I think I'm turning Japanese...

This past Spring term at college I took a Japanese film class, simply because I needed to get out of my dance course, but I still needed the credits, and also because one of my closest friends was doing the course with me. In any case, the course did not require overmuch, since all we did was watch movies and write reflective and/ or comparative pieces on the films and the directors. In fact, other than learning to appreciate a different genre of films, and understanding the varied style of the Japanese filmmakers from Western or even other Eastern ones, I did not really learn much.  What I did learn though, was more insightful than anything several books about Japan could teach me. The country is rich in its culture and its traditions. Right? Well, somewhat. Japan is really simply a concoction of several different cultures, assimilated from China and the Western countries. The concept of noodles: Ramen, Soba, Spaghetti etc are all either Chinese or Italian, and even the Yakuza, the Japanese underworld gangsters who are featured in so many of Japan’s films, have evolved into simply a Japanese version of the Mafia. What is more, most Japanese manga (comic strips) or anime (animated film) depict characters who have excessively western features, like big, blue eyes etc.

Japan seemed to me to be like a person with split personality disorder. On one hand, I saw a Japan which was all about the pride and honor of the Samurai, the beauty and peace of the cherry blossoms, and the frightening yet heart wrenching performances of the Noh and Kabuki theaters. On the other hand Japan was also the place where there are countless “love hotels,” most of which are themed based on western places, films, celebrities etc, and there are themed bars and a craving for everything Western. As one documentary noted, Japan is like an onion, and peeling back each layer gives one a new aspect of the country. So which layer is the true Japan? What strikes me as extremely hilarious, however, is their antagonism towards foreigners. Though they love everything that looks and sounds western, and much of their culture has been based off western cultures, they do not really like the presence of foreigners in their country. While many would feel that this is simply hypocrisy on their parts, to me it only reflects their unshakeable pride. Because though Japan does build itself up based on other cultures, the important thing to notice is that once adopted, those traditions and cultures no longer seem western or Chinese, because Japan makes everything truly its own. From the slurping sound made while eating rice noodles, to the way they sit very stiff and correct on chairs, every action is very “Japanese.” What makes Japan the way it is, is not the cultures and traditions it adopts, but rather the unique and original way in which those customs begin to feel more Japanese than anything else.