Trip to Nagoya tomorrow.

From tomorrow till next Tuesday I will be in Nagoya, visiting an old friend. Posting will resume (and hopefully increase) when I get back, including a report of what I experience in Nagoya. Next week is Golden Week, a string of national holidays that often gives people a full week or more of vacation. I'll whip something up to explain Golden Week when I get back, as well. Until then!

CULTURE: Nightlife in Sannomiya Pt. 1: Bars, bars, bars

For the last three or four weeks I have been frequenting Sannomiya, usually on Saturday nights. Sannomiya (三宮) is the urban center of Kobe, and while paling in comparison to the size of places like Osaka or even (in my opinion, as some Japanese will disagree) Hakata (Fukuoka, in Kyushu), it still holds its own as a center of entertainment during the day and night. Lately, my main focus has been the latter. And so, with what will be the first of many in a series of night-time adventures in Sannomiya. As always, I'm trying to keep this academic, so what I discuss will hopefully shed some light on areas of Japanese culture and some of the more particular areas of my interests in music. With any shred of cleverness in me, I can turn these trips into a viable educational experience. As a note: I shall omit most any foreign-run or predominantly foreign-visited bar in the interest that I see the way that Japanese enjoy the night. There are some Irish pubs around town that look a little too English-friendly, which I wish to enjoy. The more perplexed the barkeeper looks as my white face appears in the doorway, the better (though this isn't too common in an international city like Kobe).
The first excursion was on a Friday toward the beginning of April. I willed myself to go out on my own, something I wasn't too willing to do before, and discover the many areas of vibrance in nighttime Kobe. I stopped at a bar called "Chey's". The sign outside read "No cover charge" which instantly appealed to me. As I would later come to find in several other cases, a lot of Japanese bars charge steep service fees, even up to a thousand yen ($10 abouts) just for coming in and sitting down. The bartenders were two young, long-haired and overly-cool guys, and their demeanors initially put me off as a bit unwelcoming. They fit a common mold of young Japanese men, who are often absorbed in their looks and attitudes in order to appeal to others, most likely young women. Their style did, however, become the stylishness of the bar, which sat on the second and third floor of a building, accessible by staircase and elevator, and featured sleek dark interiors. This first time I stayed on the second floor, which was the main bar area. As the night went on one of the bartenders warmed up after we talked about a group of young foreigners who had entered the bar, aged around 13 years old, who were kicked out for not having ID. I remarked that I think Japan carded minors, but the glaringly obvious age of the young foreign kids was too much (or too little) for the bartenders to ignore. The bartender who responded to my commentary on the situation then recommended some local club venues, and the name of the club that piqued my interest immediately escaped me as I later left the bar. I would spend a good majority of this night searching for that club. I would frequent Chey's many times after the first night's visit, and it remains one of my favorite spots. The customers are mostly Japanese, with occasional foreigners like myself popping in. As there is no cover charge, and the drinks are generally cheap, it appears to be a popular choice for locals in Kobe. The second time I went and drank on the third floor of the bar, a place containing a dining table for larger groups of customers, a bar counter, and a kitchen where food is prepared. Working on the third floor was a much friendlier man with a shaved head, a guy more into sports than looking pretty, and we discussed my place of origin among other things. His presence certainly provides a balance to different kinds of customers. Another time visiting Chey's I discovered a female bartender, a young and pretty college student, who completed the package in terms of what bar patrons are looking for in their service experience. I have heard from students at school that someone from school might be working at Chey's but I've yet to meet whoever it is. I went to the 4th year anniversary of Chey's with a college student from a different school who, having never been to Chey's, thought a friend from his school might be working there, but it turned out to be a different bar. Apparently, for college students, bar-tending is becoming a more popular choice for part-time employment. Anyway, enough about Chey's for now. I'm sure it'll pop up here and there as I continue my journeys.
That first Friday I also went to a darts bar called "Kool". The bar was run by a husband and wife duo and was quite small, confined to a dart-throwing place and a bar counter. The atmosphere was friendly and most of the people there, all of them Japanese, appeared to be regulars at the bar. Bars that cater to special tastes, like this one for darts, are common in Sannomiya. While many bars in the United States feature all of the above; darts, billiards, music, etc, it seems that it's more practical for bars to specialize in one kind of specialty outside of serving drinks. From my experiences thus far, bars that cater to musical tastes appear to be the most popular. So far I've been to a tiny little jazz bar nestled at the top of a bafflingly long staircase, a sure-fire serious injury for any unsure-footed drunk coming out of the bar. It required a service fee, however, which was off-putting at first, but not nearly as expensive as some of the other cover charges I would encounter, particularly at a certain bar I came upon during my last excursion into Sannomiya...
I was determined to visit another place aside from Chey's or Kool's, and so I wandered off into some smaller streets in the main part of town. In an alleyway I came upon a sign that was plastered with CD covers of John Lennon, The Jam, The Police, and numerous other 70's to 80's musical artists. The bar, located on the 4th floor of the building complex, specialized in that era of rock and roll, and given my affinity for Elvis Costello and the promise of "beers of the world" and no cover charge, I was more than willing to give it a try. But was the bar open? I looked to the side of the elevator and saw a colorful sign that read "OPEN", with something else written in Japanese that I completely ignored, which turned out to be a bar name. Assuming this sign to mean that the music bar was open, I ascended the elevator to the 4th floor. Following the same sign at the bottom that read "OPEN", I made a left into the bar. What I came to find was completely inconsistent with my expectations: yes, there was music, but it was pulsating disco-breaks playing along with colorful music videos being shown on screens on all sides of the room, situated along-side posters of Madonna and Lady Gaga, and a young man in full drag tending the bar. Another young man welcomed me in, a bit confused, and had me sit at the front bar. A third bartender appeared and gave an enthusiastic greeting and somewhat limp-wristed greeting. At the bar sat a middle-aged man and a very old man. I sat there for a while to compute my surroundings when one of the bartenders introduced the one in drag as "Japanese okama", (お釜, meaning gay person or male transvestite). I nodded and gave the thumbs up to him in order to show some kind of open-mindedness . One of them said in Japanese "This is a gay bar", to which I responded, "I can see...". I didn't want to bail out at this point and I believed that this was the bar listed at the bottom, although it certainly wasn't the music I was hoping for, and so I sat down for a couple beers. Here I could at least get somewhat of a look into Japanese gay culture, even though the tiny bar wasn't very full. I talked a good deal with one of the bartenders about traveling overseas, his time spent in college, and what it's like for him as a gay person in Japan. Before I left I wanted some kind of picture of the place, but the bartender said that while it was okay for one to be taken, I shouldn't show it to anyone I know in school in fear of exposing his orientation. I decided it was best not to take any pictures at that point, and asked him about what it's like for him to live his life in secret. He said that to most people he will deny his homosexuality, but in places like the bar he works at, he can be himself. This kind of lifestyle is in line with what I learned in a class at school about Japanese culture and society in terms of the "private self" versus the "public self". While homosexuals in the states who are "in the closet" might be in self-denial, in Japan, from this young bartender's situation, it seems that they are only "in the closet" in terms of how they appear before others. The presentation of one's self in Japanese society defers from how one views one's self in private. And so, Japanese gay bars provide this haven of privacy. The old man at the bar could come and be himself and sing karaoke with the cross-dressing barkeep. This privacy comes at a price, of course- the cover charge for being in the bar ended up around a thousand yen ($10). Although I probably would not have revisited the place either way, that was enough for me not to go there again. Before I left, however, I learned the actual location of the music bar I wanted to go to, on the opposite side of the hall. After the dent made in my wallet from the steep cover charge at the gay bar, I almost decided to call it quits but relented to go to the music bar either way. After all, the charge was free. 

Inside was a few patrons, and I sat down and told them what I'd just experienced. They were heavily impressed that I didn't turn and run after walking into a gay bar, and I was relieved to be in a place where, like the gays could enjoy being gay, I could be free to enjoy listening to Elvis Costello and indulging my other music tastes. A young man who was at the bar with his mother shared largely similar tastes in music as me, and by the end of Costello's "Alison" he played, through his iPod connected to the bartender's laptop, Oasis, The Verve, Radiohead, Kasabian and any other UK rock act that you can think of. Singing along to the lyrics did actually give a liberating feeling, being in an open atmosphere with people of similar interests.

Just like club circle activities in Japanese colleges, it appears that bars in Japan offer similar experiences for people who want to indulge their tastes. Where bars in the West may tend to have their patrons rely on finding other individuals with similar tastes, specialized bars in Japan take the work out of it and cater to individual interests so that people can feel comfortable among others while they drink. Bars are not nearly as popular in Japan for the reason that it often does require one to take individual initiative to find a preferable place and have a good time. This bar culture, however, appears to be rising in Japan, in a Japanese way. Whether it's a relaxing time in a stylish place like Chey's, playing darts at Kool's, or being free to be who you want to be, it can be found in Sannomiya. There's still a lot out there to discover when I have the free time, and I'm eager to continue my explorations.

CULTURE: "Hanami" 花見

Usually, in Japan, the cherry blossoms signify the coming of Spring, but lately, long after the blossoms have wilted and died, you'd be hard pressed to call the weather here "Spring". It's morning right now, and the sky is blue with promise. Yesterday wasn't the case. The temperature, the wind, the rain, all seem to be fluctuating in a completely unseasonable way. Usually you don't need a jacket by late April in Japan, less it be for nighttime. Certainly it's hard to believe that the cherry blossoms brought anything with them, and in fairness, they should bloom again before the real Spring weather kicks in. Sadly that won't be the case, but it's no big complaint... at the beginning of April I saw the blossoms in all their splendor, and partook in what was my first proper "Hanami" （花見 literally meaning "flower viewing")

While the name implies looking at the flowers, this is nearly beside the point. The cherry blossoms are just there to complete the mood. The REAL goal of "Hanami" is to get drunk and eat a bunch of good food. People sit under the cherry trees and drink; like I've said before, drinking is a major part of any social gathering for Japanese. The significance of cherry blossoms, however, runs deeper in Japanese culture than mere alcohol consumption. Cherry blossoms are a symbol of Japanese culture; in one of the seminars here are school, the professor discussed the birth of Japanese nationalism amidst the threat of imperial predatory powers that were made their ways into Asia from Europe and the United States, and how something like cherry blossoms had little significance, aside from perhaps poetic works, in pre-Meiji Japan. Because the Meiji era created modern nationalism in Japan, cherry blossoms were revered as a cultural icon, and this reverence continues on till this day. Perhaps this is why the Japanese favor Spring so much, as the blossoms only stay on the trees for about one or two weeks depending on the weather. This makes the blossoms a special event in Japan.

The place I went to view the flowers was with the aforementioned seminar professor (same professor that I mentioned in the "konpa" post), his wife, and a Chinese exchange student. The exact location was somewhere on the outskirts of Kobe, and I can't remember the exact name, but it was toward the mountains. It had the retro vibe of old Japan, particularly in the sense of the Westernized architecture. With the cherry blossoms in bloom, it created a sense of nostalgia that can only be accumulated through thorough time spent in Japan. It certainly gave the aura of a Japan that had fully realized its culture. Alongside a river where hundreds of people set up blankets and sat on both sides underneath the cherry trees. We ate the packed lunches, or "obentou" (お弁当, a Japanese packed lunch) that the professor and his wife had so kindly prepared, and enjoyed sipping the imported German beer (okay, it's not Kirin or Asahi, so it may not have been a full-on Japanese cultural drinking experience) and champagne that had been brought in the professor's foreign tastes; however, this is as Japanese as anything else, as the numerous people partaking in "hanami" all had different tastes, some even ordering pizza to be delivered out to where they were sitting by the river (!). As time passed some young Japanese men who were camped out beside us got the urge to come over and give me a serving of Japanese sake. It was at this point that I decided people in Kobe and the Kansai area were some of the friendliest in Japan, and the sake went down smooth. Eventually we packed the aftermath of our "hanami" experience into garbage bags and made our way along the riverbank. From then we hailed a taxi and drove up the mountain to stroll about one of the richest neighborhoods in the greater Osaka area, filled with the homes of business moguls and mob bosses, home designs ranging from the lavishly exquisite to the absurdly decadent (one newly erected home resembled the White House). The cherry blossoms remained prevalent as we descended down the mountain by foot. Taking the train home, it was a thorough experience of Japanese cultural symbolism.

The cherry blossom viewing of "hanami" remains a distinct cultural event in Japan. There is even an affinity for viewing the flowers at night, probably developed by busy people who were unable to fit it into their daytime schedule (pure speculation on my part, but considering the late hours many Japanese work it wouldn't be too far-fetched). Considering what it requires- beautiful cherry trees in full bloom, good food and drink along with good company- it certainly is one of the most enjoyable cultural features of Japan, and while I had seen the flowers bloom in Japan before, I was lucky enough this time to get the full-on experience. Even if the weather has been crazy lately, the welcoming of Spring with the cherry blossoms more than makes up for the unseasonable climate.

SCHOOL LIFE: Seminar groups, seminar "Konpa"

The last two days have been a headache, and even more than that, a stomach ache. That's how I get with hang-overs. However, drinking in college here is even more culturally ingrained than drinking in college in the United States. That's just the feeling I get. It's not the juvenile attitude of "let's get fucked up!" but rather a social norm that is part of any Japanese gathering. And so I have to take part, for cultural assimilation purposes, in the same way that many people pick up smoking here as it's such a normal part of every-day interactions with Japanese people. So with that out of the way, let me explain why I had this hang-over marathon.

The first day of hang-over came from the Folk Song Club get-together. See the previous post for more info. To throw salt in the wound, that day of hang-over, last Thursday, was the day of the seminar "konpa" (コンパ meaning "party"). Seminar groups in Japanese colleges last for two years each, meaning that students are part of seminars for their first two years of college and then move onto a new seminar group until graduation. The amount of students in a seminar is usually smaller than twenty, making it a more To solidify the bond between students of the same seminar, the seminar teacher takes the students out for a "konpa," usually at a restaurant, or in my case, the teacher's home.

My seminar teacher is a French teacher with a Chinese wife. A very interesting guy that is sweet on female students, and doesn't talk a lot of nonsense. Having the konpa at his place was a real treat, as he offered numerous bottles of liquor and wine as well as lamb-chops for dinner. All of it was delicious. Especially the booze. The students talked with each other and the teacher, and everyone had a good time. The teacher even played my debut album (Loser Dog) in its entirety while we ate. Everyone went home satisfied.

What I mainly got out of these seminar groups as that they are strikingly similar to home room classes in Japanese high school. The groups are tight-knit for the most part, and the fact that they spend two years together, just as high school home rooms spend 3 years together, says a lot about Japanese culture. College is a time for independence in Japan, but they never become independent in the way that many Westerners do. This isn't necessarily a bad thing in any way, as overly-independent cultures can isolate individuals from society, and create a country where we can't even pass a bill for universal healthcare (just my rambling thoughts).

In the seminar groups, students choose themes based on what seminar they are in; some of these seminar groups are related to economics, but mine is mainly sociology and history. Students pick themes and then present their studies to the seminar group. I am also required to pick a theme and present, and this last day of seminar has finally brought me to choose a decent theme that also fits in with my contract. I will post more about this in detail in another post, but the gist is that I will study how American music culture affects Japanese youth culture from the beginning of the postwar period. My experiences in the Folk Song Club will surely add to this development. I am excited to get the motors going on this and will do so in good time. Stay tuned!

SCHOOL LIFE/SPECIAL STUDIES: Folk Song Club

Japanese seem to go wild with their clubs in college. After all, the rigidness and sterility of high school club activities has been left behind, and students are free to explore their interests in whatever way they want. This type of socialization is natural in Japanese society; just as friends were made by association of groups in high school (same clubs, classrooms, etc), college students find clubs of interest and meet new people. Club "circles," however, are different. As a teacher explained to me on campus, "circles" are casual clubs: they don't get school funding like a sports team, but they do get to use school space. These club circles are perfect for students that don't want to make the serious commitment of an official school club, such as the ones they experienced in high school. If they want to go all-out they can, but only if that's the pace they want to go. Don't get me wrong: I am sure that there are club circles that are as rigid and serious as the club activities in high schools, but from my impression of the students touting these club circles, it is a welcome break from all the years spent studying for entrance exams. 

And so when I had been on campus the first day, I was approached by several clubs. My main focus here, whether it's for the independent contract I am trying to fulfill for Evergreen or for my life in general, is music, and so by the third student that asked me if I was new and that I was thinking about joining some kind of club, I found "Folk Song" club. There are two major music club circles at the University of Hyogo: "Keiongaku" (軽音楽, meaning "light music) music club and "Folk Song" club. Both of them are made up of musicians, both of them form bands and perform shows. At first I was unsure about "Folk Song"... the first student I met was a Japanese metal-head, certainly not a favorite genre of mine, but he seemed like a good and interesting guy. Also, while it seemed that with a name like "Folk Song" that they would be into folk music, this is not the case: they play mostly straight rock and roll, which is the same as  the "Keongaku" club. Either way my mind teetered between what to choose- the amount of pretty young girls seemed to play a key role in my decision, but at this point of my first encounter I wasn't sure.  Throughout this last month of April, however, the Folk Song Club had two on-campus shows featuring several cover bands made up of Folk Song members.  The point of these shows is to attract new members. Having attended both shows, did the magic and allure of the Folk Song club suck me in?

The first show was on a sunny Wednesday afternoon. I met up with the aforementioned metal-head and spent the rest of the day enjoying overly-loud guitars and shrieking Japanese vocals. Most of it however, was pretty impressive. These students really have a love for music, and you could never guess they are economics students if you had forgotten you were at a university. Perhaps it is for this reason there was such vibrance and energy: the members of the folk song club really enjoy letting loose. As the space where the bands were playing was directly adjacent to the bands of the "Keiongaku" club, I wandered between both clubs at times. The students that make up the "Keiongaku" club seemed more relaxed and more straight-laced. Compared to the Folk Song club, who all had pint-sized cans of Asahi Super-Dry and cigarettes hanging from their mouths, it was a different vibe indeed. Some of the first-year newcomers even described their upperclassmen in the Folk Song club as "scary". This intimidation was visible in the freshman throughout the performances, as the older members called them out to come to the front in pseudo-mosh pits and thrusting fists.

And so I came to a personal conclusion about the existence of these two music clubs, strikingly similar, and yet serving multiple purposes: each of these clubs facilitates the musical interests of students on different levels, as well as different personalities. The relationship between the two clubs is friendly, with some hint of rivalry, but the differences in its members become clear. For "Keiongaku", the shyer and perhaps more studious students seem to make up the bulk; after all, the translation of its name as "light music" speaks to the more restrained atmosphere of the club. The Folk Song club, on the other hand, has a more wild streak that leaves you to wonder what they will do after graduation. While I had made friends with members of both clubs, I made my choice on Folk Song. The initiation wasn't over yet, however.

The second on-campus show followed along the same lines as the first show the week before, although some of the bands that performed were remarkably better. The main draw of this day for newcomers, though, was the "shokujikai" (食事会, meaning dinner party). It might as well have been "nomikai" (飲み会, a drinking party) for all the alcohol that was consumed. To top it off, new members ate and drank for free, me included. The party took place in a "nabe" restaurant, which means a hot pot of different meats and veggies, and in this case the hot pot was filled with a kimchi soup. Everyone had been organized by what year they were at school and led to the restaurant by the senior Folk Song members. Nothing really academic about this, but something did strike me as I downed my fifth beer. The organization, the ceremony of it all was very Japanese; they made sure the newcomers got to the restaurant, everyone was taken care of as a group. As they toasted the new members in there seemed to be an air of something more important than what the evening was. The Folk Song Club is organized and has its own culture as do many college club activities in Japan, but everything is completely laid-back, the students are there to drink and flirt with their classmates, and there's none of the pressures of the rigidness and conformity that the students underwent throughout grade school. It's no wonder that Japanese college students are notorious for playing instead of studying.

The rest of the night winded down: I went with some other members after the restaurant for a second round of drinks. Generally, I feel I've made a good impression on everyone in the club. It certainly is a blast to hang out with these kids. Most importantly, however, I can see how they as college students live their lives in regard to music. It certainly has a powerful and uniting presence at the University of Hyogo. As the weeks go by I will write about what I experience as a member of this club, building on both themes of music and college life that exist in my independent contract. I certainly can't complain about a damn thing here; I'm truly lucky to be able to do this and be rewarded with school credit. Now it's just a matter of taking something fun and intellectualizing it in a way that only I can do. Kanpai!

LANGUAGE: List of Kanji learned so far

Here is a list of the kanji I have learned so far through independent, daily practice. You will need Asian text support to view them.

4/5/2010

一

乙

二

入

丁

之

乃

〆

七

九

4/6/2010

三

万

乏

己

夕

巳

寸

大

刃

与

4/7/2010

及

丈

才

丸

也

不

斤

云

元

幻

4/8/2010

匂

勾

爪

勿

予

允

互

巴

斗

太

4/9/2010

凶

天

夭

内

氏

五

牙

夫

升

毛

4/10/2010

丹

屯

匁

丑

中

弔

井

以

北

矛

4/11/2010

巧

包

乍

瓦

丘

凸

凹

且

必

斥

4/12/2010

矢

左

丙

出

民

半

本

末

未

失

4/13/2010

生

弁

甘

央

甲

由

母

世

史

申

4/14/2010

丼

冊

瓜

臼

多

死

気

両

兇

朱

4/16/2010

年

西

吏

曳

夷

毎

再

曲

良

身

4/17/2010

来

承

束

里

我

甫

更

串

亜

寿

Count so far: 120 kanji

Welcome

This is the blog I will be using while I live in Kobe, Japan from April 2010 till March 2011. This is an academic blog, and posts will be specified into categories: language, culture, school life, special studies. These posts will be indicated at the beginning of the blog entry, and anything outside of the four listed categories will be marked as so. I will consolidate what I have done so far into single posts, and then get into a more daily to weekly basis of posting. Hope you enjoy what I have to say... because it's hard as hell for me to keep any type of blog, and I'm doing my best to get it out there.

NOTE ON BLOG NAME: I used to do rap music. I still do music but most of it isn't rap. Either way I still use the old MC name as a handle... B Logic, minus the B, plus Japan makes "Japan Logic"... If I was a more clever fellow I could have outdone this, but oh well.