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.

When a trip can change who you are

 Hyakumangoku Matsuri, 2009

The first time I went to Japan was during the summer of 2009. A group of ten people from my Japanese class and, back in Montreal, had the opportunity to go to Japan for one month of intensive Japanese classes and to experience a homestay program. Back then the only things I could experience and learn about Japan were what I could read in books or see on television, or even what I was learning in my classes or via manga and anime. So I was very happy to be able to see with my own eyes what the country of the rising sun was really like.

What I discovered is something you can’t learn with books. For example, what surprised me the most was how the old and the new coexist in everyday life. How was it possible to walk in the middle of Tokyo or Osaka and still be able to find a shrine or temple squeezed between two enormous buildings.  And how seriously Japanese people take rituals and ceremonies.

When I was living in Hirakata city, I had the opportunity to see the Hyakumangoku Matsuri. This matsuri is a commemoration of old historical events that happened in Kanazawa city in 1583. This display of samurai and traditional arts right into the streets of the city was really interesting. 

 Hyakumangoku Matsuri, 2009

This showed me that traditions and rituals are truly an important part of Japanese society. Even when this is displayed right into streets that are full of neon and colourful ads. It is also interesting to see how the young and the old take part in those events in different ways but all for the same purpose. Everyone seems to enjoy the moment. 

 Hyakumangoku Matsuri, 2009

The amount of work needed for this festival is also incredible. There are hundreds of people that need to wear costume. And I am talking about historical clothes, the one that take more than ten minutes to put on. In some case, the makeup also has to be the same for everyone. This truly showed me the dedication of Japanese people regarding special event related to history.

My first impressions of Japan cannot possibly all be express in this short blog. But I can end this post by saying this: To truly experience Japan you need to stay a very long time and be able to go out and talk to people when you have questions. Japanese people, mostly living outside big cities, are generally very nice and like to explain their culture to people interesting in learning it. I can’t say I learned everything there is to know about Japan during my first trip and I don’t think I will return home and understand everything this time either. But with hard work I think I will be able to understand it better. But the good point is that thiskind of work is actually fun to do!

Here is a link to the Matsuri Website: http://www.100mangoku.net/