Second Final Essay Part 2: The Galop Bar

Blake Foster

December 23, 2010

Japanese Language, Culture and Society- Fall quarter

Music Studies in Japan, Part 2: The Galop Bar

Back in September I was lucky enough to stumble upon a small bar in the Maiko area of Kobe, not too far from where I live. Having eyed the place while running, it initially caught my attention due to the small amount of Western-style bars in the relatively quiet area (the bar lies close to Maiko station right by the Akashi-Kaikyou suspension bridge). When I finally entered the bar, titled I was unaware of just how important and influential a spot it would be for the latter half of this exchange. Run by a 60-year old Japanese bass guitarist and his daughter, the bar's main purpose serves as a meeting place for dozens of musicians from in and outside the Kobe area, both Japanese and foreign. Although it also functions as a meeting place for all locals, the musical aspect definitely stands out overall. The bar hosts live events on a regular basis, even with its space constraints, unable to fit a drum-kit but still capable of featuring four or more piece acts, usually with improvised percussion instruments. Even on days without an official show, the master of the bar has no qualms about plugging his bass guitar into the bar's impressive sound system to show off his forty-plus years of playing, along with letting other musicians plug in guitars and microphones, play tribal drums, etc. Impromptu jam sessions are a regular activity for the master and his customers. As I went to the bar more and more, the realization that I had found an invaluable resource for studying and participating in music during my stay here started to sink in. Through the master and other regular customers I have been able to see professional-level musicians perform on a regular basis and in a variety of settings. Seeing how passionate these Japanese musicians are and how they forge relationships with foreign musicians in the area has opened a whole new world in exploration of music in Japan.

The master of the Galop Bar has run the place for over ten years. His wife passed away some time ago and he has been running the bar with his daughter since then. A typical day has him sleeping until the afternoon before coming and opening the bar at around seven. He drinks about a forth of a bottle of tequila every night before his daughter cuts him off. In spite of the amount he drinks every night, he still has a calm and cool demeanor, and always jumps at the opportunity to play his bass around customers. When he showed me his skills the first time I was at the bar, I knew that I had stumbled upon someone legendary. Decorating the wall of the bar are photos of the master with his band back in the early 1970's posing with African-American jazz musicians who were in Japan. He was involved in the “Group Sounds” movement, a period that greatly influenced modern Japanese rock and pop music, and can list a variety of musicians that he has played with, mainly in terms of jazz. These days he still stays active in different musical circles playing jazz, blues, rock, and anything else that comes his way. An American man who lives in Kobe and frequents Galop often holds jam sessions in a rental space, to which he invites several musicians around the area, both foreign and Japanese. The master will often go to these sessions after closing the bar early, along with his daughter and other close friends of the bar. The last time I went to a session, Paul Jackson, the bassist from Herbie Hancock's The Headhunters showed up to play. The master had recently met Paul Jackson for the first time and was thrilled when the accomplished bassist was blown away with the master's playing ability. Even at his age he still maintains a childlike excitement over music, and his charisma has made him a connecting figure between Japanese and foreign musicians in Kobe.

The master's tastes in music extend to both Japanese and Western music of various genres and eras. He and the other musicians who frequent the bar show an affinity for American and British music, particularly blues rock and hard rock music (The Eagles' “Hotel California” is a common song performed by musicians in the bar) and classic artists like The Beatles and Eric Clapton. The radio rarely ever features music by Japanese artists, which is not uncommon in any Japanese bar or restaurant. When musicians play songs in jam sessions, they also rarely ever play songs by Japanese artists. During more official shows at Galop, however, they often play songs by older Japanese musicians, usually for an audience made mostly of Japanese people. This may be because many listeners are not familiar with songs from the West, or because they prefer to play American and British music during jam sessions because of their more bluesy structures, allowing for more improvisation. Either way, a full appreciation of both Japanese and music from Western cultures is clearly visible in the musicians at Galop.

Perhaps more impressive than the master's accomplishments in music is the fact that he operates his own business while living the life he wants to live. Being able to indulge in his passion for playing music and being able to drink late into the night show make him an exception to what some aspects of Japanese society have traditionally dictated: that seeking full, life-long employment in a good corporation is the only path to true success. During my first exchange in Japan I knew someone, around my age, who was very enthusiastic about the notion that all Japanese must be in the mainstream in order to be happy and successful. He played music himself, but eventually gave it up because he said he “grew out of it”, in the sense that he considered it a hobby unsuitable to carry on into his college life. The master of Galop, however, has led a successful life and raised a family, even if his life does not fit the traditional Japanese idea of success. In this sense, his life itself shows that there are ways to be successful in Japan without simply following the path of becoming a life-long company employee.

Other musicians that frequent the bar are also in their middle age and have continued playing music even as they have careers and families. One show featured a guitarist who played original songs, who looked like a typical businessman and father, also playing with an even younger guitarist who is a grandfather, among several other band members who were all on a professional level, perfectly hitting the harmonies of their own work and covers of The Beatles and other artists. Since the world of Japanese employment can often be strict in limiting the amount of free time someone has once becoming fully employed, many younger Japanese musicians find it hard to imagine a lifestyle where they can actively play music while having work and other obligations. For example, many members of the Folk Song Club who take a serious interest in music dread the thought of getting full employment and having to abandon their passions because of what society dictates.

One musician who comes to the bar is in his mid twenties and is fully employed. However, he still manages to write songs and perform around Kobe. While he claims music as a hobby rather than something he would prefer to pursue over work, the question is whether he really feels that or if he has just regulated music as a hobby because of his responsibilities at work. His willingness to play his songs certainly shows his enthusiasm for playing, making it clear that on some level performing music, among pursuing other creative outlets, is not considered a viable path to success in Japan. This aspect of Japanese society can be stifling to people who wish to pursue their talents and passions, and while societies like the United States may on the opposite end of the spectrum overvalue individual dreams to the point where self-worth is inflated and distorted, the disillusionment in younger Japanese generations over a work system that no longer offers the possibilities and securities it once did remains palpable. While there are voices in Japanese society, mainly through Westernized pop culture, that encourage individuals to pursue their passions, the traditional systems of education and family often ingrain a contradictory mindset into the Japanese from a young age. As a result, young musicians might abandon their talents instead of pursuing them, without realizing that it may not be necessary and they have the potential to live in a way where they can develop their love of music like the musicians at Galop. The nature of Japanese society might make it difficult to both succeed traditionally and personally in life, but the musicians I have seen through visiting the Galop Bar have shown that it is at least not impossible, whether it be on the level of owning a bar and drinking tequila every night like the master does, or being able to continue playing music even with being heavily occupied in one's career.

In terms of seeing more authentic musicians, going to Galop on a regular basis has opened up a whole new world of music studies in Japan. The relationships between Japanese and foreign musicians also shows how music can bridge cultural gaps, even when neither musician can fully communicate in English or Japanese. By meeting the people who play music at Galop, I gained a solid understanding of the amount of passion that many Japanese have for it, and that this passion has remained well into their adult lives. Outside Galop as well, there is still a lot more to be learned about musicians and music fans in Japan, but what has become clearest of all through observing and experiencing Japanese musical culture is that music can sometimes say more about a culture than words alone.

Second Final Essay Part 1: The Folk Song Club and Music Club Culture

Blake Foster

December 20, 2010

Japanese Language, Culture and Society- Fall quarter

Music Studies in Japan, Part 1: The Folk Song Club and Music Club Culture

Club activities are an integral part of Japanese college life. Since I wanted to study music culture in Japan, entering the Folk Song Club has been a rewarding experience in both giving me a clear idea of musical tastes for Japanese college students and for the importance of the club to its members. Throughout the last ten weeks I have become more involved with the club and its members, after a period of disillusionment with the club culture in general. Through a shared interest in music and through the bonding that takes place while performing music together, however, my views on the club started to change. Several events and interactions within the Folk Song Club have given me a stronger sense of what the club means, both in its sociological aspects as well as its relation to music.

At the time of the school festival back in November, my participation in club activities still seemed frivolous; I viewed the club in the same way that I participated in it. The importance that the club activities held for its members was still something I could not put into a well-defined form. Even the trip I took with the Folk Song Club during the summer felt somewhat superficial in how the club behaved together, but I was I was aware of the importance that it held to its members. The school festival was a big event for the club for several reasons: the club would be performing music for the whole school, along with performing side by side with the other music club, “Keiongaku”. In addition, the club marked the end of the management term for third year club members, bringing in the new leadership of second year members who will carry on management of club activities into their third year. In this aspect, the club has a system of politics in its leadership, and some take it more seriously than others. The newly chosen leader of the club showed a great deal of reluctance and nervousness over the responsibility of the position. In this sense, members of the club might have an overblown perception of its importance to the point where they cannot enjoy it in the manner that many of the more senior members treat it. For college students who are fresh out of high school, however, their membership in the club can make up a huge part of their identity. Thus the responsibilities that come with being in the club can overshadow the aspect of it being an outlet for forging friendships through music; this is something that became apparent to me during the school festival.

Of particular importance was an event where graduated members of the club gathered together with the current Folk Song members (largely second year and above) to celebrate and toast to the progression of the club membership and for former members to meet the newly chosen club leader. What made the event particularly interesting was the initial formality before the usual unabashed drunken behavior; all current members had to stand up until all the senior members (there were probably over fifty that showed up) took their seats in the hall of the restaurant. The Folk Song Club is by no means as rigidly formal as some other club activities in Japanese colleges, but the formalities of such an occasion were still properly observed. After the formalities, however, everyone acted friendly and open, while still respectful. The newly chosen leader of the club appeared nervous throughout points of the evening, however, even expressing jealousy toward me due to me being a foreigner and largely indifferent to the hierarchy of club membership. Certainly, the devotion that many of these graduates had for their club was significant; some former members were into their thirties with careers and marriages. This signified a distinctly Japanese trait in the Folk Song Club; no matter how much time passed as members graduated from the University of Hyogo, some still felt a connection, even an obligation, to their club. This cultural trait extends into all reaches of Japanese culture; groups are often very important parts of individual identities. What added to the understanding of the Folk Song Club was what I learned about the musical interests of some former members. Many showed little enthusiasm for the musical element of the Folk Song Club; they explained what they played and did throughout their time in the club, but the actual club culture seemed to hold a higher place of importance. Even with current members of the club a distinction can be made between those who are seriously interested, and often gifted in music, and members who are simply in it for the social interaction.

The differences between members who are more interested in musical development and those who are content with the typical flow of the club can sometimes lead to conflicts of interest. A close friend of mine who is a former member of the club left for that reason; he felt his time could be better spent pursuing music by himself and with others outside of the Folk Song Club. I myself felt an initial disappointment with the attitudes of some of the club members when it came to performing music; many members do not welcome a challenge, and rather stick to playing with people they have always played with and covering bands that are at their level of playing skill. Japanese indie/pop bands such as “AKB48”, “Asian Kung-Fu Generation”, “Go!Go!7188”, “Maximum the Hormone”, etc., are covered over and over again, usually by the same members. For anyone looking to advance themselves musically, this tends to be the most frustrating aspect of the club. As there are several extremely talented first year club members amongst several others who are more into just going through the motions, it can be a trial as to whether to continue on with club activities.

This past week I took two first year members to see the aforementioned former member play one of his shows in Kobe. The type of music this member plays is very experimental and avant-garde, utilizing odd time structures and various effect pedals for his guitar. Him and another electric guitarist perform as a pair, neither one adding vocals, only dueling guitars with jazzy melodies. One song in the latter half of the set featured explosive delay effects, creating something reminiscent of The Beatles' “A Day In The Life”, which left a lasting impression on the two first year members who came along to see the show. After the show ended they expressed how inspired they were by it and how different it was from what they were used to in the Folk Song Club.

Their reaction to the difference of the music played was understandable. The Folk Song Club can often create an unintentional sense of oppression when it comes to playing music, in the sense that members feel pressured to deliver a similar energy and feeling in the kind of music that they play. They often feel discouraged from playing slower, less energetic songs in favor of heavily distorted riff-driven punk that prompts audience members to jump around in quasi-mosh-pits. When slower numbers are played, members will even apologize to the audience for playing a sad song. This atmosphere is likely due to many of the younger members wanting to mirror the more senior members in the type of music they played. In this sense, a sort of stagnation has developed in the club, and since the amount of members who are more into the social aspect of the club has increased, the variation in what members perform has largely dwindled down to three or four piece guitar cover bands. During the time of the school festival I learned from one older member that there used to even be Folk Song members who did hip-hop covers with sampler pads and other DJ equipment, among other variations in the kind of music played.

The member who played the avant-garde guitar work, however, once offered a sound opinion about the Folk Song Club. Although he dislikes the elements of conformity in terms of music and atmosphere, and felt that he could become a better musician by other means than playing in cover bands, he emphasized the importance of the relationships that the club creates. While some current members are not close with him as a result of him leaving the club, several members know and respect him because of his musical talent and his intelligence. Through this example, musical prowess can be achieved even in spite of the redundancy of musical performances. Often, it is the cover bands that do more off-beat or unconventional numbers that are most well-remembered within the club. Not only do these add variety to the typical club activities, but they often introduce new music to members who never would have heard of the bands on their own. In this way, even members who are less interested in music itself are able to witness various forms of music from other members, effectively enriching musical appreciation for members of the club.

While the time of the school festival was a major changing point in my understanding of the Folk Song Club, another pair of events that came around a month afterward also brought a deeper understanding of not only Folk Song but the “Keiongaku” Club as well. Virtually the same in its operations, the “Keiongaku” Club has a slightly different atmosphere. Members usually focus on technical proficiency in playing instruments, and even have aims of becoming artists signed to major record labels (in a sense similar to how professional sports players are often scouted at the college level). The term “Keiongaku” literally means “light music”, although the genres are just as varied as what is played in the Folk Song Club. Several schools have “Keiongaku” clubs, just as other schools have clubs entitled “Folk Song”. In spite of their subtle differences, musical clubs from different schools in the same areas will collaborate on concerts called “Joint Lives”. One or more bands from each school will play the same day in order to create a better awareness of other college music activities and in this case, to create a tighter bond between members of the Folk Song and “Keiongaku” clubs at the University of Hyogo. Through performing music, deeper friendships are formed between the two clubs, extending the importance of these musical club activities beyond either of the two clubs alone.

Two “Joint Lives” were held throughout this last month. The first featured clubs from Universities in the are around the University of Hyogo campus in Kobe. There were about four or five schools who had bands perform, me being a member of one of the three bands from the Folk Song Club. Members from the different schools also convene for a night of celebration and drinking after the shows end. The second “Joint Live” was held this last weekend at an impressively large venue in Osaka. Eight different colleges participated, and the variety of music played offered a refreshing change of pace from the more typical faire of club events. There was even a group that played original songs, as well as group with an extremely skilled female pianist and vocalist. “Joint Lives” therefore not only create closer ties between different clubs and create social networks, but give the opportunity for club members to see how other musicians perform.

Taking part in performing more shows with club members has also been crucial to understanding how club members bond with each other. The reason many club members may choose to play with the same people is because of the shared sense of responsibility in putting on a decent show. By working together members feel obligated to not only the people they play for but to members within the band. Because of this strong sense of teamwork, first year members who just picked an instrument are often able to play (passably) in shows after a matter of months. Another result of members choosing to play shows with the same people each time is that within the club, cliques are created, and they do not always interact with other club members with the same closeness they feel with members they have played with time and again. I myself have alternated playing with two different groups of members in the club. While the lineup has not been exactly the same each time, I have, for instance, played with the same drummer for three separate shows. The decisions of who plays with who are sometimes made several months in advance of the actual shows. Understanding the dynamic of how members play together has been a major part of understanding relationships within the Folk Song Club.

In terms of both music and club culture, this last academic quarter has been eye-opening. Having undersold the complexity of the Folk Song Club during the last quarter, becoming more active within the club has revealed just how much I had and still have to learn. More than just music, participating in the Folk Song Club has shown how seriously many Japanese feel about their commitments to club activities. The Folk Song Club has its own culture, hierarchy and politics, and while I and some other members may not always feel comfortable with these club dynamics, making the effort to understand them rather than merely reject them has brought me further into understanding Japanese culture than I had before. While there may be issues with the club becoming too redundant in its activities, many of its members nonetheless forge life-long relationships because of their participation in it. Since music is such a universal part of human nature, being in a music-related club has been the perfect place to observe this important part of the Japanese college experience and gain a better understanding of the dynamics of Japanese society. Because of a shared interest in music, the cultural differences between myself and several of the Folk Song members has also been bridged, showing that the world of the Folk Song Club and other college music club activities can create a rich and positive experience for young Japanese, and though I have made several leaps forward in trying understand this world, there is undoubtedly far more to be learned.

First final essay: Cultural Experiences In Japan: Japanese College Life

Blake Foster

December 20, 2010

Japanese Language, Culture and Society- Fall quarter

Cultural Experiences In Japan: Japanese College Life

In the Spring of 2010, I arrived at the University of Hyogo in Kobe, Japan, to begin an academic semester that I went about half-heartedly; due to my own selfish reasons, I did not regularly attend a lot of the classes (though I did go to class every week) I had been signed up for. I simply had better things to do, or had better things to do the night before and needed the recovery. The reason for my candidness on how I treated school during the first half of my exchange is to make a point: during this second semester, things are little different in terms of how seriously I take class attendance, but the reasoning for it has changed. During the Spring I was not used to college life in Japan; now, during the Fall and likely throughout the Winter, I am completely used to college life in Japan, and therein lies the problem. Not going to class becomes as important, if not more so, than going to class in terms of being immersed in the Japanese college experience.

For classes specifically designed to teach foreign exchange students such as myself, I regularly make the effort to attend classes and to complete work. The same goes for any other classes to which I feel obligated to. Aside from these classes, however, are the ones where I am merely a tourist. Professors lecture on about material difficult in any language, well above my personal level in Japanese, while I sit back and make the occasional attempt to comprehend why Company A and Company B have a sullied contract in terms of Japanese property laws. In the position of tourist, however, and in the more active position of a student, both on and off campus, I have gained a deeper understanding of the Japanese college system. By looking at and comparing all of my classes this semester, I will explain my thoughts and conclusions that I have reached so far on this exchange.

The aforementioned bit refers to a class on civic and private law which I enrolled in. This class does not even require students to fill in attendance; students can earn credit for simply taking the tests. The professor simply lectures on specific areas of the required text books, and the tests are largely made up of copying sections of the text books to fill in the answers. Due to this system there are several students in the class that I have only seen once or twice. Some students did not even come to a class until four or five weeks into the semester. The looseness of attendance and the possibility of being able to pass tests by knowing what sections of text to copy creates a somewhat unusual atmosphere for a university setting. Often, there are a group of dedicated students who takes notes at each lecture. Aside from that, however, are students who move in and out of the classroom for intervals sometimes as long as thirty minutes at a time, and toward the beginning of the semester, students who even purposely behaved disruptively to the dismay of the professor. While these students eventually stopped regular attendance of the course, their initial behavior was something I found a bit shocking. It certainly contrasted with the typical atmosphere of university classes from my experience in the United States. It was almost as if these students still felt like high school, or perhaps more aptly, middle school students. The impression was that college in Japan still, on many levels, functions as a natural step for a vast number of Japanese young people. The entrance exams that they are required to take in order to get into a reputable university certainly has an effect on determining who stands as “college material”, but exam-taking too is so engrained in Japanese culture that it remains as a given fact of life rather than a personal endeavor to seek higher education. Thusly, if a student enters a good school in Japan, it was because they did everything they were supposed to do, not necessarily because they went above and beyond to get there. In this way, Japanese college both functions as another step in the traditional Japanese system, and also as a liberator from the system. The students who feel liberated, from what I have seen at least, tend to outnumber the ones who still study and go to class like they were still preparing for college entrance exams.

Initially, I wanted to try and keep up with the lectures in the civic/private law class. This would prove to be a short-lived effort. Every lecture tends to take the same exact context in terms of describing property and contracts, rarely diverging from the professor's nonstop pace. The methodology of the professor's teaching appears very old fashioned; his way of teaching never shows the sign that he feels the need to impress his students. His command and no-frills presentation of lecture material shows that he puts himself in a clear position of teacher to student hierarchy, even if the students could care less. While I do not try to fully make out the contents of the lectures, being able to see a professor teach in such a way has been educational in itself. In comparison to other professors who seem just as apathetic as the students (to be fair, though, I have not really witnessed any professors who performed at an insufficient level), the professor in the law course displays a uniformed and traditional way of teaching, regardless of how times have changed. Seeing the professor's style of teaching as well as the behavior of the students has deepened my understanding of the Japanese college atmosphere.

Another class that is conducted by a professor with an equally traditional teaching style, albeit a slightly warmer one, is the course entitled “Interchanging Societies”. In the same way that lectures are conducted in the law class, the flow and presentation remains the same each class. As a result, it can be difficult to continue paying attention. This sentiment can be felt throughout the class. Since this class requires regular attendance to receive credit, the students are somewhat more focused than the students in the law class. Every class students are required to write down their thoughts on the course and hand in what they write on an attendance slip. Lately, the professor also regularly calls out random students and asks them questions in regard to what they wrote on their attendance slips. Some students I have seen write a lot down on these slips, which is unexpected when some of these students are the same who skip classes more often than others. It makes me wonder if a little bit more appeal to the opinions of students would prompt them to be more intellectually involved in schoolwork, which is the case in the United States and particularly at Evergreen (although, constantly hearing the opinions of students does not always prove to be a flawless way of learning). Because students are required to be more intellectually engaged in the lectures there is a more serious academic atmosphere.

Nonetheless, the number of students with their heads down on their desks asleep remains relatively high, particularly because the class takes place after lunchtime. Sometimes students will sleep the whole class, wake up and fill out the attendance slips. Some students will come into class at the last minute just to fill out the slip and go. The lectures in Interchanging Societies do more to feed a massive amount of graphs and statistics than to interpret the data presented; the interpretation comes through the questioning of students and the professor explaining his experiences, but this aspect of the class does not always sustain the attention of its students. Though the professor is undoubtedly a veteran of Japanese academia, the traditionalism of his teaching style, although not as rigid as the professor who teaches law, still conflicts with the shortened-attention spans of the modern generation of students.

In somewhat of a contrast to the two aforementioned professors, is the professor of the course “Comparative Cultures”. This professor shows a great depth of understanding how to capture the attention of students, and has a fatherly charisma that engages the students and often draws laughter with colorful remarks. Though the course material is often a bit above my level of Japanese understanding, the lectures are enhanced by various visual presentations. The professor has been to various foreign countries and uses the photos he took there to juxtapose aspects of Japanese culture with cultures of abroad, at one point even using a research project done by a Japanese woman on an native tribe in Nova Scotia, Canada. By Japanese standards, his teaching methodology is relatively progressive. Professors like this often have a reputation among students for being “interesting” (quoted because the word for “interesting” in Japanese has more varied meanings in Japanese; such as funny, entertaining, etc), which is something I noticed when I was in Japan back in 2005 on a high school exchange; the more eccentric teachers earned a lot more points with the students. While this does not separate educators like this as being more skilled than the more traditional ones, it does show how cultural changes in the younger members of Japanese society has created a gap between traditionalist methods and more progressive teaching.

An even greater distinction between these professors comes from my seminar professor, a man who boasts about his wildness during his the days of, at times, radical Japanese student protests during later 1960s. More cynical than leftist, he always finds some way to make a snide twist on what his students are talking about during seminar, whether it be ridiculing his perceived inanity of catchphrases for Japanese ecological conservation (he took particular exception toward the phrase “kindness to the earth”) or his students' tastes in cuisine (McDonald's for one, although he admits to eating there on occasion). Instead of functioning within a traditional style of education, he tears the walls down in his conversations with students, even at times using polite language when speaking to his seminar students (most of them are female, and he is well known for his kindness to the fairer sex). His presentation of knowledge at times borders on self-indulgence in his own intellect, always asking students if they know of rare and underground topics, likely already understanding that they have no clue whatsoever. Also an instructor of the French language, a language and culture he often exclaims his fondness for, he carries a totally Westernized persona that has earned him a reputation in his many years of teaching.

For classes that teach foreign languages, the learning atmosphere also takes somewhat of a turn from traditional teaching styles. As language classes often teach culture at the same time, this is necessary in order to effectively teach another language. In the Chinese Communication course I take, the attitudes of the students contrasts to how students behave in typical classes. Because the instructor demands confidence and clarity when they speak in Mandarin Chinese, students have gradually grown more comfortable in class. The language instructor, a Chinese woman, has a very strong and straight-forward attitude, which some students describe as “strict”, which seems odd in that the attitude of the instructor appears more open than the traditional teaching styles of other professors. In this sense, some Japanese students may prefer a traditional learning environment where all they need to do is listen and take notes. Classes that actively engage students can create tension in that many Japanese are afraid to make mistakes, which in a way makes any class that intellectually engages students personally a contrast to traditional Japanese culture. Often times Japanese students will say nothing in response to a professor's question; some professors allow this so that the student does not feel embarrassed, but in the Chinese Communication class this is unacceptable. Some students respond well to this pressure to try until succeeding, as it builds their confidence when they get it right; others who are more apathetic toward learning may view it as an annoyance.

Another professor who teaches both “Technical Japanese” and “Intercultural Communication” uses a similar teaching style. This professor, who is Japanese, heavily involves herself with coordinating classes and programs for foreign students. As a result, the way the professor interacts with the Japanese language class, only made up of foreign students, shows an experienced understanding of intercultural education. This carries on into “Intercultural Communication”, where about half the class is made up of Japanese students and the other being made up of me and some Chinese students. Conducted all in English, the professor does her best to create an open and communicational environment. The differences between how the Japanese students, Chinese students, and I respond to the lectures and learning exercises show the sometimes stark differences in cultural attitudes. Due to the high level of communication involved in the class, as well as the all-English factor, there are very few students (around eight or nine) that regularly attend classes. This shows that culturally, Japanese college students are more comfortable with the more traditional styles of learning, because it requires less of their personal input; whether they are satisfied with this style of education, though, remains a question.

For the other Japanese language class I attend, “Japanese Language and Culture”, there has been a new language instructor in charge of the class. The prior semester was conducted by the aforementioned professor from “Intercultural Communication”; this time its a younger, newly wed Japanese woman who brings an even lighter-hearted teaching style. While the students, all Chinese, seem to enjoy her presence, there is a noticeable gap between the somewhat serious demeanors of the Chinese students and the cheery, sometimes sappy teaching style of the new instructor. The way the class is conducted seems more akin to a primary school atmosphere than a university. If the students of the class were Japanese, they might actually enjoy it more than the Chinese students. Because Japanese schools, even in high school, treat students like they are still children (and as a result, they tend to act more like children), Japanese respond better to cutesy-ness in their education. This attitude sometimes even extends into university learning environments; the attitudes of Japanese students appears somewhat more childish than Chinese or American students, at least from my own cultural perspective. This too is an aspect of Japanese college life that I have become more aware of throughout this last semester.

The attitude of going to class in Japanese colleges also starkly contrasts to the United States. As I mentioned before, Japanese students view college in a similar way to how they viewed high school and middle school; as an obligation rather than a privilege to education. While in the United States, a student in college who does not attend any classes even while paying tuition would likely be viewed as a complete fool; in Japan it is a norm. Upon bringing up concern about a friend's lack of attendance in classes (a student who is already on his fifth year of school, who still needs to take a full load of classes in order to graduate within the academic year [some students take care of all their class credits by the third year, only requiring the completion of their seminar class]), a friend of his said “I think it's fine for him to go at his own pace and do the things he wants to, don't you?”, to which I brought up the financial issue of college tuition and how delaying graduation only flushes money down the drain; he reacted as if he had not considered that aspect, saying “Oh yeah! You're right, that is a waste”. This supports the notion that college education is such a given in Japan that even while paying money to take classes, not going to the classes one's paid for is considered a rebellious act. The mainstream attitude of the Japanese learning establishment that the path of going with the grain, studying hard and graduating college to achieve a company position (a path that is more frequently leading to dead-ends in Japan's staggering employment rate) does not help to foster enthusiasm for going to class among more individualized students.

As I am not required to pay class tuitions to the University of Hyogo, I have felt a bit less guilt from falling into this same pattern of not going to classes regularly. While more dedicated to experiencing the learning environment than the last semester, I have found that not attending class is just as necessary to understanding Japanese college (a convenient loophole, yes, but it carries a great deal of truth). Being involved in club activities, specifically the Folk Song Club, well-known for its less than studious members, has inevitably added to the habit of skipping classes. Doing this, however, shows how a lot of college students tend to act in Japan more than simply sitting in class. Students will go out for nights of drinking even in the middle of the week, and spend the subsequent day recuperating instead of going to class. Some students will go to school nonetheless, on little to no sleep, and simply show their faces for class, which can often be sufficient in receiving some amount of class credits.

After seeing how a lot of classes function, as well as the fact that the classes operate on semesters rather than quarters (which arguably suits today's attention spans better than the semester system), it is almost impossible for most students not to become totally disenchanted with academics. Writing about what went on in a day's classes on my academic blog reflects the tediousness of the class cycles. Though the University of Hyogo is by no means a subpar institution, the critical aspects of what I have described in this essay more reflect the stagnation of the Japanese education system itself. Many Japanese professors I speak to echo these sentiments when I express them, even when I said the Japanese college system is almost completely useless in teaching critical thought in its students (an extreme statement that was nonetheless greeted with various degrees of agreement). The way in which students struggle with the graduation theses they are required to write also reflects the lack of critical thought development. Students are concerned more with the amount of research material rather than focusing on what their thesis is, what there thoughts on it are, and how they will prove it. Granted that students everywhere can struggle with graduation theses, the problem in Japanese colleges is that memorization of facts and statistics is emphasized over interpreting them. This can be seen in the class on law and in “Interchanging Societies” in terms of traditionalism in lectures, and seen less in classes like “Comparative Cultures” where the course is designed to provoke thought on studying one's own culture in comparison to others.

Granted, the world of Japanese college academia is far larger than what I have described. By no means do I mean to paint a critical picture with a few brush-strokes. What I have experienced and considered thus far, however, reflect the preconceptions I had about Japanese college even before arriving on this exchange. While the critical aspects have provoked the most though, the University of Hyogo has also offered a great deal of education for myself both in and out of the classroom environment. By getting a better grasp on Japanese college education, I not have a deeper understanding of Japanese society as a whole, which has made this quarter and the exchange itself an invaluable experience. I look forward to what I will see and experience in the last academic quarter of my Evergreen contracts and the last month of a the semester here at the University of Hyogo.

LANGUAGE UPDATE: New Kanji...

六- six

文- writing, composition, sentence; literature; character, word; design

片- one (of two); fragment; just a little

市- city, town; market

玄- black, mysterious, occult

亥- twelfth horary sign (boar)

亨- pass through; offer; boil, cook

交- intersect; coming and going; associate with, mix

亦- also, again

充- fill; allocate; fulfill, satisfy

妄- incoherent, reckless, false; without authority, without reason

享- enjoy, receive

忘- forget

対- against, versus, anti-

夜- night

卒- soldier, private; sudden, come to an end; die; graduate

京- capital, metropolis; Kyoto

育- raise, rear, bring up

斉- in order, all together; alike

盲- blind

版- printing block/plate; printing, edition, impression; board; roster

帝- emperor

変-change; strange; flat (in music keys); mishap; disturbance

哀- pity, feel compassion

亭- restaurant; arbor, pavilion, summer house; vaudeville theater; lofty

亮- clear; help

衰- become weak, ebb, wither, go into decline

恋- love, dear, beloved

高- high; expensive; rise, increase; be proud, haughty; grow excited

畜- (keep) domestic animals

率- rate, proportion, percentage, coefficient; obey; lead; all; light, easy; sudden

斎- religious purification; abstinence, fasting; Buddhist food; a room; equal

商- trade, merchant; quotient (in math); sell, deal in

蛮- barbarian

牌- label, sign; medal; Mahjong playing tiles

斐- beautiful; bend, yield

裏- reverse side, opposite, rear; palm, sole; last (of an inning)

稟- salary paid in rice; receive; inborn

棄- throw away, abandon, renounce

膏- ointment, grease, fat

豪- strength, power; splendor, magnificence; Australia

褒- praise

十- ten

干- dry, become dry, parched; ebb, recede

千- a thousand

支- support, prop; check, stem

午- seventh horary sign (horse); noon

古- old, wear out, become old

平- flat, level; common, ordinary, average; peaceful

孝- filial piety

真- true, genuine, sincere; just, right, due (north); pure

索- rope, cord; search for

博- broad, extensive; gambling; (suffix) PhD; exposition, fair

準- quasi-, semi-; level; aim; model after, liken to, imitate

翠- female kingfisher; green

上- up, raise, top, above; sovereign; climb; go the capital, etc. (this kanji has a huge variety of meanings that generally involve something upward or higher in terms of position, money, and so forth)

下- down, below, under, remove, bring down, withdraw, etc.

止- stop, put a stop to; limit oneself to; finishing blow

外- outside; external; foreign; other; take off, remove, disconnect; miss, fail in; avoid

占- occupy, hold; tell fortunes

正- correct, just, right; straight; principle, original; positive number

比- compare; ratio; the Philippines; kind, sort, class

此- this

卦- divination sign (one of set eight signs, each consisting of a triplet of bars or bar-pairs; seen on the Korean flag)

卓- table, desk; excel

虎- tiger; drunkard

貞- chastity, fidelity, virtue

Kanji count so far: 670

LANGUAGE LEARNING SUMMARY: Fall Quarter

 Throughout this quarter I have intensified the ways in which I practice Japanese both in and out of school. In the last academic semester at the University of Hyogo I have been involved in more regular courses than the semester in the Spring and Summer. This is because I am not assisting a class in English like the class taught by the exchange teacher from Evergreen, and also because I decided to take on a larger load of classes this time around. There are 8 classes I am taking per week that are lectured all in Japanese. Throughout these classes, I tend to take notes on lecture points and try to understand what I can. It is humbling to know the amount that I don't know in terms of the Japanese language- in spite of the insistence of many of my Japanese peers, my Japanese is far from perfect. In terms of how much I did to improve on this during the last ten weeks is subject to criticism. There was plenty more effort I could have put into trying to learn everything during class time. Nonetheless, compared to what I did last quarter, I made several leaps forward in applying language studies.

 The most important reason for this is the electronic dictionary I purchased at the beginning of the semester:

　These dictionaries make it a lot easier to immediately identify a word either by its pronunciation or by drawing the kanji characters on the screen in order to find a word. By doing this, I have been able to understand key components of lectures so that I can somewhat follow along. The words I look up I record into a notebook like so:

 I then review these words on my own time to help reinforce the knowledge, using the tried and true method of flash cards. Slowly these words have entered the pool of vocabulary I use in everyday conversation.

 Conversation skills have improved as well. People often remark how much my Japanese has improved in the last 4 or 5 months, unexpectedly. While Japanese are prone to praise foreigners for their Japanese skills, the level I am at is proficient enough to know that when someone remarks that I've improved, I take their word for it. My ability to speak has improved quite a bit since September; I find less and less conversations where I am completely lost, even speaking with heavily-accented, older Japanese people. This has been a sign to me that my studies have paid off this quarter.

 In terms of kanji studies, it has generally been the same as last quarter:

 Generally, I review each page which usually contains ten characters each. Though, I concede that I have not been reviewing nor writing new kanji nearly as much as I should. After this post I will post the remaining characters from the previous blog entries.

 Other than learning from classes, I have made headway in increasing reading proficiency at home through manga, books, and other materials.

 Unfortunately the amount of projects involving language this quarter have been few and far between. Here is what I have so far:

 The test I took last week (mentioned in a previous blog entry) and had returned to me today in "Technical Japanese". While there are some red marks the instructor praised my improvement in articulating Japanese in writing. The essay continues to the back of the page.

 Here is the presentation on the Folk Song Club I did in "Japanese Language/Culture":

 In terms of another project, I will be completing a presentation on my life in Japan for "Interchanging Societies" to be presented on the 21st of this month. As soon as I finish it I will post it here, but by then it will surely be past the quarter deadline. 

 For the remaining kanji I have studied, I will post those in an entry within the next 24 hours. Overall, the quarter has been very educational in terms of what I've learned. Within the classes I have been able to understand more than I could the previous quarter. As of now reading comprehension and writing is the only thing holding me back from being at an advanced level of Japanese. In terms of everything else, I'd say my Japanese is at an upper-intermediate level overall. In that sense, this quarter has been a success. Next quarter will be more of an effort to increase overall reading and writing abilities.

SCHOOL LIFE: This last week at school, wrapping things up here for the Evergreen quarter

 The past week at school went by as the ones before. Each day of class generally went in the same manner, and I missed the first period (Civic/Private Law) and second (Chinese Communication) periods of Monday due to the festivities on Sunday from an event in the Folk Song Club. Third period was Technical Japanese, which had a test for all students. My test, separate from the others, was to write a short essay on the problems with Japanese work systems and compare it to the American system. I said that the traditional progressions of education systems was the main source of issues in Japan, aside from the overall economic problems. I attempted to explain the stagnation in Japanese society with the changes between postwar generations and generations of today, and that the college system, which has always been a symbol of discipline put into studying for college entrance exams throughout middle school and high school, and has generally acted as a launching point for graduates to be hired into long-term company positions, no longer suits the changing dynamics of the Japanese economy in this day and age. Not only are there less positions to be hired in, simply graduating from a university does not guarantee entering a career in the way that it used to. I additionally asserted that because Japanese society has largely been transformed into a consumer society, the idea of long-term employment does not appeal to the younger Japanese generations as it did to the older generations who were eager to secure success and fortune after the end of World War II. Because consumerism inevitably inflates the needs of individuals so that they will be willing to buy products to suit their needs, the younger generations of Japanese culture are more concerned with the products of financial success rather than the process of working for it. I could not fully express these ideas in Japanese as I just did here, but I got the general ideas across.

 On Tuesday in "Comparative Cultures", more studies on Japanese culture were presented by the professor. The closing slides began a presentation on an Indian tribe in Nova Scotia, with the research conducted by a Japanese woman. I wasn't able to grasp entirely where the professor was going with the subject, but if I get the bigger picture I will be sure to post about it. In second period, "Intercultural Communication",  students presented excerpts from a hand-out entitled "Values, Thinking In Society", me being among the presenters. The concept of the individual was presented in terms of Japanese society, emphasizing that Japanese people are taught to concern themselves with what others think about them, a well-known aspect of Japanese culture that can be seen in humble and reserved attitudes in order to maintain a good social appearance. This theme was carried on into another part of the hand-out about the role of the state, in which nationalism was indoctrinated into Japanese society starting from the later years in the Meiji period, and how after the end of the war Japanese rejected the nationalist ideas of wartime Japan, which can be seen in the indifference or dismay toward right-wing demonstrators in Japan (see my previous post about right-wing demonstrations in Sannomiya). I presented on the concept of harmony, wa (和), which exists strongly in Japanese culture and society. At the beginning of the class students were asked to name values that they hold important, and one Japanese student said she values the importance of not showing personal, negative feelings around others so that they will not feel bad as well. The professor remarked at how Japanese the value was, and it tied into the concept of Japanese harmony. I explained my difficulty in this aspect of Japanese culture due to my incapability to hide my emotions. As many people share this personality trait regardless of their nationality or race, the cultural importance of harmony can create a somewhat oppressive environment for people who are unwell when bottling emotions in. However, there are some people who function perfectly well in this kind of society and alternatively do not enjoy the outward honesty of more individualistic cultures. Following "Intercultural Communication" was "Interchanging Societies" in which more of the same about living conditions was presented.

 Thursday in "Japanese Language/Culture", the same method of teaching Japanese through children's news programming was used to present stories on the relocation of the American military base in Okinawa, a norovirus outbreak in Japan and what kids can do to stay safe, some awards given to Japanese celebrities and the naming of the most popular buzzword of the year in Japan ("ゲゲゲの...", part of the title of a popular Japanese drama in 2010), the choice of Qatar for the 2022 World Cup over Japan, and an extended feature on the Wikileaks scandal. For "Civic/Private Law" it was a lecture on standards of public decency, at least at the beginning before it veered off into another breakdown of contract agreements between companies A B and C. The room was outrageously overheated, and that concluded anything noteworthy during the class. The next period was similar, "Interchanging Societies", about communication in residential areas in Japan as well as community security services as a first measure before calling the police, as well as gated communities, etc. The professor asked me if there was anything similar in terms of community security service in the United States and I really didn't know how to answer it, because while there surely are similar things, there's not really a standard in how communities are organized in the United States compared to Japan. The professor seemed puzzled that I didn't know. In other news for that class I will be doing a presentation on my life in Japan on the last class before winter break, the 21st, and will post what I've done here. In seminar, aside from the professor going into great detail about how he tried to defy society in his college days by having an untamed beard and long hair that curled toward the bottom (if you could see the guy you'd know how funny the thought is), it was more student presentations on research for graduation theses.

  As you can see, I've settled into the academic semester, and by that I mean I've become largely disinterested in the classes themselves; and Japanese students go through four years of this system. Nonetheless, I will feel worse if I abandon the process altogether, meaning I'll continue to try and create something of academic value out of the remaining classes till the end of my exchange.

SCHOOL LIFE: Last week at school

 Over the past week I didn't seen much class time, at least not anything noteworthy. Monday I attended Civic/Personal Law, vainly attempting to understand parts of the lecture. The most noteworthy moment of the period was the professor asking if the clearly overheated classroom was too hot. Next period in Chinese it was more learning Chinese. Following that was Technical Japanese in which students reviewed for a test coming the next week, which I will be given a special exception due to my lack of familiarity with Chinese characters. I'll let you know how that turns out.

 Tuesday in first period, "Comparative Cultures", the professor went over a comparison between Japanese and Americans attitudes and lines of thought. The main purpose of the lecture was to study how Japanese people behave within their own culture. I could not get the complete details of the lecture at the time, but have been going over a copy of the slides for language study. There were also segments of a drama shown and how the dramatic points of the drama represent certain aspects of Japanese culture, and with the drama being based on a Japanese play, how the dramatic arc of the play corresponds to Japanese culture.

 In second period, "Intercultural Communication", facial expressions were studied and there were videos of interview applicants, three Americans and three Japanese, and students were to choose who of the six applicants would be chosen for a scholarship.

 Third period "Interchanging Societies" was more studies on living conditions in Japan.

 Thursday: I gave a presentation on the Folk Song Club in "Japanese Language/Culture". I will post the slides here soon. It went well.

 The next period "Civic/Private Law" was more lecturing on what I don't understand.

 Third period: See last note on "Interchanging Societies".

 I missed seminar class that day.

 As you can see, I have been late in completing this entry on what happened in class two weeks ago. Classes have gotten to a grinding point of largely more of the same old, same old. I can see why Japanese students don't feel the need to go to class. I certainly see how being in a club activity distracts from any academics as well. More on this in the final entries and reports of the quarter.

SCHOOL LIFE, CULTURE: Past week at school, new camera, etc

I woke up Tuesday morning, debating whether or not to skip the first period of class for the day. I was worried there'd be something I hadn't completed that would make me feel excluded from the day. However, someone had given me the idea there was no class Tuesday, and as I was prepared to walk to school (I was completely short on money after buying the new camera) I looked at the calendar on my phone that said it was Japanese Labor Day. So I texted several people from school until I got the answer that there was in fact no classes. I had to find some way to spend the rest of the day. What better way than to play with the new camera (aside from studying or something more relevant). Here are some of the pictures I took that day around the Maiko-Tarumi area of Kobe:

 Since then I have been taking photos regularly and will be sure to post more in the future.

 Thursday I missed first period, as I was scheduled to present something I hadn't prepared for, but as there was a lack of time for other presenters that day it probably worked in the class's favor (good excuse). I didn't attend all of Private/Civil Law either, but managed to at least see what was going on. As far as I could tell the lecture was the same subject as it had always been. For third period's Interchanging Societies, the lecture on rural to urban migrations was concluded by explaining what special features in rural areas offer to prevent rural areas from decaying as more people move to urban centers. The lectures from now on will be in Japanese, which will provide a better challenge for language-learning as the class progresses. Seminar was more research presentations from students, one on how people who play online games will sell virtual items and currency in those games for real money, which drew puzzlement from other students who seemed to have no interest in online gaming (it was one of the two male seminar members who presented it, the rest of the class is all female, so there's no surprise they'd be disinterested). The other presentation was on the evolution of fashion which lacked a lot of detail, and the professor extended the topic of conversation on and on as he always does (particularly when it comes to discussing the work of the prettier girls in class).

 It was a week without much incident overall, and without much class time. There are several projects for classes I will have to finish and post soon.

SCHOOL LIFE/CULTURE/SPECIAL INTEREST: Today at school and the weekend

 Although I will outright admit I missed the first two classes of the day, only making it for Technical Japanese. The class consisted of writing examples of grammar points chosen from the main text of the class, which focused on inequality in salaries between women and men. Aside from the couple of snide comments from some male Chinese students ("Women are payed less because they aren't as talented as men") there was nothing noteworthy.

 The two days before, however, there were some interesting tidbits worth mentioning. On Saturday I had nothing to do, and as the weather was nice I decided to go to Akashi park. I have done a blog entry on Akashi before, and it has become a favorite spot. The large and lush greenery of the park stretches around a lake and up to a raised vantage point atop a castle wall, offering a vantage point of the Akashi-Kaikyou Bridge and the Akashi cityscape. After going to the park I headed back into the city area toward the major department store "Aspia", and on my way I spotted a coffee shop with an indiscreet sign titled "Terakoya". In the doorway of the shop was an old man with maroon-tinted sunglasses sending off a customer. My friend from the Folk Song Club (I think I called him "Mr. K" once in this blog? His name is Katsura) who introduced me to several hidden spots around Kobe had once told me about a cafe in Akashi with a master who smokes from a wooden pipe and is a real character, so I thought this had to be the place. I went up to the door where the master was still standing and he told me to come in, asked me where I was from, and told me all about how he's a hippy and his son had studied at the University of Illinois and in Los Angeles, and how he'd been to Seattle when I told him where I was from in the United States. We didn't speak too much after that, and he didn't smoke from his wooden pipe. I wasn't there to stay too long, so the experience wasn't too fleshed out. A woman who seemed to work there or at least be a regular customer came and asked me to listen to an instrumental she had produced, and if it would be well-received in European countries (she thought I was from Europe at first, and was shocked when she found out I was American, as if that was reason not to show me the music she had created; I insisted on listening either way). I listened to her music from her cellphone, and it was a pretty standard piano progression, but what made it different was the harmonies she produced vocally, without lyrics, to make it seem somewhat avant-garde. Although the quality of the recording made some of the higher ranges of her voice sound grating, it was an interesting listen, something up Katsura's alley, and I told her that anywhere, Europe or the US, it would probably appeal to people with an interest in music. She seemed satisfied with this and didn't say anything else about it before she left the room. I got up to pay for the coffee I drank and a younger girl who had been sleeping on a couch, apparently working there, took my money before the master of the place called out that she's interested in English. After paying I sat and talked with the girl, who turned out to be the same age as me, about her interest in English (she had failed once and trying again to get into the Kobe University for Foreign Languages, which is the college near my campus that I talked about in the blog entry on gakuensai) and foreign music (mainly 60s and 70s Brit-Rock). I let her listen to my album a bit before I headed out. I went to "Aspia" to use the restroom and as I came back out there was a stage set up in between the two buildings of the department store, promoting the debut of some new Japanese pop-guitarist. Without any interest, I decided to stay a bit and watch. The young man fit the mold of every other Japanese pop-folk singer, sporting shoulder length hair under a full-rimmed hat (I think it had some kind of feather decoration on it) and a plaid-button-down shirt (might've been wearing a blazer over it too, but the point is, his look matched the trend down to the pointy-toe shoes on his feet). The promoter putting on the event announced the details of the singer and his performance (no pictures) to the moderately-sized crowd before the singer took the stage and applauded himself as he asked the crowd to applaud even more. He immediately went into a Christmas-themed number (to remind people to buy gifts, perhaps even his debut album, hint hint!) and into a standard ballad after that. The chord progressions and melodies echoed every other song in modern Japanese guitar pop, the kind of music played by street buskers in Sannomiya that likely never catch a break, except for the ones with the right look, which the guy singing before me apparently had. I walked away before the second song closed and compared the musical tastes of the people in the Terakoya Cafe, particularly the woman who showed me her piano piece, with the cookie-cutter pop music in front of the Aspia department store. The latter is poison to people like my friend Katsura, and merely a matter of going through the motions for the people outside Aspia who clapped along to the music. In Japan, just as anywhere else, pop music fills its necessary space in most peoples' lives, regardless of its quality, while people who think about music differently (Katsura, the people in the cafe) may look at alternatives, whether it be from Japan or abroad.

 To continue the theme of music on Saturday, I went to the Galop bar later in the evening to see a live performance by a middle-aged Japanese songwriter that I'd met through patrons of Galop before.  I originally learned of the event through a guitarist, also playing with the songwriter, a 46-year old father and grandfather with a vast knowledge of rock music who comes to Galop on a regular basis. The night opened up with an acoustic set by the headlining songwriter, who played a Christmas song (strangely coincidental with set opener of the pop singer in Akashi), a cover by a foreign group I forget the name of, with lyrics describing the birth of Christ though I'm pretty sure none of the players of the night were religious. He played some other foreign and Japanese covers, singing remarkably well, before letting the other aforementioned guitarist cover some songs in the same vein, such as The Beatles' "In My Life". The main set of the night was made up of the two guitarists, a bassist, and a percussionist. Along with original songs there were other covers, with two more Beatles' songs ("This Boy" and "I Saw Her Standing There") and some other Japanese songs interspersed throughout the set. The vocal harmonies of the players were completely spot on, along with everything else; truly, they were on a professional level. It showed how Japanese people of any age will throw a lot of passion into their music, whether it be college students in the Folk Song Club or out on the street in Sannomiya, largely influenced by modern pop and rock or the middle-aged fathers (and grandfathers) at the Galop bar playing 60s and 70s influenced music. Without making a concentrated effort I have been lucky enough to view music in Japan in several different ways.

 Aside from the show at Galop, there were two foreigners who came in, an American-Brazilian and a French man, who I started speaking with. They warned me of the perils of teaching English in Japan, and how it's easy to be fooled and jerked around if you don't find a proper way to teach. The conversation was enough to make me reconsider the thought of teaching English in Japan altogether. Both men were married to Japanese women and had lived in Japan around ten years. We started discussing welfare benefits for foreigners in Japan, and I wasn't aware that there was regular government aid for foreigners who lost work in Japan, and apparently foreigners in Oita prefecture in Kyushu are not eligible for welfare (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welfare#Japan). This must be a contentious issue with the poor state of the economy, and the conversation on Saturday night provided a lead in to what I saw the next day.

 On Sunday morning a caravan of right-wing activists drove by my apartment building, and instead of the usual blasting of war anthems there was a man shouting from a loud-speaker about the role of the Japanese people and matters of the like. Of anything in Japan, the right-wingers tend to hit a nerve with me the most, as I'm sure they do with most foreigners. However, my contention with them isn't just based on their opposition to foreigners coming to Japan; it's that they carry on an ultranationalist ideology that caused some of the worst destruction in war that mankind has ever witnessed, not only for countries that Japan waged war on but for the Japanese themselves. I went to Sannomiya by bus later that day to look for a new digital camera, and was dismayed to see the caravan had made its way into the heart of the city. In the Motomachi area, the caravan had stopped to give a speech outside the high-end Daimaru department store. The vehicles for right-wingers look military in nature, usually jeeps or trucks painted dark green and the right-wingers themselves, usually young men with threateningly muscular builds dressed in fascistic clothing, appear easily enraged and have been known to lash out at foreigners on occasion; behind the parked caravan were several police cars who watched and waited silently in case of any disturbance. As the young man shouted from a loud-speaker about how right-wingers are misrepresented and not associated with the Japanese mafia, and how the government cares more about foreigners than Japanese who work hard without any break (ironic as the crowds who passed by seemed entirely concerned with shopping on a Sunday) while foreigners have it easy. Most people who passed by looked to be ignoring the speech, often with a mildly amused or nervous look on their faces, sometimes with a person explaining (a man to his female partner in this case) what exactly right-wingers are, saying something along the lines of "Oh, they're people that think violence is okay to get what they want...". Two or three older Japanese men were standing by to listen, and I stood and listened as well. One of the old men looked over at me occasionally, curiously, and I don't think he was necessarily buying what the right-winger was saying. One old man listened for maybe two or three minutes before shaking his head in disapproval as he walked away, clearly irritated. At the end of the main part of the speech one old man clapped enthusiastically; he was the only one clapping. Clearly, right-wingers are not very popular and generally considered unfavorably even though many Japanese might share some of their conservative views. The old man who had glanced over at me gave a slight bow of his head to which I returned the same, and he walked off as the right-wingers started to play clearly fabricated recording in Chinese that was supposedly the captain of the ship who rammed into the Japanese vessel near the Senkaku Islands. Though the content and ideas of the right-wingers aren't too out of line with what conservatives in the United States tend to preach, the direct connection to wartime fascism makes it much harder to swallow, and considering that the very same ideology had led to Japan's total defeat in the war, it comes off as nothing more than the still-lingering ultranationalism after Japan's defeat, sustained both by the surge of nationalism following Japan's incredible economic revival and the frustration and anger as Japan's global position continues to decline.

 Overall, a very educational weekend.