Japan is so quaint sometimes I could pee. For the most part, it's very similar to life in any developed country (well, I admit I haven't lived in any except for the U.S. and Japan, but still). But there are occasions when its traditional values leap out, often highlighting an innocence and naivete long lost in much of the rest of the developed world.
Last week was the annual seijinshiki, the coming of age ceremony that signifies the 20 year-old's passage into adulthood. They are now legal to drink and smoke, can vote, and have the full power of the law pressed upon them for crimes. They are expected to be able to carry adult responsibilities and make adult decisions, yadda yadda yadda.
But this is a big deal, seriously. The Japanese are big on ceremony and ritual, you see. A number of my students came up to me after class to show me pictures of them dressed up in their extremely fancy kimono with fur stoles, very pretty. These ceremonies are highly anticipated and thoroughly enjoyed.
But there can be trouble in paradise.
There were trouble makers afoot, raising a ruckus and attracting all sorts of media attention. The news covered these hooligans for almost a week. Mostly males, they were hooting and hollering during the official speeches, walking up and down the aisles (dressed in beautiful formal attire), starting fights (mostly yelling matches using the most vulgar grammar and guttural tones), even jumping on stage to tug at and tear down some of the posters hung in their honor. Some were drunk (20 is the legal drinking and smoking age in Japan, but with vending machines all over, it's widely violated) and there were even women gathered with the smokers outside! THE HORROR!!
It was reassuring to see such a relatively minor issue take such precedence in the news. Even though I'm trivializing it, these were truly disruptive assholes out to ruin everyone's good time in some perverse draw for attention. It's common among bousouzoku gangs, just being annoying by modifying their cars with the loudest possible muffle and outrageous lights and fins (I should get pics) or riding around slowly on a motorcycle just gunning the engine to annoy. In a nation that prides itself on manners and consideration for others, being publicly inconsiderate is the best way to rebel and flaunt the rules.
There was another big scandal that bears mentioning in the same vein. There is an annual race at a particular shrine in Tokyo that is run by many people, perhaps semi-comparable to the Bulls of Pamplona. People line up behind these big doors which are swung open at the specific hour and they race for luck. Older people run along for the thrill of it, but the people who line up really early are in it to win. You get a special prize and are always on the news and it's a nice feel-good moment.
Last year, one guy was in the lead but he slipped and fell. This year, he collaborated with some friends and lined up early enough to be the first behind the door. Then, when the door was opened, he took off but his friends linked arms and held the rest of the crowd back. Their motivation wasn't to cheat out others as much as to give the guy what they felt was his due from the previous year.
Only problem was that this is a popular even, always covered by the news, and it was immediately obvious what had happened. It was blatant that the compatriots had obstructed everyone else, and the guy who won ended up shamed and apologetic. He returned his prize and apologized for the incident, but this too was big news for a few days.
So while I at times fret because I'm so out of the loop vis a vis happenings in the U.S., at other times I'm kind of glad to be. Japan is not without its problems and shortcomings, but it does retain particular elements of life and society that are very nice to have about, and I'm sure that I would miss them if I ever move away.
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Posted by Nutrimentia at January 22, 2004 10:05 PM | TrackBack