want to become "otaku". ;)

Aso and his "religious" comments

For those of you that don't know about Japan's Prime Minister Taro Aso, his politics are not to far off that of our own political wreckage back home. Rivaling Bush with around a 20% approval rating, PM Aso is similarly famed for his [absurd] controversial comments. Besides occasionally bragging about his personal wealth during Deit sessions, his most recent comment, as documented in JapanToday, pushed me a bit over the edge of annoyance, enough to make me stay up past my bedtime and write this little [blurb?] about it.

Without getting into the details [you can read the full article in the link above], PM Aso, in an attempt to make a [contributory?] comment in a government meeting about the current global economic crisis, suggested that perhaps other nations should follow Japan in their work ethic, which he claims is based out of Japan's Shinto and Buddhism religions, as a way to recover from the economic crisis. He goes on to suggest that Judeo-Christian religions are in contrast with Japanese work ethic, because [this is the good part] in the Old Testament, Adam was given work as punishment (1), and therefore Judeo-Christian religions view hard work negatively [and are therefore lazy and totally responsible for the entire economic collapse????!!!-just inferring]. And the funny thing is, PM Aso is Catholic!

There are just so many things wrong with his position that I don't even know where to begin. How about Max Weber and his theories on how enterprise and capitalism were basically derived from Protestant work ethic itself?! After the Reformation, assurance of salvation was in essence, taken way from the church, and imposed onto the individual. Various religious sects, in an attempt to establish salvation for themselves, developed mentalities of self-reliance--and out of this spirit, developed the spirit of capitalism of western societies. Initially, Weber did make a distinction between Catholics and Protestants, claiming that capitalist societies contained more Protestants than Catholics, suggesting that more Catholics held onto to pre-capitalistic mentalities. However, suggesting that these pre-capitalistic [and post-capitalistic] mentalities are somehow intrinsically related to Catholicism [or to Protestanism] is a flawed assumption. Existing discrepancies between populations of Protestants and Catholics in capitalist societies [is?] was most likely attributed to old class systems. And even if you take Weber's observations as evidence of Catholic religion's supposed intrinsic effect on enterprise--that in itself is a shakey argument. The more reasonable deduction from Weber's observations is that as result of the Reformation, schisms occurred and people changed their religious beliefs along with their mentalities. These were sociological events, rooted in the evolution of the institution of religion in the lives of people, and it's consequential effect on people's struggle to grant themselves prosperity and salvation. This was not a product of certain Old Testament writings from the Bible [Torah]! Furthermore, Weber himself noted that the capitalistic spirit he attributed to Protestantism was not limited to [Protestantism] one specific religion. Take the Jewish religion and the Jewish communities that have notably prospered, for example.

Despite the hairbrained logic of Aso's Old Testament and western work ethic comments, the more bogus element of Aso's statements [in my opinion] are his assertions that the Shinto and Buddhist religions of Japan are the reason behind the Japanese [obsession] desire for hard work. As a Prime Minister of Japan, I would think he would be more cognizant of the fact that it is a lot more likely that Japan's work ethic is a product of it's hundreds of years of Samurai rule and culture. The Samurai work ethic is something of notable distinction in Japanese history, and is actually rooted in Confucian thought that came to Japan from China, often finding itself at odds with the Shinto and Buddhist mentalities of Japan's Teno [royal elite].

Regardless of the details of all of this, Aso's "advice" was simply foolish. It is obvious that he was implying that his beliefs on Judeo-Christian religion of the West are somehow valid, contributing elements in the recent economic crisis. Most people can [probably] agree that the more likely factors are related to a combination of lack of oversight [policy] and over zealous investors, bankers, corporations, etc., attempting to make profit--[ehm-greed]--hardly religion specific. In Japan, there's a saying がんばて[ganbatte], which means "fight for it" or "work hard, you can do it". Aso could have just as easily said that, and that would have encompassed any positive element in his initial statement, and would have saved him [and us] from the incongruous [and insulting] rhetoric he unknowingly wrapped himself in.

I guess politicians are truly the same everywhere. ugh.

"Gal" fashion

Japan's street fashion offers what has to be the most flamboyant, self-expression-through-dress fashion of it's kind. The key here is flamboyant. What ever style it is, it must be done to the T. If not, you tend to look half-dressed or half-assed, both pretty disgraceful to the Japanese. Toned-down versions are acceptable, granted that every detail involved in the style is present--just that the detail itself is "toned-down".Whether it's lolita, gal, b-boy, goth, goth-punk, grunge, folkloric-hippy, etc., you must leave the house done-up, from everything to the right kind of socks, to the right kind of keitai charms on your keitai (cell phone).

The style I would like to discuss in this particular post is the "Gal" style. Gal style has become one of my favorite styles in Japan, and might be the most popular style among young women in Japan. The Gal style interestingly enough seems to be largely influenced by western style, particularly Californian "beach-bum" culture meets urban street (or club) style, meets pretty in pink (literally). However, as with the Japanese interpretation of urban/hiphop style for men (b-boys), the Japanese rendition of western style tends to exhibit much more "swagger", and coolness than it's western counter-part.

I have thought a lot about why this is and I have come to a conclusion [opinion]. One of the most obvious distinctions between Japanese fashion and western fashion is that western fashion (particularly American) tends to be routed in social class distinction and identity (and this is where it gets complicated). In ANY society, if people make the effort to dress in a certain way, regardless of the intentions of the wearer, it is judged by that society as a social marker, identifying that particular style with a particular cultural-social group. The difference in Japan is that the social group is itself, fashion based. B-boy style for the sake of b-boy style. Gal style for the sake of gal style, and so on. And although many of these fashion styles were born in America, the American styles were derived as identity markers for pre-existing social groups, and not vice versa as is the case in Japan. To illustrate, if let's say Manhattan exhibited Japan social-popular culture, it would be more than normal for an upper east side Vanderbilt to be fully dressed in Bathing Ape, if his fashion of choice were b-bop. More often than not, fashion choices in America are restricted to issues of culture and socioeconomics, unless one chooses to purposely go against the grain to pursue their fashion interests. In America, people complicate the sheer genius of certain fashions with [negative] connotations and/or stereotypes. These added dimensions I believe, limit America's ability to experiment, develop and create, and recreate fashion, and generally become more fashion forward.

Back to Gals. Now the Gal style itself is rather difficult to describe since it encompasses a wide spectrum of looks, with regard to the actual clothing, and the colors and fabrics used. However, there are some definite staples to all Gal looks and I'll explain now. Requirements: blond or brown hair, very long and curled with a curling iron; long acrylic nails, with diamonds or pearls and shapes glued on the nail; equally fully decorated keitai's; wallets and hand bags must be shiny or have bows, be bright in color or have animal print; shoes must be bright, shiny, or have animal print, and they must be either pointed-toe, stiletto, or platform--in any case-sexy; girls must be tan or wear tanner or go tanning, and they must wear heavy black eyeliner; gold jewelry is often a must, with big-hoops being the most common; hats are also very popular and often come in different patterns and colors (this season is plaid). Some fashion houses in Japan have described it as grunge elegant, or romantic urban, or bubble pop. I couldn't say, but I suppose it is all of them, it just depends on which "concentration" you chose. Some of these concentrations fall more or less among the categories of Sporty Gals (the female b-boys), the Casual Gals (wear a lot of black), and Pink, Ruffles, Fur and more Pink Gals.

Now the clothes tend to be very form fitting, or short. Casual wear for Gals involve dark blue skinny jeans or tights (in any color), and an oversized t-shirt, sweater etc. Shorts are the "it" item for gals (as opposed to skirts). (Skirts are ok too, but they must be short and are often pleated and plaid.) The shorts tend to come in all colors, though the more popular item this season tends to be dark jean shorts with wool or fur trims around the legs. Also very popular are the animal print shorts--usually in leopard or dalmatian. The shirt style may vary but they tend to be bright and ostentatious. Gal formal wear involves short dresses, sometimes pink and black, combined with lace or fur in some form of a scarf or trim. As for socks, bare is often the choice, particularly when wearing shorts. However, black tights are acceptable in the winter, sometimes in some kind of texture or pattern. However, the legs' natural silhouette must always be visible, so leg warmers are generally a no. As for shoes, high heeled always. Boots are acceptable as long as they're high and sexy.

Now at first, this must all sound pretty horrendous. Zebra-striped shoes? Shinny, pink, bow-covered handbags? As a foreigner, I was really taken aback when I encountered all of this. People do not dress like this [back home]. The City nor Cali (for the most part). However, after my initial observations, (and you may just think that environmental-adaptation has finally set in--but hear me out), I have come to enjoy the fashion for what I think it is--an exploitation of femininity through fashion. Essentially, Gal fashionistas are flamboyant abusers of stereotypical female fashion elements--bright colors, bows, lace, legs, sexiness, curling irons, make-up, and high-heeled shoes. The way I see it, since they are young women, living in a man's world--and Japan is definitely a man's world--they are taking femininity, blowing it up, and slapping it in your face. And I think it's fantastic. Sometimes Gals' get a bad rep, as being overly sexualized, too sexy. However, I take that all with a grain of salt. In my opinion, men who tend to perpetrate the criticism are simply reacting to Gals' unwillingness to conform and stay quietly in the background. The Gals I have met (many of which hang out in Shibuya--a major Gal hot spot) are confident, outgoing, and independent ladies, who take pride and effort to look the way they do.

As for me, there are many styles here in Japan that I admire and would love to dress-up like, Gal being one of them. However, at this point, I have neither the will, nor discipline (and money) to completely revamp myself into a Gal. Being a Gal is hard work. Tons of hours dying, styling and shaping hairstyles, gallons of hairspray, tons of hours at nail salons, hours putting on 5 coats of mascara and eyeliner, tons of hours and thousands of dollars shopping for an endless array of shirts, shoes, pants, shorts, dresses, handbags, scarves, tights, boots and jackets in millions of colors and patterns. And not to mention the daily upkeep. These girls probably take 3-4 hours getting ready everyday. Everyday. Once committed to the Gal style, you become Gal, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That's a serious commitment. But for the sake of an experiement, one day I might let a Gal friend of mine dress me up--I'll write a report--I'll keep you posted.


For more information on Gal and Gal style, check out the following:

Pinky Girls
MeJane
LB-03
JSG
ANAP
Gal Accessories
Gal Shoes


Happy Hunting.

the food-trembling zoom-in

Ok, one thing that becomes obvious after living here for a while is the Japanese obsession with food and television. Many people have written about this, and now I'm joining the chorus, "What is the deal?"

In Japan, television is mainly composed of an endless series of "variety shows", which are like 3-4 hour talk shows, where Japanese personalities are put together to discuss a random topic, such as, "cute" animals, heartbreaking stories, world records, makeovers, ghosts and strange occurrences, places to travel to, etc. However, the "food" topic is obligatory in every show every time. No matter the theme, somehow, they manage to "segway" onto the subject of some particular food or dish. Since I can't understand the Japanese on the television all the time (those of you that speak Japanese know what I mean), I can only imagine the one-two-liners:

"wow, those elephants are adorable...and they're so big, they must eat so much FOOD...and now today's plate..."
or
"wow that must have been so tough losing her mother at such a young age. Oh yes, and supporting herself, cleaning, cooking...and now let's look at today's recipe..."
or the easiest..
"Oh yes, that Paris travel itinerary is a must for all of you traveling this season. And you must enjoy the "blah blah" at "blah blah" restaurant..and now for today's dish..."

Anyway, so next comes the obligatory historical perspective or origin. From where the food originates, the prefecture it is specialized in, and where you can get it (and here comes the advertisement for (blank) restaurant in (blank) prefecture). Next, a couple of Japanese personalities are shown traveling to "some distant place" in Japan. Panoramic views, streets, and a zoom in on the restaurant. They meet the humble owner of (blank) restaurant, where they enjoy some small talk and a story about how they came to prepare the food they do. Then, the personalities are given a sample dish where their facial expressions and rounds of "mmmmm, aaaa, oishi desu yo ne, kore!" (it's so delicious) makes you feel like the Japanese have finally figured out a way to stew clouds, rainbows and hearts in a fish stock soup. That may sound disgusting but fish stock is everything here.

The next part is key, and probably what most people that know what I am talking about are picturing in their mind; the obligatory zoom-in of some dish, oozing and dripping in all it's glory. And when I say zoom in, I mean you can maybe see the grains of salt used to season it. Maybe even/plant/animal cells. So close that the food trembles in the grip of the chopsticks of some poor soles' unsteady hand. (And by poor sole I mean, his/her sole job in the show is probably holding up food to the camera lens...) The "zoom in" is the quintessential element to make it a Japan TV food clip.

Whatever comes next is less important. And don't get me wrong, I think all the information is really interesting--yes the prefecture and the historical origin, etc. But why is it on everyday, all the time? It doesn't only happen on the variety shows either (and btw there are multiple food sessions per variety show) but on the news, on live shows, documentaries, etc. It's all the time. 24 hours a day it seems. Every time I turn on the tv, I can count maybe 10 seconds before some food zoom-in pops on the screen. And if I wanted to watch the food channel all the time, which is perfectly fine if you chose to, I would subscribe to the food channel. And I love food. Trust me. But what I don't like is the fact I'm dying for some custard at 3am because I happened to turn on the tv (for whatever reason) and there's some custard zoom-in, glistening in all it's deliciousness, AND there's no way for me to get custard at 3am...in Japan. It's like if you want to be hungry and crave stuff all the time, turn on the TV.

So there it is. That's my beef (pun intended) with the the Japanese food-trembling zoom-in.