Christmas Time

Christmas time is here! Japan included. I really wasn’t expecting Japan to have Christmas trees, lights, displays, and Christmas music in stores, though. My view of Japan before I came was that it was not a Christian country. I was not expecting to have a Christian Christmas. All of the Buddhist and Shinto shrines should have been an indication that I would experience the “after Thanksgiving” period without the Christmas spirit.

Thus, I was utterly surprised when we walked into the Kyoto train station before Thanksgiving (which is only celebrated at the Hilton hotel in Osaka, if any of you were wondering) and found that it had transformed into a Christmas wonderland! American Christmas music was playing, a huge Christmas tree became the focal point of the entire complex, and parents brought children to shop for presents and to take pictures in a winter scene below the tree.

This was just the beginning. In the two weeks that have since passed, every shopping center has decorated for Christmas. Many have specialized themes for Christmas 2007, such as “Christmas of Love” or “Romantic Christmas.” All of the themes are in English, and it all seems so commercial. As if the Japanese just celebrate it because it is cool, because it is foreign. It makes me wonder how many of these people who readily buy “kawaii” Christmas jewelry, dress as santa, or sing Christmas carols actually know the history and stories behind the holiday.

I grew up with the “Black Friday” shopping frenzy- that day-after-Thanksgiving rush, where all the shops open early to offer Christmas deals to people eager to get in the “Christmas mood”. But then again, I also grew up decorating the tree, getting all dressed up on Christmas Eve to go to mass at our (Catholic) church, and waking up on Christmas morning to a wonderful breakfast followed by presents and a day in pajamas with the family before dinner with extended family. I got the whole package. I experience the Catholic Christmas, as well as the commercial money-maker. Maybe I am wrong, and the Japanese really do know the meaning of Christmas. But if it is like a lot of the foreign things that come over here- music, traditions, etc.- most Japanese just see it as a cool thing from abroad. And the retail stores wont pass up an opportunity to market yet another cool foreign entity to the eager Japanese consumer.

Of course I am not complaining. I was ecstatic to see that first Christmas tree and to hear those all too familiar Christmas songs being played at Top World while I shop for groceries. It was a wonderful disconfirmed expectancy I had held of Japan. Christmas time is one of my favorite times of the year. It’s the time of year where you just cant be unhappy for very long. All you have to do is put on a Christmas song and everything that was bringing you down seems to just vanish. People are generally nicer (probably due to my last suggestion), and the smell of cookies mixed with pine trees is impossible to avoid. I dont get the cookies and pine here, but at least I get the rest. The lack of snow in Japan is a bit depressing…but in a few weeks, I can have that little missing piece of the season as well, when I am back in Colorado. Until then, I will enjoy my Japanese Christmas experience!!!

Culture Shock

I think the honeymoon is over.

In regards to culture shock that is. After all the traveling I have done, and living abroad for so long, it is kind of surprising to me that this is my first encounter with culture shock. Most people wrongly define culture shock. I am not literally “shocked” at the Japanese culture. Actually, I love the Japanese culture and lifestyle. I define culture shock as more of a yearning. A yearning for the familiar. A yearning for what is no longer there. Everyone yearns for something different. It may be food, culture, or something as simple and globally understood as people that care about you. I miss the things I took for granted at home.

Home. Another thing that is difficult for me to define. When I am asked about home, I never know whether to answer in favor of America or Germany. They are both equally my home, because both have what matters most- people who care about me. I think that I never went through culture shock in Germany because of this.

Now I am in a place that seems so familiar…but it isn’t. Even though you can buy Western things, hear Western music, and talk to fellow Westerners, there is something here that is totally foreign to me- the absence of people that care enough for me that they invite me to go places. People that care enough to ask me what is wrong when I am having a bad day. People that randomly call or stop by just to hang out and talk. People that give me random hugs in the middle of the day- even at work. Even the one person that should be familiar to me, a person that should provide solace, is foreign here.

It is now that I realize how much this experience reminds me of high school. Maybe high school was a constant state of culture shock; or maybe my “culture shock” is actually a reinstatement of uncomfortable memories from high school. A state of never-ending discontent because of the lack of meaningful interpersonal relationships. Where the people were immature and generally cared only about their small cliques. Where a person that fit into many groups was a repeatedly forgotten person that intrinsically floated between groups but never really fit in.

I guess in a collectivist society like Japan you can expect not to fit into a group if you are a foreigner; but also not to fit into a group from your own culture (or cultures in my case) can make for a tough time. I am sure that the culture shock will ease; or maybe my hopes are set too high, and I will have to wait until Christmas when I return to one of MY cultures with people who genuinely care about me to rise out of this state of culture shock nothingness.

Culture shock surfaces for different reasons in every person. For me, culture, food, and everything relating to the new country itself cannot bring me back from my “honeymoon.” Only the lack of authentic, two-sided relationships can allow culture shock to consume me. If my family and true friends are reading this, you are the reason for my happiness. No one wants their honeymoon to end- especially when it is the honeymoon of the culture shock U-curve model.

Tradition

It goes without saying that Japan is a country rich in tradition. Traditional dress can still be seen in a public setting. The traditional foods are still served (although many variations can also be found). The traditional ceremonies and festivals are still performed and widely celebrated. I am in Japan at a great time of year. Last month was the Kurama Fire Festival, which remains very traditional and culturally untouched (except for the hoards of Japanese and foreign visitors with cameras of every shape and size, pushing their way to the front of the crowd, the front of the train, and the front of the action). Pictures of that festival can be found on my Picasa site. This month, several temples and shrines open their doors for several days to visitors. In an attempt to preserve the rich culture that these invaluable places hold, they are virtually untouched from their original states, and are open to guests only two times per year. Also in November, on the 15th, is a tradition in which children that turn 3,5, or 7 participate in. It is called Shichi-Go-San, and throughout Japan you can see children dressed in hakama and kimono (many times for the first time- as tradition has been since the nobles began this in the Heian Period). Since November 15th falls on various days, it is celebrated the weekend closest to the date. We saw children dressed up all over Kyoto as their right of passage was celebrated.

So in this country of rich historical tradition, how does the new balance with the old? I also visited the Kyoto Station bulding last weekend- the first weekend in November. I was surprised to find an enormous Christmas tree, glittering decorations, and American holiday music playing. It seemed that the new was impeding on the old; creating a tension between the traditional Buddhist and Shinto traditions and the new traditions that are rooted in Christian and other world religious beliefs. The more I thought about it, the more sense it made. Japan is a country that embraces new and old with equal excitement. Tokyo and Osaka are great examples of this phenomenon. Modern skyscrapers share ground with ancient temples. Gay pride parades attract just as many visitors as traditional festivals. The Japanese have learned to live in the past, present and future simultaneously. The little girl at Fushimi Inari illustrates this perfectly- a kimono for the past and a balloon to represent a more modern childhood. Her parents ready with a camera and several cell phones to document the traditional ceremony added to the modernity of this thousand year old tradition.

Gaidaisai

The annual Kansai Gaidai Festival was the epitomy of everything that is Japan. The culture was everywhere- in the food, the entertainment, the clothes, the marketing, and even in the incredible organization and preparation for the festival! Everywhere I went, there were Japanese surrounding us “gaijin” hoping that they could convince us to buy even more food than we had already eaten, or go to yet another performance. The highlights of the first day for me were the children’s marching band and the martial arts demonstrations. Day two of the festival also included an international part and a photo contest (I didn’t win this one…) with, take a guess, MORE food! As with the first day, we ended up eating too much. At the closing ceremonies for the international festival was a traditional drum group. They were truly amazing. Before the festival, I thought that I couldn’t experience more Japanese culture in one day than I did at the Kurama Fire Festival, but this festival showed all aspects of what makes Japan truly unique. They were definitely amongst the most interesting and enjoyable days that I have yet had in Japan.