I. Overview of Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

II. Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

III. Holidays and Celebrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

IV. Dress and Personal Appearance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

V. Interpersonal Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

VI. Work and Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

VII. Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

VIII. Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

IX. Interview with Ai Miura (Notes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Before starting the interview with Ai, I had my own conceptions about education in Japan, conceptions that mainstream America tends to share. While some of these conceptions are based in truth, a number of facts came to my attention through my question-and-answer sessions with Ai that upset many of my beliefs, or otherwise shifted my perceptions. The idea I held before querying Ai on the issue of education hovered more around the stereotyped image of the obsessively studious Asian student, classes taught by the method of rote memorization, school ran with little room for socialization, and a highly structured, teacher centered environment. While this was not entirely bad, in my opinion, lending itself to a brighter, more ambitious person to enter the workforce, I also thought it rather dreary. How does one become an individual? While some of my beliefs continued to hold true, particularly the structured, teacher centered environment, Ai helped dispel my other notions, giving me insight into a system that holds its bulk of pros and cons.

While Ai shared many of her negative thoughts and feelings toward Japanese education, she also gave me positive aims of the system. Not only this, her answers, especially relevant in light of her responses in other categories, painted the picture of what makes Japan unique, especially when compared to a country like the U.S. The U.S. holds individuality in high esteem. It had been my belief that other countries not holding to the U.S.’s level of what it means to be an individual must then be conformists, and that this would be most prevalent in the education system. Maybe one can find aspects of conformity in Japan’s system, but rather than considering this the downside that I once had, I now see how it holds in stride with the Japanese conception of national pride. Beyond that, it shows me how what I considered conformity is a source of discipline to the Japanese, a means of keeping individuals focused on achievement.

It should come as little surprise to anyone who has any familiarity with Japan that this culture prides itself on its educational endeavors. Students are expected to keep pace with their peers. Ai told me how one of her friends had been held back a grade due to illness, which proved to be an awkward situation, as very few students are held back. In addition to this, not only do students test into college, they must also test into high school. Due to this pressure, the Japanese participate in cram school beginning in their elementary school years, a highly unusual concept to the average American. As a project for the English Language Institute at USF, Ai interviewed a number of people of various ages, both Japanese and non-Japanese about cram school. Her findings showed her that the Japanese thought cram school to be beneficial while non-Japanese didn’t. To my own mind I thought it more work than necessary. Ai explained that it encourages good study habits and after some contemplation, I agree with her that such a concept would probably be beneficial in the U.S., as well. It’s another element of Japanese discipline that has proven to be a great benefit to their society, and one that could possibly help the U.S. in its own educational struggles.

Subjects in the typical Japanese public school are similar to what one would take in an American public school. However, I discovered that while there are similarities, the Japanese program sounds far more daunting than an American elementary school’s general math and science. As an elementary and junior high school student, Ai took Japanese, “calculations class”, social studies, chemistry and biology (combined), music, workshop, PE, art, and beginning her junior high year, English. I can honestly say that I have never heard of an American elementary school teaching its students chemistry and biology. Ai also elected to take sewing and cooking in both her elementary and junior high years. As a high school student, she took Japanese, English, math, Japanese history, world history, biology, chemistry, PE, with electives in art, music, and calligraphy. A Japanese student’s third and final year of high school, or at least at the high school Ai attended, they have the option of taking either Japanese and social studies classes or math, biology, and chemistry.

It is this option, to take either classes geared toward language/social studies or science/math that gives further idea on the Japanese approach to education. By the time a student graduates she should know what she wants to choose as her major. Much unlike the American penchant for changing majors at a whim, the Japanese student is expected to pick a major and stick with it throughout her academic career. Ai relayed the story of one of her friends who changed her major at Kansaigaidai university much to the shock of her friends. Not only is it unusual, it also proves to be more difficult, the process requiring more paperwork than it would in the U.S, this being to deter the students from jumping between majors. Changing one’s major is unusual as it is. To change it between two completely unrelated topics is even more so. From my perspective, it is a little odd, I have to agree. One of my friends changed her major from an engineering degree to education, and I know others who have done the same thing. While I find it unusual, neither do I find it shocking. When I told Ai about my friend who did this, she acted surprised and told me that such a thing would most likely not happen in Japan, or at least happen under highly unusual circumstances.

Before I delve further into university level education, I want to explore Ai’s high school experience more. Approximately a year before meeting Ai, I began meeting with a Japanese conversation partner named Masami. Much of what I knew about Japanese culture, outside of the popular questionable mainstream, I learned from Masami, taking much of it heart. While some of it Ai confirmed, such as wearing school uniforms, other notions she dispelled, especially in regards to socialization, proving to me that there is no one true expectation for any culture. Masami painted a picture of a school that did not allow room for clubs or other social activities within school grounds. This is likely true of her own school she attended, but I now know that what holds true for one, does not hold true for all. In fact, Ai was extremely involved on a social level at both her junior high and high school.

Ai gave me a list of extracurricular activities considered popular at her public school, along with her own participations. As an elementary student she participated in the chorus and volley club. In junior high she played in the tennis club, continuing her love for tennis in both high school and university. She also did cheerleading for her high school’s baseball team. Currently, as an exchange student at USF, she participates in a dancing club composed of young Asian women who dance at various events, and also attends the university’s Asian club. From her perspective this socialization is extremely important to both academic and personal growth.

One of the more interesting aspects of this particular conversation, that of extracurricular participation, was Ai’s interpretation of student involvement. Much like the typical American high school student’s perception of her peers, “the perky cheerleader”, “the academically-challenged football player”, “the nerd band member”, Ai shared with me her own thoughts on what it means to be associated with a club. In all honesty, her opinions are along the lines of what an American student would likely think. People in sports are considered the “outgoing” ones, while those in art or drama are creative, shy, and “weird”.

What I gathered from Ai about participation in sports that was not covered in the interview, rather later when she shared pictures with me of her high school years in the tennis club, was that being involved in a sport such as tennis does provide far more than the physical challenge. The young men and women who participate become truly close. In fact, when I explained the term “clique” to Ai, she agreed that this would accurately describe what she had with her fellow tennis members. The pictures she shared with me conveyed far more than one could ever gather from words, much like the adage “a picture is worth a thousand words.” I witnessed through her photographs instances of camaraderie and the ability to be free and loose, being goofy and uninhibited in a way peers could not be if they had no deep connection to one another. The club allowed for a sense of team spirit. After flipping through the photos in her little albums, I understood why she insisted students should take part in some kind of group, even if it’s not a sport. When their academic world is filled with such demands and high pressure, the appeal of being free and loose with friends must have far more attraction than one could understand if she has never shared in that experience. It appears to be a form of bonding and simultaneously, a chance at escapism.

Testing could be considered the core of the Japanese student’s universe, one of the reasons for cram school’s importance. Ai told me that while the Japanese education system is improving, cram school keeps the student focused. Cram school is not mandatory, but it is helpful and Ai attended on a regular basis since her elementary school years. It aids with getting into junior high, she said, and more importantly, getting into high school and then university. If a student fails the exam for public high school, “that’s it.” That’s the student’s only chance. To get into a private school, the student is allowed to take more than one exam, although it is not free education like public school. During high school the students take the Center exam, which is the general exam, something like the SAT or ACT. If a student scores above a certain mark, she can attend a higher university, although she will have to take tests for each individual university for which she’s eligible to determine which she can enter. Ai further explained: “University A won’t let you take second exam if you don’t get ‘500’. University B will let you take second exam if you do.” By all appearances, there are more hoops to jump in entering a Japanese university.

Strangely, it is for that reason I have had my most stubborn interpretations of Japanese education upset. It would not be quite so noteworthy if I had learned about Asian education from Ai alone. What has come to my attention through her, my Japanese conversation partner, Masami, and my Korean friend, Soo, is that while the high school years and previous are strenuous, the college years tend to be the opposite. Much to my surprise, all three told me that they consider the American university to be better than Asian universities. Questioning Ai further into this heightened my amazement at a subject that I’d always thought to know and discovered I knew very little.

When asked, “Is academic accomplishment highly praised? In what way?” Ai explained that Japanese recognition of academic accomplishments differs from American public schools in that students tend not to receive the same praises or awards in Japan that they do in the U.S. I asked her why she thought the difference exists and her answer led to my first real shock in regards to how I perceived the Japanese education system. To paraphrase Ai: “American people have more focus on education. Japanese have less focus on education. The American system is better because in Japan they can graduate from university easily, but it’s difficult to enter. Here it’s opposite [easy to get into university, harder to graduate]. Once someone enters university in Japan, they don’t need to study and don’t study hard, and can still pass classes easily. This is the biggest problem with Japan’s educational system.”

Even if the university is easy once a person is accepted, they still need it for career advancement, the degree being more important the work accomplished toward the degree. Getting a job in Japan is extremely difficult without university education. While one can work in a bank with a high school degree or enter a two-year trade, the best jobs can only be entered with the help of a university diploma. Not only is it harder to get a job without this level of education, one also faces discrimination. An example she gave to me of this is her father who works at the bank without a university degree and can’t be promoted for this very reason. Even if one can find a job with only a high school degree, he will find it nearly impossible to move up in the workforce. To make matters even more difficult, one doesn’t return to the university after a certain age to pursue a higher degree, such as a Bachelor’s or Master’s. The student graduates from school knowing what he wants to do, sticks to his major, and once graduated is expected to start work immediately and not jump from job to job. While some people do this, it is not considered helpful toward becoming successful.

This dichotomy, that of the casual university education and the pressure of work-work-work in all other matters, struck me as a contradiction at first that I could not resolve in my head. After contemplation my response to what I’ve learned from Ai is an admiration for a steadfast work ethic and the acknowledgement that rest before entering the workforce would be sorely needed, especially after arduous schooling pre-university. While acknowledging this, it is hard to ignore what Ai said about American education being considered better. This comment almost sounds like one of frustration, particularly if one could hear the tone in her voice as she discussed the inflexibility of the system, having little ability to play with various majors, and receiving little chance to enter higher education at a later age. Through what I’ve heard from her and what she has told me in relation to her own friends, I imagine this frustration holds true for her generation. Within the next few years, if enough dissatisfaction is voiced, I imagine their system might even see reforms to give them more options and flexibility toward pursuing their ideal careers.

Inflexibility, socialization, and discipline were the main things we discussed. At Ai’s school, discipline reigned. Once, during her high school years, she and some of her friends got into trouble for drinking alcohol off the high school premises. Her friend’s father caught them and called the school. The school enacted punishment by sending the students to detention. I marveled at this, that the school had the ability to punish for a matter that didn’t even happen on its property. To Ai, it might have sounded strict, but she didn’t question the school’s authority in carrying out the punishment, accepting it to hold a power that even her friend’s father apparently didn’t hold over them. It’s telling of their culture. Hold inside the lines and everything will run smoothly. Much like with changing majors, too much commotion can rock the boat and if a person rocks it hard enough, they might upset their craft into the waters.

1. At what age is a student no longer required to be in school?

2. What subjects are covered in school?

3. Is it common for most students to attend a university?

4. What reasons would a student have for attending a university?

5. Do most or all schools require students to wear a uniform?

6. Do you think requiring students to wear a uniform helps maintain discipline?

7. What extracurricular activities are common in a public school?  A university?

8. How old were you when you started to learn English?  What grade?

9. How is English taught in Japan?

10. Is this different from the way English is taught to foreign language learners in the

U.S.?

11. What differences do you see in a Japanese university and an American university?

12. Do you think attitudes toward education are different in Japan from America?

13. If you could change anything about education in Japan, what would it be?

14. Do you feel that girls and boys are treated differently in school?  Why do you think

this is?

15. Is it common for young women to attend a university as it is for young men?  Is this

something that has changed in recent years?  How do you see this pattern changing in the future?

16. Is it common for students to study?  How much does the average student study?

17. Is academic accomplishment highly praised? In what way?

18. How is discipline enforced?

19. What types of employment can one find without a H.S. diploma?  With a H.S. diploma?  With a college degree?

20. Is there discrimination toward those with less education?

21. Is it common for students to learn a 2nd language?  What is the most common 2nd language chosen?  Why do you think this language is so popular?

22. What is your college major?

23. Why did you choose this major?

24. How would you like to use this major in your life?

25. Have you considered graduate school?

26. Is it common for students to pursue graduate school?  Is there a gender gap in grad school?

27. What is the main reason you feel that students choose a particular major, i.e. money, job security, prestige, enjoyment, etc?

28. How common is it for a student to change his/her major?

29. At what age do students typically know what they want to major in?  Do you think family or society influences the decision?
30. What do you think are the most common majors?  Why?

The most significant aspect of Japanese holidays and celebrations is the emphasis it places on national identity. Holidays such as Osyogatsu (New Year’s day), Obon, Omisoka, the National Holiday during Golden Week, and Seijinshiki (Coming of Age day) reflect the Japanese spirit and pride, reminding the country’s citizens to connect with one another. When interviewing Ai on this subject, she stated that such traits hold great significance for her. In each holiday we discussed, a piece of what it means to be Japanese could be found in her description and within that, a happiness for the memories they have given her. Unlike holidays based upon religion in other countries, Japanese holidays are created for its citizens and not merely for a specific group of people.

While Japanese holidays are not specifically based upon any particular religion, they do take inspiration from Buddhism and Shinto. The Japanese even celebrate Christian holidays in their own way, although they don’t give the emphasis to these holidays that some other countries do, such as the way Christmas is celebrated in America. When I asked Ai if she would consider their holidays to be more spiritual than religious she agreed. Even though many Japanese may not consider themselves either religious or spiritual, they honor the spirit of the holiday, such as visiting a shrine or temple on New Year’s. The significance means more than the act of worshiping. It reminds them to be humble, to take time to reflect, and spend the day with their loved ones.

What I liked most about what I learned from Ai is how spirituality can be honored without all of the commercial trappings that one finds in some religious holidays. There is more of a desire to reflect on oneself and others with less emphasis on gift-giving. On Osyogatsu, while the children do receive money from parents and relatives, no other gifts are exchanged. The day is spent with family and friends, enjoying food and company. It doesn’t circulate around passing out gifts, such as with Christmas.

Before I explain the holidays, I admit that this category proved frustrating to me in a way I hadn’t expected. It took a lot of consideration before I realized the reason for this. My assumption going into the interview with Ai had been that holidays are celebrated with the same mindset everywhere around the world. Of course, that isn’t true. I would ask questions, hoping for the individual creativity that I associate with my own family when celebrating a holiday, such as the family traditions practiced during Christmas. No matter how I pushed and the variations on questions I would ask, I could not get this type of response from Ai. It reveals something that I had never considered. Despite considering myself an open-minded person, I can be close-minded in a way I’d never thought I could be. As one will see through my questioning process, my own conceptions, while in some cases correct, also proved wrong in others, forcing me to rewrite my own opinions on what it means to celebrate.

The first holiday Ai and I discussed was New Year’s, Osyogatsu, the most significant of the Japanese holidays. In addition to New Year’s, Ai told me about Omisoka, the day before New Year’s with its own special meaning that I would never have otherwise thought important if she had not stressed this to me. While New Year’s is the celebration, Omisoka is what one might consider a day of rest, or a day to prepare for the long festivities of New Year’s. Before December 31^st and January 1^st, the week is spent, primarily by the mother, preparing meals. On Omisoka she is given a chance to rest and the family eats soba “to make a wish that [they] live long and thin,” symbolic of modesty. At midnight they visit a temple or shrine to make the first prayer of the year to their god. Not everyone believes in a god or gods, Ai said, but they go anyway to be with friends and family, to have fun, and to hope that the year will be successful and prosperous. The family then goes home to sleep.

The next morning when the family awakes, they eat a pre-prepared boxed breakfast known as osechi ryori. Each ingredient in the osechi ryori--egg rolls, beans, kachi guri (chestnuts), tai (brim), and taro (Japanese potato)--has its own individual meaning. In the case of kachi guri the definition is “win chestnut,” the idea that when they eat, they will be successful in the new year. The association with tai that Ai gave me is the phrase “medetai” which is translated “When they eat, they hope.” The rest of the day is spent with family and at the shrine or temple, praying for self and family, to a god who “always cares about its family” and to the god of rice. For those with which the spirituality of the holidays still rings true, it is a chance, as the literal translation of the holiday’s name states, to “welcome god to their place.” The Japanese believe everything new starts on New Year’s. They can forget the wrong doings of the previous year and start the new year refreshed with a mind wiped clean, as if the individual has been reborn.

Like Osyogatsu, Obon and Seijinshiki are important days to recognize, even if not to the same extent. Also like Osyogatsu, they recognize identity, both in their own ways. Obon is a day to honor the deceased, while Seijinshiki celebrates life. Both follow specific traditions that have been passed down generations, such as the donning of traditional clothing and taking part in time-honored ceremonies. Both celebrate aspects of the culture, yet in completely different ways. Through these holidays, one receives a deeper insight into the culture than she would find by looking at only one celebration and considering it a representative of the whole.

For Obon, Japanese are given the day off to remember their deceased loved ones. Upon death, a memorial is created, using the body’s ashes and a box in which a bone is placed with chopsticks. The rest of the ashes are then placed in a grave. On Obon, the family returns to the home where the memorial is kept for a day of remembrance. The day itself is based upon Buddhism and for some who practice the religion, it is believed that the soul returns to the memorial to be with the family. While it sounds like a somber day, Ai says that it’s more considered a reunion, a chance for family members who rarely see each other to visit. Outside of the memorial created for the deceased family member, it is less ritualistic than either New Year’s or Seijinshiki.

Seijinshiki sounds like it should be less formal. It is a day for the young, those that have now entered adulthood and are given all the responsibilities that come of the age, including voting, drinking alcohol, and, of course, paying taxes. In its own way, it is informal, giving the now-adults a chance to socialize and drink. At the state hall, however, where the Seijinshiki is held, they go through a ceremony wherein the mayor speaks to them about becoming adults and needing “to have responsibility.” Ai does not believe this truly makes one an adult, yet it is an initiation of sorts, a point where the reality of what awaits becomes immediate. They are given the freedom of adulthood, drinking and smoking if they so wish, and the hardship of paying taxes, which for those who are not in college starts on their 20^th birthday and can prove a struggle to pay. All of this on Seijinshiki is brought to their attention and from there, their transition into maturity begins. It is a reverence unlike Obon and just as important.

All throughout the interview process the question I most wanted to ask, yet held till the very end was the concept of tradition, particularly as it relates to identity. Trying to get at this point, I littered the interview with questions related to this idea. As mentioned earlier, the responses were not what I expected. Unrecorded in my transcript are my various attempts at explaining what I meant by tradition. My last question, especially, proved difficult: “What holidays traditions would you like to start/keep when you have your own family?” Of all the questions I asked, I assumed this would be the easiest. Even after everything I had already asked, and what Ai told me about New Year’s, Obon, Seijinshiki, and Omisoka, I thought Ai would be able to swiftly give an answer so we could wrap up the category and move to the next. That wasn’t what happened.

Ai responded to my question with one of her own. “I should be creative?”

I fumbled with the question I had just given her, attempting to smooth it down, to explain what I meant by traditions. I told her about my family’s own traditions at Christmas and our concept of spending time with each other, how even though Christmas has certain unifying themes, families tended to celebrate in their own individual way. Even then, Ai couldn’t respond. Up until this point, the interview had gone smoothly, with a great deal of feedback from Ai on every subject I could bring up, including the follow-up questions that she hadn’t been prepared to receive. After a great deal of contemplation from her, I decided to the end of the session, and she promised that she would think about it and when we saw each other again, give me an answer.

When we met again, I didn’t get an answer to the question. She had been unable to think of anything. I told her not to worry about it, the question wasn’t that important. Yet, I realized on another level, her inability to answer was significant in itself. What one does not say, is as key as what one does say after all. In order to understand where Ai is coming from, I have to switch my reading of others from surface semantics to a perusal of non-verbal cues and underlying connotation. Celebration, I realize, can be internalized just as much as externalized. Spirituality then joins with camaraderie of fellow citizens, the holidays connecting everyone together through the symbolism of its ceremonies.

New Year’s is no longer merely a way to welcome in the new year. It has now become a new year for the nation of Japan, and a way to prove oneself a better person, more worthy of calling oneself Japanese. Obon is not just a remembrance for the dead. It honors one’s ancestors and the Japanese heritage from which one comes. Seijinshiki, Coming of Age day, reminds one not only is she an adult, she is also a responsible individual who must keep to the image of what it is to be Japanese. Each holiday holds true to a physical ideal of both the individual and beyond that, a chain that links all Japanese together.

1. What are the most important holidays in Japan?
2. What is the significance of each?

3. In what way are holidays observed?
4. Do schools/universities/jobs dismiss for important holidays?

5. How do you usually celebrate each holiday?
6. In what ways are birthdays celebrated?  Graduations?  Weddings?
7. Are there any other significant events that are celebrated, i.e. promotions, other particular accomplishments?
8. What is the biggest difference between the way holidays are celebrated in Japan from the U.S.?
9. What is your favorite holiday?  Why?
10. Do you have any special memories of a holiday?
11. Why do you think it's important to celebrate holidays?
12. Do you think holidays give a sense of national identity?
13. What holiday traditions are important to you?  Why?
14. How important is tradition to celebrating a holiday?
15. What holiday traditions would you like to start/keep when you have your own family?

Converse to my “Holidays and Celebrations” interview experience, the category known as “Dress and Personal Appearance” seemed less enlightening . Still, it is always the surface that shows one concept and the reflection at the bottom, that reveals something else entirely. My questioning followed a few different lines of thought including mainstream fashion, traditional heritage, and attractiveness between the genders. Again, just as with the previous category, in some ways what was not said proved to be just as noteworthy--if not more so--as what was said. It proved to me that certain mindsets tend to be prevalent around the world, being that they either are characteristic of human nature or that they spread thanks to modern communicative-technology.

Traditional clothing is always the easiest to discuss, being that it defines a culture and is an easily recognizable trait of a country. Most people know that a kimono is Japanese. Most people are also aware that the modern Japanese person rarely wears a kimono outside of special occasions. What most people who do not have more than a passing familiarity with Japanese culture realize is that the kimono is not the only traditional clothing worn and that this clothing represents more than history. At least, when speaking to Ai, this is what I saw. To hear her words and the pride radiating in her voice, there is no other way to interpret what it means to don traditional Japanese clothing.

The three most commonly worn pieces of traditional Japanese clothing are the kimono, yukata, and hakama, all worn during either a holiday, special celebration, or festival. Hakama are a pants-like addition to the kimono outfit, once worn only by men, but with modern times, also worn by women. Of the traditional clothing, the kimono is considered the most formal, and can be extremely expensive to buy, some kimono costing upwards of 2,000USD and after accessories are added, 3,000USD. The last time she wore a kimono, Ai told me, she borrowed it from her mother. The cost was too high to buy one for herself. It is customary, she said, to wear a kimono that has been passed down to save money. Yukata, because they are made of a lighter weight material and less complicated in make, tend to be more affordable, and for this reason Ai was able to purchase one for herself that she still owns. The American equivalent to purchasing a yukata would be a nice prom dress. The yukata, however, would have more opportunities to be worn, although this entirely depends upon the person. The last time she wore her yukata was for Seijinshiki. Other than summer festivals or holidays such as New Year‘s, there is little reason to wear either a yukata or kimono and even older Japanese rarely wear either.

This discussion led me to ask the questions, “Do you think wearing traditional clothing will ever be a lost custom?” and “Do you like wearing traditional clothing?” Just as happened with the discussion on holidays and celebrations the subject of national identity was raised and what it means to be Japanese. Underlying what Ai said was an aspect of pride and spirit, the same pride and spirit I associated with her speaking about the New Year’s festival and Seijinshiki. Just as with the ceremony associated with the holidays, traditional Japanese clothing is about more than a physical appearance. They say something about the person and what the person believes about her country, maybe one could also interpret, how much she loves her country.

All of this is simply stated by Ai when I asked her if she likes wearing traditional clothing. I assumed yes by what she had told me about the festivals and all of her fond memories, but I didn’t know why or even that it held a deep meaning for her. Her answer shaped the rest of my viewpoints and actually led to my focus in the writing of this mini-ethnography.

“I like wearing traditional clothing because on special day I wear kimono or yukata, so it’s special for me. I like traditional festivals. Traditional clothing shows nationality. I’m proud of being Japanese so I like wearing traditional clothes.”

The rest of my understand of Japanese culture at that point fell into place and has given me new eyes to look at not only Ai’s culture, but mine as well. Something that could be perceived as superficial, the clothes one wears, signifies not only being Japanese, also those two traits I’ve mentioned multiple times in the writing of this paper: nationality and pride.

What steps away from those concepts is modern clothing which entered Japanese society in the middle of the nineteenth century when Tokyo opened itself to Western industry. During the Meiji period that began in the late nineteenth century and lasted until the beginning of the twentieth century, kimono became less practical, especially as women began to enter the workforce and needed clothes to accommodate their new professions. However, Japanese culture stands tenacious and as reflected in Ai’s comments, the kimono and yukata remain an important part of the life, even if reserved for special occasions. Modern clothing, on the other hand, has taken its place and exhibits Japanese culture in its own unique way.

For the most part modern clothing tends to reflect Western wear. Ai explained that Japanese want to copy the styles of American movie stars and to some extent, take this on as the ideal of beauty. Japanese physical body frames, though, don’t mimic American frames very well, being smaller and built along different lines. A good example of why Japanese tend not to wear American clothing and vice versa is an anecdote Ai shared about visiting her host family in South Carolina. They took her to a clothing store with the intention of purchasing some nice clothes for her. Problems arose when they realized that she couldn’t fit into anything found in either the juniors’ or misses’ sections. The only clothing she could wear was in the kids’ section of the store.

To give me a better idea of Japanese fashion trends, Ai gave me a fashion catalogue from the 2004 year. I had opportunity to peruse the pages at length and to share with friends, comparing Japanese styles to American. For the most part, trends are similar. A closer look revealed something that I hadn’t been looking for, yet didn’t fail to notice. Around the world, in most developed countries, ideals of beauty appear to be about the same. Overweight tends to be frowned upon, even if the conception of what it means to be overweight varies from country to country. Japan is no different. At first I would call it on the level of the U.S. Talking to Ai changed my mind about this and again I had a dose of reality injected into my veins.

Most people would describe Ai as child-like in appearance, in that she’s built small and petite, with a soft voice and shy smile. As already explained, the only American clothing that fits her is kids’ sizes. To some she would be the ideal size, to others smaller than the average, almost no one, at least in the U.S., would consider her overweight. Yet Ai’s greatest concern is returning to Japan without losing weight first because she’s worried she’s gained too many pounds. It’s a recurring theme I’ve run into, even before meeting Ai, and for me, it’s a distressing one since I’ve attempted to tell her how beautiful she is and that I firmly believe she doesn’t need to lose weight. In Japan, she stressed, she is too big. More than once she has told me that she can’t return to Japan at her current weight, that it’s important she lose some of it. Even if I suggested it would be easiest for her to shed what weight she doesn’t want after returning to her home country, she wanted to return home with it already shed.

At this point, I could make a number of suggestions and inferences based upon this exchange alone. Anything negative would be unfair. If one is to be reasonable, almost anywhere a person goes, the burden of physical appeal rests largely upon the woman. Japan being a country that is gradually striving for equality and in many ways has achieved great gains, still shares many of the hang-ups that other countries do in regards to attractiveness. With the influx of American culture in Japanese society, I can understand the dichotomy within what Ai has shared. “Sexy” is compared to American styles, being attractive is compared to American styles, also.

Contrasted against the ideal of the American sex symbol is the overarching ideal of fashion that Ai shared with me. “In Japan maybe people try to be the same, try to have the same fashion so it’s not so common to see people who wear different clothing compared to the USA. I see some groups, people who wear short skirts or girls who wear tight t-shirts, but [in the U.S.] it’s more common to wear different clothing. [In the U.S.] people are more independent than in Japan so they don’t care so much about their own fashion as much as Japan. Japanese care about their fashion so much sometimes they try to have some fashion as everyone else.”

This alone explains the pressure that is being placed upon Japanese women. Live up to the American ideal of what is attractive while attempting not to stand out from the everyone else.

1. Do you think people are judged by their appearance?  Why?

2. How does a man ideally dress?

3. How does a woman ideally dress?

4. Do men or women have more pressure to look a certain way, or both?  Why?

5. How does the average person view those who don't dress according to mainstream

fashion, e.g. such as those who dress "goth"?

6. How often do you see people who dress in a way outside of the mainstream?  Why do you think they dress that way?

7. Are people categorized by the clothes they wear?

8. Does fashion give a sense of identity?

9. Do you like wearing makeup?  If yes, at what age did you start wearing makeup and

why do you like it?  If no, what do you dislike about makeup?

10. What is the common age for girls/women to start wearing makeup?

11. What kind of look do you find attractive in the opposite sex?

12. What look do you think men find attractive in women?

13. Do you think women dress a certain way to attract men?  Vice versa?

14. Do you wear certain fashions to reflect your personality/mood?

15. What fashions do you find most appealing?  Why?

16. How many times a year do you wear a kimono?

17. What is the significance in wearing a kimono?

18. What other types of traditional Japanese clothing are still worn?

19. Do you think wearing traditional clothing will ever be a lost custom?  Why or why not?

20. Do you like wearing traditional clothing?  Why or why not?

V. Interpersonal Relationships

Of all the things to be grateful for during this ethnography experience, I think the single greatest one is that I had the opportunity to hug Ai on a regular basis. When it comes to physical affection I’m not over-the-top by American standards, yet something about Ai tugged at me to hug her from the first day I met her in December of 2004. Of course, I didn’t actually hug her until much later than that and this after we’d had the chance to get to know each other and achieve the status of what I’d like to think of as friendship. It didn’t take much for me to hug her and since she never seemed to mind, I took every chance I could simply because I’ve deemed her a huggable individual. During all this time I never stopped to think about personal space or ask her if it was okay by her that I invade upon her physical boundaries in such a manner, assuming that she must not mind. (A quick note: She assured me that it wasn’t.)

“How do you usually greet your friends?” I asked Ai.

“There’s more personal space in Japan. I never hug my friends. You wave and maybe pat on shoulder. I hug friends in America. We can hug between just boyfriends and girlfriends. If we do, we recognize them as girlfriend and boyfriend. I think so because of personal space. If we are girlfriend and boyfriend we can stay much closer, but we cannot do that between my friends.”

My reaction was immediate horror. “I hug you all the time!”

“I like being hugged,” she quickly assured me. “I want to hug.”

In retrospect, I should have asked her if she’s going to initiate more physical contact when she goes back to Japan. Somehow, I doubt she will, but it’s nice to know when I see her again, she will happily welcome a hug from me. It shows that, even if a particular characteristic is ingrained into a society, it is merely the manifestation of cultural values that have been imbued upon the person, and maybe have nothing to do with the person’s preference. Still, having said that, I know from what Ai has told me about her friends and the photographs she’s shown me of her times in high school with the tennis club and Seijinshiki that her friends mean just as much to her as mine mean to me. Physical affection is just one way of showing that you care about someone. Ai has certainly proven this to me since I’ve come to know her in the past several months.

It’s not a discussion about interpersonal relationships in Japan if some mention isn’t made about their well-known politeness and respect. The language is saturated with honorifics and other forms of respect, many of which are shown to elders and those considered to be higher-ups. As far as sexist language, Ai never mentioned it and I would like to think this is another sign that Japan is making lengthy strides toward gender equality that are manifesting themselves through the language. Age difference, however, is a very notable gap in Japanese society.

“It’s important to show respect to our elders. We have honorific words when we talk to elders…. Here, people can say ‘this is my friend,’ even though he or she is elder, but in Japan we cannot say that. We say ‘this is my friend,’ it usually means people of the same age. I belong to tennis club and… people younger than me, I call ‘inferior’ or ‘junior’ and people who are older than me I call ‘senior.’ Even one year age difference this applies.”

Imagine my face painted in surprise when Ai said this, especially as there is about three years difference in age between us. It never crossed my mind that in her own country she would apply an honorific to my name when speaking to me or that my denotation of her would be a term meaning “inferior.” It’s certainly a far cry from my own perceptions about personal interaction, having friends much older than myself that I refer to by first name. It makes me wonder if Ai had a problem calling her ELI instructors by their first names.

This line of discussion crossed into education and goes back to the Japanese definition of success and keeping up with one’s peers. “It’s not common for someone to be a year younger than others in the same grade level. Japanese think it’s common to go to school straight. I didn’t often see older person in my class.” I didn’t intend to ask any follow up questions during this category, but with what she had just brought up I couldn’t help other than to ask what happens if someone fails. After all, what a conundrum, to be in the same grade as others who are younger than you and even though you’re at the same grade level, you would otherwise be considered their senior. “When I was first grade in high school, my friend couldn’t go to school because of her fever or something. She failed classes so she’s the same age, but younger grade.” Ai quickly followed this with: “It happens, but it’s not so common.”

The idea of interpersonal relationships in the educational environment came up another time when I asked her about cliques. The term in America is quite common. Apparently, the concept is also common in Japan. Once I explained the definition to Ai she quickly agreed and told me about visiting her host family in South Carolina where they work at a high school. During her winter break they took her to the school. “I saw some students. There are some groups.” She hesitated before continuing. “I agree with this question. My answer is yes.” What she related next tied together everything else I’ve learned thus far.

“When I was in Japan, a lot of my friends belonged to the same tennis club…. Actually, I didn’t like very much because I wanted to have different relations with others. I want to have relationship with people from part time job, from my hometown, high school, junior high. I didn’t like that very much, but people who belong to the same tennis club they were always together. And I belonged to officers and we worked together so we could have closer relationships so we are always together.” It wasn’t always like this for her. She told me about her second year of high school. “My class was so great. Someone said, ‘Let’s play with fireworks.’ Everyone went there. So when I was in second grade of high school, I didn’t have any groups in my class. I could go to other group. We didn’t have any groups. It’s not common. It never happens I think, but yeah, we had that.”

Not only did this give me an idea into the types of relationships she had, it also told me a little more about her school environment. In many ways, Japan is comparable to the U.S. and I can’t help but hold the two up together and look at them side by side. Cliquishness defines the American society, people keeping together as if glued at the joints, just as Ai did with her tennis club friends. It’s telling that she mentioned how it frustrated her. In the U.S. I think many teenagers could relate to the experience of wanting to cross certain boundaries that their peers have established, to reach out to others, knowing all the while it’s not acceptable. To consider it a phenomenon of Japanese society alone would be too narrow. Relating to what I’ve learned, though, it doesn’t surprise me that she brings this up as a problem. No one wants to stand out, even if deep down what they want more than anything is to cross over certain lines that have been laid before them.

1. How do you usually greet your friends? Family? Teachers?

2. Is there a difference between how men and women would address each other as opposed to men and men, and women and women?

3. What level of respect must you show your elders?

4. How long do men and women typically know each other before marrying?

5. Is it okay to disagree with your teachers/professors? How about your parents?

6. Do women and men speak differently?

7. Is it common for boys and girls to play together?

8. If someone doesn’t like another person, how do they usually express their dislike?

9. How do you address strangers?

10. Do you think there are groups of people who prefer to hang out with each other, “cliques”?

To Ai, “Work and Play” meant primarily two things: learning and socializing. Of the categories, we couldn’t have picked a better one to finish off the mini-ethnography. It tied in well with the categories of education and interpersonal relationships, and gave us a chance for some fun discussions on our own relationship, being that the interview process was a form of work, but in a way it was a lot like play for the both of us. We both gained a great deal from the experience, spent a lot of time picking over the questions I’d written, yet much of the time enjoyed ourselves.

“Why is it important to work?” I asked.

“Working means learning. I need to keep learning. I communicate with others; it’s a social place. I can meet people with different ways of thinking, also I can get knowledge at work. I meet others and get new knowledge at work. That’s why it’s important. Growing from it.”

“Why is it important to play?”

“Relations with others, so it’s important. If I am always working I will stress out so it’s important to relax.”

At first these categories seemed clear cut and when starting the interview process for this category that’s what I assumed they’d remain. You can socialize at work and you socialize at play. This is where the similarities end, so goes the thinking of my Western mind. Soon I find that not all cultures separate the two easily and in some cases can even become complicated, while the intertwining is important and necessary. To be honest, I have to hand over a great deal of credit to Ai because I have never considered this topic in regards to my own culture and thoroughly enjoyed the deep insight which she gave me into her own culture. Now I will always look at the image of the overworked Japanese salary man with refreshed vision, awash in the knowledge of why he puts in the time after work with his boss. It’s not for the sake of partying, as I’ve always believed. There is far more to it than that.

“I think Japan values work more [than play]. Like, I’m not sure, but Japanese say, ‘In the West, play and work are separated. In Japan, they are mixed.’ After work, in the case of my dad, he goes out with his boss and he cannot feel comfortable. Sometimes he goes out with his boss who he doesn’t like. Also, because of work he has to go to play golf, but he doesn’t like golf. So we mix work and play. We value work more. Japanese try to relate play and work, I think so…. I don’t think my dad can express how he feels so he just goes along with his boss.”

What it reminds me of is how we discussed the way Japanese tend not to say anything to rock the boat, so to speak. Even if one disagrees, one is likely to not say anything. Japanese don’t debate over controversial issues, preferring to mix well, not to stand out in any way, much as with their fashions. Just as with that, Ai’s dad hesitates to make a commotion, to draw unwanted attention to himself, preferring to go along with what’s expected of him, regardless of whether or not he enjoys going out with his boss or playing golf. In his work environment, the employee is expected to do these things. It might be a type of play, yet it’s admittedly one that certainly does mix the categories together into its own separate status that as far as I’m aware, has no real name.

When I ask Ai which she thinks is more important, work or play. She responds with a laugh, “I like play better.” I laugh with her and agree. After a moment she continues, “I think playing could be working. Working could be playing. I said working means learning, so when I play with someone I can learn something new. So playing could be working. If I communicate with someone, I can hear some story from others, I can get some information, new knowledge. I think it’s good to be growing, developing myself. Playing could be learning. Especially in Japan, they’re the same. I can go out and meet someone, speaking English, but also having fun. Like going out [in the U.S.]. It’s important for me, going out to have fun.”

During this discussion I pointed out our own meetings to Ai and she enthusiastically agreed that this is what she had meant. What I had considered work, albeit highly enjoyable work, she had seen as an exchange of information that meant more as play to her. Simply because one learns, does not automatically make it work, the status to which I kept relegating my task. I was having fun. I enjoyed being around her, learning from her, and exchanging stories about the differences and similarities in not just our cultures, but also our personal lives. Locking the two together, work and play, caused me to consider my future career and the way in which I view it, taking into consideration the way Ai views her own future career, one that she hasn’t quite decided upon outside of a high interest in translation.

Ai wants to continue growing. That is why she works. She wants to keep learning. That is why she plays. The two can’t be divorced, no matter how one tries, so long as the task of working is an enjoyable one that doesn’t require dragging one’s feet to the office on an otherwise beautiful, sunny day. It’s also this attitude of hers that once again changed my perceptions of Japanese culture and particular misinformed ideas. Sexism, in Ai’s mind, is quickly on its way out. She sees no reason she shouldn’t work. The reason she will keep working? To grow from others; to communicate; to learn. She knows that the housewife’s job is not an easy one, which she has learned from her mother. She also knows that her mother held a job, that her mother struggled with gender discrimination at the time she was employed, remaining in the same position for years without ever receiving a promotion. Ai doesn’t see this as a hurdle in her way. All she knows is that she wants to keep learning, that she loves language, and she loves her own culture and American culture both.

These two aspects she wants to tie together in her future. Perhaps she will come back to American to further her schooling in a graduate program. It will again give her the opportunity to mix play and work by socializing with others, growing from the experience, while working toward a degree that will increase her job possibilities. She may also stay in Japan, doing translation, hopefully traveling as is her wish. To her, what exactly she does is not as important as being give the opportunity to grow while she works and becoming a better person in whatever environment in which she finds herself.

1. Why is it important to work?

2. Why is it important to play?

3. Can you have fun at work?

4. What types of activities do you consider “play”?

5. Are young children (elementary school age) encouraged to work more or play more?

6. Is there a difference between what men and woman consider work?

7. What about play?

8. Do you think Japan values work more or play?

9. Is play as important at school as it is at work?

10. Which do you think is more important, work or play? Why?

As I worked on the mini-ethnography, perusing over notes and reflecting back on conversations with Ai that went unrecorded, I found myself constantly revising my own opinions and evaluations. There is nothing more challenging than deconstructing and again constructing another person’s culture, particularly when one has the penchant for comparing it to her own. The greatest disability I came across in the writing of this was my own intellectual wall of wanting to inspect everything Ai said by the lenses of my own experience. That can’t be done. Of course it can’t. It should be common sense to claim such a thing. When actually trying to go deep into the way a person forms her own opinions, though, it’s a daunting task made all the harder if one has nothing with which to compare it.

On the surface, in so many ways, Japanese culture is nothing like American culture. The foods are different, many of the celebrations are quite different, religion is approached from varying perspectives, and attitudes toward interpersonal relations differ in many ways. By all appearances, we should have little in common. Nothing could be further from the truth. What Ai wants for her life echoes much what I want for my own. How her society has raised her, is not significantly altered from my own upbringing in that we’ve both received education while benefiting from family support. We have a love for language and other cultures. We both want to learn and grow. As women, we respect ourselves and want others to respect us, both personally and professionally. Beauty means a lot to us, both the kind seen with the naked eye and that which speaks to the heart.

The aesthetic appeal of surface culture reveals underneath it, a depth that can no more be captured with mere words than sunlight can be ensnared in a net. As I’ve said more than once, what Ai didn’t tell me about her culture, meant just as much to me as those things she did tell me. Her body language spoke to me. The softness of her voice, the shy smile, and polite deference that she afforded me and my friends. Japanese culture values respect, more so than I’ve encountered with anyone else I’ve ever known, yet even as they strive to keep harmony with one another, it doesn’t mean opinions aren’t held. Ai told me how she felt on a variety of issues, such as education and the roles of women. For her, it’s a private matter. It doesn’t need to be shared with others to be valued.

Once upon a time I felt sorry for Asian women and the struggles they face. Talking to Ai has alleviated many of my concerns, being confronted with a quietly strong young woman who doesn’t see gender as much topic for discussion. She knows what she wants and that’s all she needs to know. There is no debate about rights. From that, I have learned. Defer to others where appropriate and continue to climb upwards, eventually happiness will come.

Attitudes toward work and learning have also been given a glowing shade. Even if my attitude toward learning has been along the lines of “fun work”, it would still be under that category of work. In that regard, Ai has also changed me. I realize that I don’t always have to approach an educational endeavor with the mindset of it being work and find much in it that is like play because really, if it’s fun, if you’re growing from it and becoming a better person, shouldn’t that constitute play? Ai would say, “I think so.” You know, I think I’m going to agree with her. I can work hard just as her culture has taught her and not always find it to be such a strain. With everything I do, I can find something appropriate toward my personal growth that I can say, “I’m learning from this experience. That’s what makes it fun.”