The English Engine

Nobody could accuse the Japanese of not being thorough. Many are the fables that describe the rigorous discipline of Samurai who, it's said, would practice drawing their sword in the correct manner for an entire year before learning how to actually use it.
This meticulous (and sometimes infuriating) attitude is evident in language education, which centres around choral drilling, or constant repetition of set words and phrases.

One upshot of this is that most English students here have an incredible vocabulary, but not necessarily the skills, confidence or opportunity to use it in natural conversation. Those who do, tend to have a repertoire of McSpeech - words like "really?" or phrases such as "how about you?", harmless in of themselves, but dropped in regularly to establish a casual mood, seem over-rehearsed and at worst, insincere.

That said, sounding natural in a tongue so different from your own is no mean feat. The Japanese language itself is made up of particles that set the tone of conversation, respectful language for your superiors, casual for your peers or subordinates. Even with my shaky grasp, I can see that it's an incredibly formulaic language, some "conversations" being nothing more than a repeated ritual. Erik, another ALT, has pointed out that during interviews for places at University, where, grades aside, personality would be the deciding factor, in Japan it's down to how well the applicant has memorised the procedure/ritual for presenting themselves. Perhaps all these factors, combined with the Japanese approach to tasks, is what creates the daunting mechanics of the English lesson.

This week, I've been working with the very model of a Japanese teacher. The man is a machine, probably fulfilling the dream of a chap that Matt & I met in Shinjuku, whose parting words to us were
"I want to be a walking dictionary."
For the sake of tact (and because I like him) this teacher will remain nameless. When I first met him, he impressed me with his detailed teaching plans, the pace with which they were executed and his quietly intense, but approachable classroom presence. Now he scares me a little bit. He's the quintessential Japanese workaholic, the product of a near automated education system. He looks like a well preserved forty-something. He is in fact my age.

In Pictures from the Water Trade, John David Morley's character decides to leave Japan, when after inadvertently bowing to someone on the phone, he feels that he is losing touch with himself. Whilst I'm a long way off doing that, I had such a moment in this teachers class last week.

On bad days, my job is that of a human tape recorder. The prescribed, correct way of speaking English requires a rising intonation at the end of a question, exaggerated in class in order to get this (not totally alien) point across. The problem is, a solid year of repeating pretty much the same questions has resulted in my delivering them like a command, in an attempt to actually get a response from the students. My rising intonation is imperceptible sometimes, thus when I'm demonstrating how to ask a question for the new first years, I find I can't do it, and concentrating only makes it worse or weird. Funny that the wonky cog in the English Engine should be the resident native speaker.

Shinto 3

So...the post WWII abolition of State Shinto & the Meiji declaration of freedom of religious belief has left Japanese spirituality with a colouful, if slightly vague, countenance.

Modern groups like Oomoto (with members such as Yamatsuka Eye of the Boredoms and founder of the martial art Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba) see the Divine in some very interesting places. They recognise not only notable figures from other religions as Kami, but also the creator of Esperanto, Ludwik Zamenhof. Esperanto being an attempt at a universal language, this suits the doctrine that the second leader, Onisaburo Deguchi, was a Messiah who would unite the world. Art is considered important to members, who believe that it brings humans closer to the Divine, and in a marked contrast to patriarchal Japan, Oomotos' spiritual leaders have always been women.

The group Soka Gakkai (influenced by the hardline Nichiren Buddhist sect) is Japans most powerful Buddhist sect. Accusations of intimidation and political corruption led to a reform in the laws regarding religious belief, eventually granting the Government greater powers of scrutiny in 1996. This move was fuelled mostly by the notorious Aum Shinrikyo cult, responsible for a variety of terrorist acts in Japan, culminating in the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo Metro. Since the arrest of their leader, the group has taken a more moderate approach.



Generally speaking though, many Japanese seem to regard religion as some sort of hat; borrowing traditions out of fancy. Pictured is Andy "I weren't doin' 'owt" Murray who, with his formidable Japanese skills, has a sideline as a fake priest, for those Japanese couples who want a Western style Wedding.



The truly wonderful thing about Japanese religion is that it's flexible and changes to fit modern life. One example is this rather incongruous looking building in the grounds of Kawasaki Daishi. It's a shrine dedicated to road safety, complete with a large car park in front of it, so the priests can bless vehicles en masse...naturally conjuring up images of men of the cloth standing at traffic lights with a bucket of holy water & a rag, frantically blessing windscreens & requesting donations from disgruntled drivers. Charms for road safety can also be bought at most Temples.

Shinto grows heads like a Hydra and gives birth to Gods with vigorous fertility. I read a story about a man in Higashiosaka who ran a shop selling herbal ear remedies next to a vacant lot that passing men would urinate into. He wasn't keen on that, so he erected two rocks and a shimenawa, to convince people that it was a sacred site, and ensure they wouldn't piss on it. After a while, people began leaving donations and asking him which particular Kami was enshrined. Fishing for an answer, he replied "the Kami of curing ear problems", and thus a new God was born. Over the years, the site, on a street leading to the Ishikiri Shrine, has become a small shrine in its own right.

Maybe in the 21st century, Shinto, or Japanese religion, has again come to resemble what it was before the arrival of other cultures; a folk religion, invoked when it's wanted, its lifeblood the cycle of festivals and observances that mark changing of seasons, coming of age ceremonies, and rituals to ensure good fortune.

Not really much more I can say about it except for this. Those of you who know me well will be aware of how much faith I put in statistics, but this one's a corker. Annually, the Agency for Cultural Affairs takes a census of religious groups and the members they have. Every year, the sum total of adherents claiming affiliation to a religion exceeds that of the national population.

So Japan...temples...Kami...Buddhas...what it's all really about is karaoke and beer - hurrah!




Yes indeedy, this past week we've been graced with the prescence of the lovely Rosie, giving us the chance to catch up, show her our favourite bits and me to take even more photos of Sensoji.


Thanks for coming over Rosie - it was great to see you...and as for the rest of you...we have a big flat by Japanese standards.

Shinto 2 - Born Shinto, die Buddhist

Japanese religion beautifully demonstrates their assimilative tendencies. I think I can safely say that the only genuinely Japanese phenomena I've encountered, are personality, rice and the ability to draw upon influences from the rest of the world and adapt them to suit the populace.

Shinto was only defined as a religion in order to distinguish itself from Buddhism... and to further muddy the waters, since Japans first encounter with writing was brought over from China by Buddhist missionaries, terms and concepts were taken from that religion and Confucianism, in order to express Shinto as a system of thought, but also to encourage a sense of national identity when dealing with foreign powers.

Buddhism and Shinto fused - sometimes, the Buddha is seen as a Kami, and by contrast, Buddha-hood can be seen as the state that all creatures, including Kami, aspire to. However, part of this assimilation resulted in Japanese Buddhism becoming very different from that which first arrived. Rather than contributing to Buddhist thought, it was adopted as a tool for Japanese society.

Generally speaking, the other-worldly-ness of Buddhism was at odds with the "here and now" of Shinto, since the latter traditionally didn't hold the belief of an afterlife. In order to catch on, Buddhism had to adapt to the ideals already in place. It had to change from being a world-denying to a world-affirming religion. Buddhism in Japan, with the idea of reincarnation, became death oriented, and probably struck a chord with ancestor worship. Funerals in Japan are traditionally Buddhist affairs, hence the title of this entry.

During the military dictatorship of the Tokugawa Shogunate (1603-1867), Buddhism was adopted as the state religion and used as a form of social control. A law required all families to register at a local temple, thus creating a network of government instituted parish organisations. Also, reforms in Japanese Buddhism couldn't exist as independent sects without prior permission from the state. This role made Buddhism quite unpopular during the Meiji resoration (1868-1912) when Shinto was declared as the state religion.

By contrast, Confucianism, also considered important by the Tokugawa, did a much better job of suiting the Shinto outlook, eventually influencing the Hagakure, the fabled code of the Samurai. Confucianism is an elitist philosophy, the governing body exercising a "Mandate of "Heaven", essentially a right to rule through Divine Providence. A key difference between Chinese and Japanese Confucianism is that this mandate can be "revoked" in the former (through political revolution or natural disaster, the fall of a monarch indicating that they were deemed unfit to rule), whereas the Japanese Emperors are the oldest unbroken monarchist line in history, despite their power being nothing more than symbolic in some periods. Notions of loyalty and political as well as personal obligation were particularly resonant, and continue to be so in contemporary Japan.

And that's not even mentioning Christianity, introduced by the Dutch & Portuguese. In keeping with its traditions as a religion of the persecuted, it hasn't exactly enjoyed a secure footing in Japan. This is probably because a great many Christian edicts fly in the face of Shinto, monotheism being a huge example. Not only does it dismiss the relevance of the thousands of Kami, but it removes the Emperors divine status. Christianity also places a strong divide between the mundane and divine, which with Shinto, exist in continuity with each other. On top of all this, Christianity seeks to change the social order by bringing about the kingdom of God, but perhaps most importantly, the positive, optimistic, life-affirming attitude of Shinto is dichotomous to the view of mankind born into sin.

With all this to contend with, it's a wonder that Christianity even scratched the surface of Japanese spirituality, but it does have a following here. During times of political strife, such as the Civil War (1482-1558), the Meiji period (1868-1912) and the post-WWII occupation (1945-1952), it's alien nature was seen as a great asset to people believing they needed a new outlook. That aside, the ideal of self sacrifice for the greater good is so Japanese you can taste it. Also, as some people in the West are fascinated by Oriental culture, the inverse is true in the East. Christianity has an appeal because of its associations with Europe, America, the West and modernity. There are also ethical reasons for converting - people who believe that these ideals create a person best suited to serve the nation, morally or, when dealing with other Christian nations, politically.

Every new arrival on the Japanese spiritual scene has had to appeal to the people themselves, thus making the Japanese religious outlook a hotchpotch of symbolism from several religions, and as if it couldn't get any more complicated, part of the Meiji restoration declared absolute freedom of religious belief...but I'm saving all that for the next entry...

Shinto

You would not believe the number of times I've tried to write this entry...Shinto (the way of the Gods) is a polymorphous, multi-headed beastie, and concisely defining it is a task Herculean in stature.


An indigenous form of Animism, it centres around the worship of the natural world and its elements, particularly those that inspire awe, such as mountains, waterfalls, dense forests, cloud formations, fire and even other human beings. These inspiring phenomena have associated, or are themselves "Kami"; divine beings.

Shinto isn't the sort of religion one can just convert to willy-nilly, not least of all because it has been known to emphasise the divinity of the Japanese people (surely, if not the root, then at least the soil of their cultural pathology), but also because it isn't really organised in such a way. It sometimes seems inappropriate to even describe Shinto as a religion. It's more of an attitude, an outlook, a way of seeing the world and behaving. An optimistic, positive view of an unspoken status quo that simply is. Shinto has no creed, no sacred texts, no attempts to win converts. Its life blood is a cycle of observances with an absurd amount of Gods. Although all the Japanese I've spoken to about Shinto wouldn't describe themselves as religious, they still take part in the array of festivals and ceremonies that are steeped in magical-religious ritual. This may also have something to do with the unquenchable group ethic.

The phrase "kuroshi toki no kamitanomi" (in times of trouble, turn to the Gods) sums up the Japanese attitude towards Kami worship. There are thousands of Kami, each one representing a different facet of life. If one wants a good yield of rice, then offerings must be made to Inari. Fisherman pray to Ebisu for a successful trip, whilst earthquake Kami must be appeased to avoid destruction of a new building for example. Such practices are still carried out in modern Japan. As late as 1972, many Japanese people relied on an almanac, highlighting days with a proclivity towards bane or blessing, in order to plan activities for the coming year. Organising a wedding for one of the days marked "Butsumetsu" (Buddhas' death) would be disastrous, as would holding a funeral on "Tomobiki" (bring a friend).

In Shinto, or Animism in general, there is a continuity between the mundane and the divine, blurring the edges between the sacred & secular. As you'd expect, the Japanese have a definite hierarchy based on the benefits each Kami brings to man. In Japans' agricultural past, Kitsune, the fox messenger of Inari, was considered particularly important. Kami such as this, along with the more malevolent variety, had to be appeased in order for man to live in harmony with nature, another Shinto ideal. Sin is equated with disease, natural disasters (of which Japan has its share) and other such calamities, created by a failure to appease the deities.

The standard creation myth (from the earliest records of the nation, the Kojiki and Nihongi) has Japan being made by Izanagi no Mikoto (creator or welcoming God) and Izanami no Mikoto (creator or welcoming Goddess). This creation was entrusted to them by the other Heavenly deities.

From the Floating Bridge of Heaven, they dipped the Heavenly Jewelled Spear into the ocean. The brine that dripped from the spears point became the island of Onogorojima (located near one of the two Poles if you want to be specific), where the two were wed. Izanami gave birth to the islands of Japan, along with thirty-five other deities, but in bringing forth the Fire God, she was horrifically burned and died. Some versions of the story have the Gods of metal, earth, water and youthful reproduction being born from her excretia.

In an attempt to rescue his beloved, Izanagi ventures into Yomi no Kuni, the land of the dead. Echoing Orpheus, he looks upon Izanamis' face, despite her pleas for him not to. Greeted with her scorched features, he flees, pursued by the minions of the dead and escapes, blocking the entry to Yomi no Kuni with a huge boulder, thus separating the two lands.

Tainted and defiled by his journey, he bathes, this act eventually taking form in the many Shinto purification rituals. From each drop of cleansing water, a new deity is born - the Gods of the moon, oceans or storms (depending on which version you're reading) and most significantly Amaterasu Omikami, the Goddess of the sun. It is Ninigi, a descendant of Amaterasu, who receives control of Japan. History and myth become one in Ninigis' grandson, Jimmu, the first historical Emperor of Japan.

That's not quite Shinto in a nutshell...although on the whole, it's a fairly shapeless affair, it became the state religion during the Meiji restoration of the late 19th & early 20th century. Also, other religions have put down roots in the Japanese spiritual make-up, the incalculable influence of Buddhism, which gave Japan its first system of writing, being just one example...but this entry's already massive and it doesn't get any simpler...


Photos from Mount Mitake, Kawasaki Daishi & Sojiji, Tsurumi

Spring vacation...one year on...filling in the blanks...

This entry was to have been a glittering description of the fabulous historical city Nikko, housing many tombs of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the family that held Japan in the grip of military dictatorship for two-hundred years. It would have been a chance for Hayley and I to get out of the industrial eyesore that is Kawasaki, but alas, my body decided that my long anticipated holiday was the perfect time for me to get tonsilitis...

...so I had my first trip to a Japanese hospital. The waiting room was a mildly pleasant experience, one that we in the west might learn from, with its opulent curtains, massive TVs, Library and sofas that try to eat you. Then I was subjected to a series of medical tortures involving nasal drilling, deep-throat pus removal (via a big syringe) and more drugs than I've ever had in one sitting. So, the holiday's been quiet...



Japans unofficial national flower, the cherry blossom has been in full bloom this week, so we've taken the opportunity to indulge in Hanami (lit. "flower see"), which basically involves sitting under a pretty pink tree and getting drunk with your friends, something we employed to devastating effect last night...




After a year in Kawasaki, I feel there must be more to this city than the (Guinness certified) shortest escalator in the world (ending in a staircase, just to remind you that you're in Japan), and maybe more to say I've achieved than teaching Japanese teenagers how to say "Eee, 'ecky thump" (to the point of being able to do it without prompting), something I'm missing, something...



...of course...







...it's the Kawasaki Cock Fest!!!


Last year, with my source material a good mile away from the computer I was frantically typing into, enthusiasim overtook accuracy in my description of this momentous festival. The story actually goes that a local maiden had her vagina possessed by a demon, the offending creature biting the penises of her suitors...eventually it was quelled by a local blacksmith using a steel phallus. Details aside, this was all about fertility and cocks; a pink one carried by a troupe of transvestites, a huge black effigy in a massive omikoshi carried by locals (and, surprisingly enough, one of my students) and a variety of the things in a shrine.





Stunning. I'm speechless. I feel my time here has been justified.