Changing Impressions...

When I look back at the last three months, there are only good memories that come to my mind. Writing this last blog about my changing impressions on Japan is very hard. This was my second trip to Japan but this time I was staying for a longer period of time. In fact, I am not due to leave for a few more months still. This longer stay allowed me to realize certain things I had not fully appreciated during my first time in Japan.

Osaka, 2010

In my first blog post, I mentioned my surprise at the sight of temples that could be found anywhere even in the most usual places like sandwiched between two very modern buildings. Staying longer and near enough two large cities like Osaka and Kyoto that I visited several times, I can now attest to the welcome relief you get from visiting one of those many temples when experiencing modern city life. Large cities like Osaka are modern, very busy and always crowded with people everywhere. The city is very densely built and buildings are from all eras, from old and traditional to the very modern ones that nearly touch the sky. Most of the time there are no street lights because at night the neon signs and all the advertising on buildings actually give off enough light to see clearly in the streets. When you look at the sky, you usually see only wires overhead crossing the streets in all directions. The environment is energized and stressful. 

Osaka, 2010

Fiushimi Inaru, 2010

When entering the temples area, one can easily sense a big change. The pace slows down. Temples are usually very peaceful with only a few people inside.  The atmosphere is quiet and a refuge from the noise, traffic, ads and people outside. You can walk or sit in front of a rock garden and truly feel peaceful for a few minutes. This strong contrast between the loud city streets and the quiet temple is truly fascinating for me. Temples are everywhere but every time, you can find this quiet and Zen atmosphere when entering them. Even if the noise of the city and the busy life of people are just a few meters away, temples are truly a no-stress zone.

It is like finding a piece of the old Japan, peaceful and quiet, that remains hidden inside the busy and modern Japan. Such peaceful and relaxing places are precious. I understand why they are still around and open to anyone who needs a few minutes to think about something other than work, school and the troubles of everyday life.

I still have a few months to enjoy in Japan before leaving and a lot of temples I want to visit. I now know that every time, I will find a peaceful atmosphere inside the walls of those temples and even a little bit of nature.  And I will use that time to reflect on my wonderful experiences here in Japan.

Kennin-Ji, Kyoto, 2010

The Tale of a Kyoto Sweet

Store in Kyoto

When travelling in Kyoto, it does not take long for the visitor to notice those small triangles pastries in nearly every shop you walk next to. Those little colourful triangulars are called Yatsuhashi and are one of the most well-known specialities of Kyoto. I had  bought and tasted many different flavours since I arriving in Japan but only until a few days ago, was I actually able to make some myself.

Yatsuhashi come in two forms. One is baked and the other is not. The baked version has the shape of a half-cylinder and a consistency similar to the one of a cracker. It often has the taste of cinnamon. It is believed baked Yatsuhashi have been made since 1689.

Baked Yatsuhashi

As for the unbaked Yatsuhashi, there are many flavours and new ones are coming out every year. I had the occasion to make my own unbaked Yatsuhashi when I was invited by some students studying French at Kansai Gaidai to a place where they could teach us how to make Yatsuhashi in Kyoto.

How to Make Yatsuhashi

To my surprise the recipe is quite simple. First we had to mix the rice flour with water and make the mix bake with steam. When it had become hard, we add some liquid flavour to this paste and knead it until the entire paste gets coloured evenly. Next we shape it like a square and putted some bean paste in the middle. Then we only add to fold it to make a triangle and we were done. I could also try to make Matcha tea myself to drink with the Yatsuhashi I had made.

Local specialities are well-known in Japan. Each region has its own delicacy and Japanese and tourists can enjoy them only by visiting the place where they are made. I was very happy to learn how to make Yatsuhashi by myself. Although almost all of the Yatsuhashi we buy today are machine-made in industrial quantities, I could appreciate the time and effort it requires to make only one. I was also happy to see many Japaneses from all ages sitting in the same room enjoying this experience as well.

So next time you go to Kyoto, please take the time to enjoy some Yatsuhashi!

People enjoying making Yatsuhashi

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Reference:

http://www.kyopro.kufs.ac.jp/dp/dp01.nsf/b7eb328e75d9627a49256feb00103b33/dd8ddc781f50d290492571a3001fef18!OpenDocument

Admiring what nature has to offer

Momiji no Ga

During this time of the year, it seems only one word is in everyone’s mind. Actually, it is two words:  momiji or kouyou. Both words mean the same thing: colored leaves. During Fall in Japan, everywhere you look (as long as you are not in the middle of a city) you will see leaves changing color. Fall in Japan is actually nearly as big an event as the cherry blossoms viewing or hanami during Spring. Temples will be advertise the turn of the leaves and even host special events like illuminations, so that visitors can admire the colored leaves even late during the evenings. I used to think that Fall was not such a big deal. Since I was a kid, I can remember seeing the leaves change color every year in Canada. Other than the occasional walk in the park, there was no special events associated with the viewing of leaves. The most I remember are for some people to plan a hike in the mountains to see the beautiful colors of nature. But for Japanese people, it seems to take far more importance. These days, I can see that everyone is talking about the beautiful red, orange and yellow leaves that we can see everywhere.

Colored Leaves, Hirakata, 2010

During this period in the fall, Kyoto becomes very popular and crowded. A lot of people are arranging for small trips and visit different temples to admire the leaves. Momiji viewing, or Momiji-gari in Japanese, as a long history. In the 7^th century, aristocracy and court attendants often held parties or sat to watch the leaves falling down the trees. Eventually, this activity spread to commoners so everyone could hold small parties outside while admiring what nature offered us. A lot of art pieces from famous artists are depicting such events. Poems were written about the beauty of Fall as well. Like I said before, for Japanese, colored leaves are like the cherry blossoms in spring. They represent delicateness and beauty but only for a short period of time. Of course they eventually fall to the ground and die. Japanese people have be fond of the ephemeral transformation and the delicateness of falling leaves for a long time and even today the younger generation takes the time to go watch this gift of nature.

Colored Leave, Hirakata, 2010

Colored Leaved, Hirakata, 2010

I have always loved watching the leaves changing color and the scent of Fall back in Canada. But only while being in Japan did I realized that not a lot of Canadian actually takes the time to watch this phenomenon. Japanese people are very fond of nature and I think it is a good thing to go outside and take the time to watch what Mother Nature does for us. 

When imagination knows no limit

To truly understand what a doujinshi  convention is, you have to have done a little bit of research first and also experienced one in Japan. I came in contact with the concept of doujinshi last year during my first trip to Japan when I came across a doujinshin shop in Tokyo. I knew what doujinshi were before but I was surprised by the number of doujinshi available and the number of young people in the shop. Doujinshi is not something we hear about a lot in Canada and America and yet it is a very active part of Japanese culture. A lot of amateur artists are working hard to make those books look like professional products. The drawings and the book itself are sometimes very much like something you could buy in a well-known book store.

View inside Comic Market

But first let’s talk about doujinshi because some of you might not know what it is. Doujinshi are manga created by amateurs. As Japanese dictionary putted it: Doujinshi are magazines published as a cooperative effort by a group of individuals who share a common ideology or goals with the aim of establishing a medium through which their works can be presented. The characters are often taken from a well-known manga and the amateur puts his or her favourite characters in a different context or story and changes something to make the story his own. Most doujinshi are created by women for women. The stories are often homoerotic between two men. In a certain way, doujinshi are the fans respond to love story that are not developed in the story or that are simply inexistent. The fans make their own stories using someone else’s characters and sell them to other persons interested in this match-up. 

Comic City 81, 2010

The doujinshi world is working on its own parallel to the manga world even though the amateurs used copyrighted characters in their stories and sell them. Under most Western copyright laws, this concept would not be permitted. But for the Japanese perspective, and more precisely the manga industry, doujinshi is what keeps the manga world fresh and brings new artists to a bigger scene. In fact, a lot of manga companies find new artists at doujinshi conventions and this is where they recruit them. Doujinshi help the manga industry flourish.

I have heard that something similar is taking place in America, for example there are some people that are rewriting old Star Trek episodes but adding a romance between Kirk and Spock. But contrary to Japan, it is very much underground and there would not be conventions related to this contrary to Japan where it is in the open and accessible to all.

Comic City 81 poster, 2010

Doujinshi conventions are truly something you can only experience in Japan.  Conventions have been held since the 1980s all over Japan. Komiketto (comic market) which is held in Tokyo is one of the biggest doujinshi conventions in all of Japan. More than 35,000 circles, group of amateurs that work together to create a doujinshi, come to Komiketo to sell their books. As for the fans, as much as 550 000 visitors can attend the convention to buy doujinshi from their favourite amateurs during the three days of this convention.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Comic City 81 in Osaka. It was my first time in a real doujinshi convention and I learned a lot from this experience. There were really a large crowd attending and most of them were girls and women from all ages. Only a few boys were present when I visited and this can easily be understand because most amateurs were selling yaoi and boy’s love doujinshi which are often created for a female audience. I was also surprise by the broad diversity of amateurs. Some of them seemed quite young while others were groups of mature women in their fifties. This surprised me a lot to see young and older people, from two generations, sharing a common hobby in a society where age often dictates what interests you should have.

People waiting in line for Comic City 81, 2010

An example of Doujinshi

Most of the doujinshi sold there were homoerotic stories. Some of the images I saw were shocking to me and I was wondering about the fact that girls (fourteen to sixteen years old) were attending the convention and buying doushijin  for themselves although it is a known  fact that some doujinshi can be very graphic. Some of the doujinshi had a 18+ notice but it didn’t seem to bother much people.

A lot of people have heard about anime and manga conventions which are held around the world now. But doujinshi are also an important part of Japanese culture. During those conventions people who share a common interest from all ages come together to share their passion. From an outsider point of view maybe it is a little bit difficult to understand why so many female are creating and consuming homoerotic stories involving famous manga characters often taken from Shonen manga that primarily target a male audience. But I think that doujinshi are a very interesting aspect of the culture here. In a certain way, doujinshi allow a certain level of self-expression for Japanese people.

Unfortunatly, I couldn't take any pictures inside the building where the convention was held. But I think this aspect of japanese culture is very interesting and I wanted to share this with other people.

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References:

http://www.authorama.com/free-culture-4.html

http://blogs.arts.unimelb.edu.au/refractory/2006/12/04/why-are-japanese-girls%E2%80%99-comics-full-of-boys-bonking1-mark-mclelland/

http://www.csuchico.edu/~mtoku/vc/Articles/toku/Wil_Toku_BoysLove.html

http://www.comiket.co.jp/info-a/WhatIsEng080528.pdf

The World Through a Lens

"I have been a witness, and these pictures are my testimony. The events I have recorded should not be forgotten and must not be repeated."

-James Nachtwey-

This assignment is a little different than the others. Instead of taking pictures and write about them, I have to look at two of the most well-known photographers’ work and discuss their methodology and, if possible, understand their approaches and try to apply it into my work.

Alice in wonderland, Annie Leibovitz

My first subject is Annie Leibovitz who is one of the highest-paid photographers in the US. She took pictures of some of the most famous people in America throughout her career including John Lennon, Michael Jackson and, more recently, the Obama family. Leibovitz constructs the entire atmosphere of her photographs from scratch. Everything, including costumes and lighting must be flawless. She creates the space, the lighting and decides where people should stand and what they should do. In a certain way, she is just like a painter. It looks like her teen’s dream of becoming a painter is still alive through her photographer’s career. It has been said her methodology is absolutely the same as a painter. She will work and take as many pictures as it takes until all the details are perfect. She wants to please the eyes of the public more than anything, and this is when quality comes into play. All the same, she will never ask her subject to do something they would rather not do. Instead, she gets to know them until they get accustomed to her presence and forget she is even there talking pictures of them. 

John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Annie Leibovitz

When she was working for the Rolling Stone magazine, she took some amazing pictures of John Lennon because he had become so accustomed to her presence and didn’t feel she was a photographer anymore but more like a close friend. Like many of the people she took photos of said in the documentary: Annie Liebovitz: A life through a lens, people feel good around her and easily forget she is in the same room as them taking pictures and recording their life. 

As a counter point, I will talk about the work of James Natchwey as my second subject. He is one of the most recognized war photographers of our time. He worked in more than 30 countries attempting to take the best photographs of people in wars and conflicts. His approach is to show the victims and what is really happening on the ground. The decision to become a war photographer is not an easy one to make. For Natchwey, he decided to take up this challenging career because of photographs he saw during the Vietnam War. Such gruesome photographs seemed to depict a very different reality than what reporters were describing in the news. To become a war photographer, you need to be really committed and be prepared to witness history and what it sometimes mean to real people during times of war. It is not always easy and it can be dangerous.

Rwanda, 1994, Survivor of Hutu Death Camp,  James Natchwey

Natchwey wants to convey a message to the world:  In putting himself in the middle of conflict, his intention is to record the truth, to document the struggles of humanity, and with this, to wake people up and stir them to action. He truly wants to move people through his photographs and make them think about what is happening now in this world. Natchwey’s approach is evidently quite different from Leibovitz’s. Instead of creating the scene, he has to take pictures of people and environments over which he has no control, sometimes in the spur of the moment. The attention to details and control Leibovitz has in her photographs is a luxury Natchwey can’t have. He is putting himself in danger to capture the authentic emotions of people. Perhaps what made him so famous now is his desire to always push the limit and being so close and personal with the subject.

Afghanistan, 1996 ,Mourning a brother killed by a Taliban rocket, James Natchwey

In a certain way, I think the photographs taken by Leibovitz and Natchwey are similar. Although I find it a little bit difficult to explain. Their subjects are totally different but the imagery is similar in both of their work. Yes, Natchwey is forced to take photographs of things and situations he has little control over while Leibovitz has complete authority in her work.  But what makes their work similar is the imagery in them, the very real human’s emotions and feelings we can feel while looking at them.

Personally, I think Natchwey’s pictures are more real because they represent actual events. I don’t think he concentrates as much as Leibovitz on the details because he has no ability to intervene but at the same time it adds to the authenticity of his subjects. Being a war photographer means you have to take pictures of what you see without trying to change the reality. And yes, Leibovitz photographs are more esthetical and appealing to the audience. They sometimes look like paintings and the themes often referred to fantasy stories like when she works on a series of photographs for Walt Disney.  But through the very detailed set up she organizes, she too is trying to capture a human emotion.

Indonesia, 1998, Jubilation at announcement of Suharto' s resignation, James Natchwey

It is not easy to explain what I have learned from my review of the work of those two famous photographers. Certainly, their approaches and subjects are very different. But I can also see a common thread. To make those remarkable pictures, they both have to establish a connection with their subjects. They both get very close to the lives and experiences of their subjects and try to understand them as they are, to identify what message they want to convey and capture it the best way possible via a camera. What I have learn from these two photographers is not to be afraid to talk with people and hang out with them for a long time to understand what they are doing better. I have to make those people feel confortable with my presence around them so that they will eventually forget I am even there. I think I could take really nice pictures of Japanese people and japanese culture if I could acheive this. It may takes a while but I think I can do this.
We have talked a lot in class about fieldwork and what it means when you are a photographer.  I think we can say that both of these artists are doing fieldwork in their work. I think that, eventually, even without realizing it, their cameras become part of their view of the world. They come to see the world a different way than we do, they see the world through a lens.

References:

1. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/talking-pictures-with-annie-leibovitz-from-jagger-to-trump-she-summed-up-the-seventies-and-eighties-her-latest-subject-is-sarajevo-as-a-new-show-opens-in-london-the-photographer-talks-to-angela-lambert-1426695.html

2. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/annie-leibovitz/photo-gallery/19/

3. http://www.tedprize.org/nachtwey/aboutjames.html

4. http://www.jamesnachtwey.com

The Girl who always smile

Since I started to learn Japanese, I made a lot of Japanese friends both in Japan and in Montreal. The cultural differences between us always make the time we spend together very valuable for them and me since we can both understand each other’s culture better through our interactions. I always learn new things about Japanese culture just by hanging out with my Japanese friends even when they are away from their country. As a result, I can go beyond the stereotypes we North Americans sometimes have about Japanese people and realize that Japanese are more than just “…insolent and polite, rigid and adaptable, submissive and resentful of being pushed around…”. (Benedict, 1989, p. 2)

Yuki, Kansai Gaidai, 2010

On this post, I will talk about one of my good friend at Kansai Gaidai University, Yuki. We both met on Facebook a few months before I left for Japan. At the time, she was studying French so we could both help each other in our studies. At our first meeting, we talked a few hours about different things and we quickly got along very well. Although, she’s always saying that she’s shy, personally I would rather describe her as a very talkative person.  When I asked her to help me with this assignment, she readily and happily accepted to be photographed. First, I took some pictures around the University’s campus but somehow her personality couldn’t be seen with such a  traditional and austere backdrop. As we were looking for a better spot to take a picture, we stopped to chat in front of the red statue next to the Club Building. I took this photo quickly because she thought it was funny to take a picture there and I thought she would change her mind. Although I took this picture without really thinking about it, I was surprised to see how beautiful it turned out. I feel like her personality is showing in this simple picture of her. I soon realized that the best pictures are often the one you take without thinking too much about it, in the spur of the moment. The true personality of the subject can easily be seen and that is what makes the photo really unique and a good memento.

Yuki, Kansai Gaidai, 2010

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Benedict, Ruth (1989; orig. 1946) Ch.1 “Assignment: Japan” (pp. 1-19); Chs. 5-6 (pp. 98-132), from The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 

Popular Culture at Night

It feels a little strange  writing about a city I only live in for a month. Since arriving at  Hirakata, I have seen so many interesting things but it still feels  like I haven’t seen half of it yet. Every day, I discover a new place or a new restaurant simply by wandering  in the street with my bicycle. At first, Hirakata seemed to be a very nice and quiet Japanese city with its temples and parks to be found hiding behind house or trees, but I soon discovered that a lot of young people live here. There are more than 14 000 students enrolled at Kansai Gaidai University. Although not everyone lives in Hirakata city, most students spend their day on  the campus or in Hirakata city before returning home. One late afternoon, as I was walking near Hirakata station, I came upon  some young people breakdancing and skateboarding near the station.  During the day, you can’t really tell this space would be used for this purpose because it is simply  a waiting area with shops on one  side but when the sun goes down and the shops are closed, teenagers will come here  to practice and show off their moves. A few days later, I met someone from Kansai Gaidai who sometimes goes there to practice  during  week nights. He is a member of the dance club at Kansai Gaidai. I asked him if it was OK for people to  skateboard there because in Canada, you would normally have to go to specific area to do skateboard. I wasn’t really surprised when he told me it was against the rules but that nobody would actually stop or arrest them.  The second or third time I went there to watch people practice, I saw a security guard walking near. He didn’t seem to care about what people were doing but he spoke with some skateboarders because they had installed  some cones to practice their jumps. I can’t really blame the security guard, I wouldn’t want to be the one having to tell them to go home.

Skateboard at Hirakata Station, 2010

I also think the population from Hirakata is now used to see teenagers  there at night. People from all ages were  simply passing by without really being concerned about it. Since I haven’t really been there on many  occasions, I can’t tell for sure if the population really doesn’t  care about a group of skateboarders taking over the space  or maybe  simply don’t want to  get involved.  Although some skateboarders were openly drinking beers in a public area, the security guard didn’t really do much to stop them. I don’t really like making assumptions but it seems that as long  as they didn’t hurt or bother other people, the security guard would  not interfere.

Breakdancer, HIrakata Station, 2010

I found this observation  very interesting. During the day, Hirakata seems like a very nice and quiet place with everybody acting very proper and following the rules, but at  night, those young people would meet there to practice and talk without really a care about those  around them. I was quite surprised when I discovered this. Back  in Canada, I really didn’t care that much about skateboarding and breakdancing. The truth is that I really didn’t see much of it. People usually have to go to designated skate parks to practice it so I didn’t  really have the chance to see them.  But now, I find it very interesting to see those young people assemble in a very public area,  basically take ownership of the place and do what they love without being concerned about the rules or  about other people.