Japanese Music -音楽-

Just like in America, Japan has an entire subculture of modern singers, bands and musicians. Just as America has her Beyonce's and Jonas Brothers so does Japan. Japan has pop music, rock, rap, and more. Interestingly, most Americans couldn't name one Japanese song, singer or group. However, the converse would not be true. Most Japanese young people could name popular American songs, singers, and/or groups.






Japanese music culture is growing rapidly. Today many Asian artists outside of Japan are looking to Japan to expand their fan base. Tohoshinki is just one example of this. Tohoshinki is a Korean group that learned Japanese and now releases Cd's and preform concerts in Japan and in Japanese. Something else interesting about Japanese music is that Japanese singers don't often put out full length albums. Instead, they put out singles followed by an occasional full length album. In America ,as you know, our singers put out album after album.




My favorite female Japanese singer is Utada Hikaru (宇多田 ヒカル). Utada Hikaru was born in New York and speaks Japanese and English fluently. I have been listening to her music for six years. I first heard Utada Hikaru when i was twelve years old. For Christmas that year I got a PlayStation 2 and the Kingdom Hearts video game. Utada Hikaru sand the theme song for that game and I have been listening to her ever since. Utada Hikaru has an amazing voice. I enjoy watching her preform live as well as just listening to her on a CD. Her voice always sounds great. I have not hears a song that i have not liked. In 2004 Utada released a CD in America titled Exodus. I went and bought it at BestBuy! Althought she released a CD here in America she did not get a lot of attetnion from it, which is a typical occurrence. That's alright with me thought, I enjoy keeping her wonderful music to myself.

Utada Hikaru - Can You Keep A Secret






My favorite male Japanese singer is Gackt. I have been listening to him for a couple of years now and he reminds me a little bit of Madonna. Gackt, like Madonna, seems to always reinvent himself. Sometimes he is seen singing soft ballads with blond hair and other times he is seen singing rock with black hair. Gackt has a unique voice, he has a natural falsetto. Little is known about Gackt's personal life. He is rumored to be in his forty's and yet his looks and unique voice transcend time. Gackt is the first male Japanese singer i ever heard and also the first Japanese celebrity i had a crush on. Gackt has stared in movies in Japan and in 2009 he will star in a movie in America called Bunraku with Josh Hartnett and Demi Moore. I cant wait to see him in an American movie!




Gackt - Another World



Johnny and Associates Inc ( also known as Johnnys or Johnnys Jimusho) is a well known Japanese record label that exclusively signs boy bands. Johnny's most famous group is called SMAP which debuted around 1991. Groups like Arashi, KAT-TUN, NewS, Hey!Say!Jump, and Kanjani8 are popular Johnnys groups among teens. Many Johnnys Jimusho group members act as well as sing. I like to watch a show called Pop Music Club on the Japanese channel. It features boy band after boy band singing in front of a live audience of screaming tween girls. To the untrained eye and ear (like my parents) they all seem to look and sound the alike, but I have no problem telling them apart.


NewS - Happy Birthday

Find more videos like this on www.truveo.com.

Potential Analysis Paper Sources

I have still been searching the endless Internet for blogs that I can use for my final analysis paper and right now I have only found two that are useful to me. One of these sites focuses on Korean Pop Culture and the other one is the same site that I used in a previous post of mine about the leading blog/blogger in my community. These sites are very nice but I am thinking that I need to find blogs that talk more strictly about culture and not just pop culture and entertainment. I haven't given up my search yet!

The first site is:
http://dbsker.blogspot.com/

The second site is:
http://shasha-dbskforever.blogspot.com/

I actually did not discover this second site until the day before our last class. I noticed that a girl who I have never met before commented on one of my blog posts and she left me a link to her site. I went to her site and it was very nice and I think it will be of help to me for my paper.

Tokyo Districts and Fashion Pt 2 - 原宿-

Harajuku (原宿) is a district in Tokyo widely known for its outrageous youth fashion. Visual Kei is the term used for the fashion in Harajuku. Visual Kei is characterized by elaborate costumes, unusual hairstyles, and eccentric makeup. Visual Kei has become even more than a fashion style, it has developed into its own JRock (Japanese rock) genre. Some styles you might see in Harajuku are Gothic Lolita, Sweet Lolita and Oshare Kei. All of these are considered part of Visual Kei.

The Gothic Lolita look is similar to Victorian style clothing and consists of very dark colors with Gothic influences. Gothic Lolita is characterized by puffy sleeves, lots of lace, petticoats, stockings, and chunky high heeled shoes. Sweet Lolita clothing looks the same except that it is pastel colored. Both Gothic and Sweet Lolita make the wearers look like dolls.

Oshare Kei still consists of elaborate costumes, unusual hairstyles, and eccentric makeup but these outfits are more brightly colored and a modern style of Tokyo street clothing. The Visual Kei bands have different sounds. Oshare Kei bands usually sing about love and have a lively beat, where as other Visual Kei bands have a darker sound.

An interesting fact about Visual Kei is that it involves a lot of cross-dressing. Many men pose as women. Most members of Visual Kei bands are men and true to the genre, participate in dressing like women.

Harajuku is a popular meeting place for people who share similar taste in fashion and music. Harajuku and its Visual Kei style is my favorite thing about Japan. I love how wild the style is and that the people who wear it are not afraid to take a risk and be outrageous.

Here are a few of my favorite songs by some Visual Kei bands:

Antic Cafe - Smile Ichiban Ii Onna





Psycho le Cemu - Yume Kazaguruma




Alice Nine - Rainbows





Dir En Grey - Yokan

Now,that you are finished reading, take another look at the pictures I have posted in this blog entry. If you can tell me how many women there are in the all pictures combined then I will bring you a special treat on Thursday!

(don't forget to click on a picture to get a larger view!)

日本、愛してる！

Tokyo Districts and Fashion -東京-

For those of you who dont know, Tokyo is a city made up of districts. Each of these districts has something special about them and has a corresponding fashion. This and the following post will be about the 6 most popular districts in Tokyo. When you go shopping in Tokyo you will visit a specific district to buy a specific item on your list. If you forget your new Wonderbra while in Shinjuku, you wont find one in Akihabara, you will have to go all the way back. One more quality that makes Tokyo an amazing community.

Tokyo (東京) is the capital city of Japan and home to the Japanese Imperial family and the Japanese government. Many businesses call Tokyo home. The Tokyo Stock Exchange is also located here. Because of its business atmosphere, Tokyo is home to business fashion.

Ginza (銀座) is considered to be an expensive shopping area in Tokyo. Many designer stores such as Gucci, Dior and Shiseido can be found there. For this reason, Ginza is known as the home of formal fashion. Ginza is also home to many exclusive resturants, cafes, art galleries and night clubs.

Akihabara (秋葉原), also known as the Electric town, is a major shopping area for electronics, computers, and goods for Otaku. Otaku are people who love Manga (Japanese comics), Anime (Japanese cartoons), and video games. You can buy both new and used items or spare parts for electronic goods. You can even buy used electronic pieces in stores in back streets. Akihabara is also well known for its personal robots and robotics stores. Akihabara is also home to Cosplay cafes. Cosplay resturants are maid themed resturants which are very popular with the Japanese Otaku culture. Standardly in a Maid cafe, the staff is female and dressed like french maids. They treat customers as masters and mistresses to give the cafe a unique environment. A variety of sweets is the main staple at this type of cafe. Since the arrival of these Maid cafes, many girls in Akihabara can be seen wearing maid outfits making Akihabara home to maid fashion. This maid fashion is called Moekei.

The shopping district of Shinjuku (新宿) is home to casual fashion.

Many average department stores, cinemas, resturants, and
bars can be found here. Shinjuku is also home to the busiest train station (Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo metropolitan Government building ( the administration center for the Tokyo government).

Shibuya (渋谷) is a very popular district in Tokyo for young people. I once asked a friend what he thought of Shibuya and he said that when he hears the word Shibuya

all that comes to mind is teenage girls. He calls Shibuya the city of teenage girls. Many clothing stores popular with young people set up shop in Shibuya hoping to draw the afterschool crowd. A rising trend in Shibuya is Ganguro. Popular among young girls, Ganguro is characterized by brightly colored clothing and lots of jewelry. They are usually very tan and dye their hair light colors such as blonde, yellow and sometimes orange. White makeup is used for eyeshadow and lipstick and many adorn their faces with jeweled stickers.

かこいい～

A New Fever - DBSKer <--- My Vote For Leading Blog/Blogger

For my English 112 class, one of our assignments was to find a blog/blogger that we felt was the leading blogger on our subject. I searched google under blogs for hours but I was not able to find a blog/blogger who I felt did a great job on explaining Japanese culture. So, after much thought, and endless hours of looking for a good blog, I decided that a blog/blogger who I think is doing a great job is the blogger at A New Fever - DBSKer. This blog is not focused on Japanese culture but instead on a particular Japanese/Korean music group called Tohoshinki (Dong Bang Shin Ki, TVXQ, DBSK). The members of this group are Korean but they sing in Korean and Japanese so I consider them part of Japanese entertainment as well as Korean. I visit this blog often and I am never disappointed. This blogger keeps their blog up to date and visually appealing. There is tons of information, pictures, music, and videos of this particular music group I like. This blog has many "official" followers but there could be many more "lurkers" viewing this site also. I actually was a "lurker" until I made my own blog but now I am proud to be an "official" follower. By the way, a "lurker" is someone who views a blog or web site with out commenting or being a follower. And, if for any chance, the author of A New Fever - DBSKer is reading this post of mine, I just want to say keep up the good work! Your blog is amazing!


Link To A New fever - DBSKer
http://dbsker.blogspot.com/

Obesity In Japan

Japan is a country long known for its high reliance on low-fat fish, vegetable and seaweed dishes. But, in recent years meat and high fat foods feature more prominently on Japanese tables (Yamamoto 1). While per capita calorie intake is stable, animal fat and protein consumption has grown over the last 50 years (Yamamoto 1). Because of this, obesity has become a major public healthy problem in Japan (Yamamoto 1). Also, Japan's position at the top of global longevity tables is in danger (Yamamoto 1). According to the Japanese health ministry, the rate of obesity in Japanese people over age 20 is increasing in every age group except women 20 to 29 and 40 to 59 (Yamamoto 1). Men seemed to have gained most of the country;s extra weight (Yamamoto 1). Child obesity has also risen from 18.9% in 1988 to 24.3% in 2005 (Yamamoto 1). The Japanese government works hard to combat obesity and spent over 10 trillion yen to fight against diseases enhanced by obesity such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension (Yamamoto 1). 61% of Japanese deaths are due to these ailments (Yamamoto 1). At one time authorities even believed that the Japanese lacked a fat gene found in other groups (Yamamoto 1). According to figures compiled in 2005 by an organization in Paris, only 3.2% of Japanese people had a body mass index of greater than 30, compared with 30.6% in the United States (Yamamoto 1). Katsuhiko Yano, a senior investigator at the Pacific health research institute in Hawaii, conducted dietary studies of Japanese living in Japan and Japanese living in America. He found that the Japanese in America eating a Western diet had a higher incidence of heart disease (Yamamoto 1). After American fast food arrived in the late 1940's it began to supplement the healthier Japanese diet (Yamamoto 1). Effects of this can be seen especially in Japanese men from Okinawa (Yamamoto 1). Life expectancy of Okinawan men was always among the worlds highest but has fell to number 26 in 2000 (Yamamoto 1).

I was also asked a question about teen pregnancy in Japan. Unfortunately I have not been able to find any web sites that give me enough information to be able to write a post on it but I did come across a site that shows that Japan has the lowest teen birth rate.Although, this site is a little bit old.

http://www.unicef.org/pon96/inbirth.htm






Works Cited:

1. Yamamoto Akiko. "Japan's New Public Health Problem is Getting Worse." Washington Post. 19 June 2007. 11 Nov 2008. < http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/18/AR2007061801466.html >

Bosozoku, Yakuza, and Bullying 暴走族--ヤクザ

I love Japan very much but I tend to only dwell on the good things about it. Recently, someone asked me if there was anything bad about Japan. I only know so much based on what I have seen in movies and conversations I have had with friends so I decided to research more. So in this post I will discuss Gangs and Bullying in Japan.


Bosozoku is the name of Japanese teenage gangs. These gangs can be found in major cities such as Tokyo and Osaka (Yoshinaga 1). Bosozoku was "formed in the 1950's (Yoshinaga 1). " Bosozoku are "predominently made up of men but a few female gangs do exist." Bosozoku are "not violent" unlike their American counterparts (Yoshinaga 1). They are "energetic teenagers full of life and dedicated to the sublime intensity of youth (Yoshinaga 1)." Many movies and TV shows tend to "over exagerate Bosozoku behavior." Generally the Bosozoku can be found just "hanging out in large numbers and not roaming the streets seeking out altercation as depictied in the media." Bosozoku are merley a "healthy embodiment of youth and expression of freedom (Yoshinaga 1)." Most Bosozoku members "retire before the age of twenty and then re-enter society as law-abiding citizens (Yoshinaga 1)." Many believe that the next step for a Bosozoku would be to join the Yakuza, the Japanese equivilent of the Mafia (Yoshinaga 1). This is not normally the case, very few go on to become Yakuza (Yoshinaga 1). Yakuza is a profession you join for life, Bosozoku is not (Yoshinaga 1).


In Japan, "organized crime and criminals come under the name of Yakuza (Okinawan 2)." The name is "derived from the worst possible score in a Japanese card game named Ochio-Kabu (Okinawan 2)." Yakuza are gamblers, peddlers, renegade warriors, and roving bandits (Okinawan 2). Yakuza form many themes in Japanese pop culture and have been around since the "17th century (Okinawan 2)." Yakuza's strength depends on what is going on in the Japanese socitey, with the "estimate of core membership ranging from 80,000 to 110,000 from 1945 to 1996 (Okinawan 2)." Like the Sicilian Mafia, Yakuza are formed into families with the father (Oyabun) as the leader and the children (Kobun) as the followers (Okinawan 2). This is and underground or secret society that has infiltrated socital infrastructure in order to control outcomes and yet its existance seems to be an accepted fact of life in Japan (Okinawan 2). "Yakuza are active worldwide and have been sucessful in employment of intermediaries and the absence of Japanese within a community does not mean an absence of Yakuza (Okinawan 2). "



Bullying is a common problem in most societies, including Japan. In Japan, concern over bullying has grown in recent years (Makino 3). According to the Japanese National Police Agency, "bullying cases that resulted in police action reached a 20-year high last year (Makino 3)." When police asked the bullies what their motivation was they often said it was because their victims were weak, did not fight back, and did not fit it (Makino 3). Asao Naito, a Sociologist in Japan, says that "Japan is a group - oriented society and maintaining harmony within the group is paramount (Makino 3)." Cometition to get into good school and lots of homework in Japanese schools in preparation for High school and College entrance exams can add lots of tension and stress to students and bullying becomes an outlet (Makino 3). The influence of Western values has changed Japan's perception of bullying and made it an issue that needs to be addressed (Makino 3). Now more then ever Japanese government and education systems are implementiong new measures to decreade bullying and to catch it before it gets out of hand (Makino 3).



Here is a link to a video clip of a live performance from a Japanese band called Vidoll (ヴィドール). This song is titled At Age 13 and is about a young boy who tired everything. He tired to be a good son, he tired to be a good student but he stills feels empty and feels as if he has gained nothing back so he decideds to become evil and engage in bad activities. I watched an interview with Vidoll on TV a few weeks back and they were discussing why they decided to write a song like this. The group said that they felt that if they were to sing about problems in society that maybe people would be more open to talking about it and people would be less likley to engage in such activities.( Also, please view this in high quality or it will be fuzzy and not interesting. To view in high quality, there is a button at the bottom of the right hand side of the video and it is in blue and it says view in high quality. I wanted to embed this video but then it would be low quality.Also, check out their outfits! I love it!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWmvvdeYMow

私はヴィドールが大好きです！


Works Cited:

1. Yoshinaga, Masayuki. "Bosozoku - Pressure of a Conformist Society." The Globalist. 2003. 10 Nov 2008. < http://www.theglobalist.com/dbweb/StoryId.aspx?StoryId=4388 >

2. "The Yakuza." Okinawan. 7 April 2002. 10 Nov 2008.
< http://www.okinawan-shorinryu.com/okinawa/yakuza.html >

3. Makino, Catherine. "Bullying in Japan Leads to Student Suicides." VOA News. 26 March 2007. 10 Nov 2008. <http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2007-03/2007-03-26-voa14.cfm >

Japanese Schools -学習塾-

Ah, school, one of the many things we all have in common no matter where we are in the world. So for this post I am going to discuss some interesting things I have learned about Japanese schools.

First of all, in Japan, all schools require uniforms. These uniforms change slightly depending on the season. A nickname for the girls uniform is "Sailor Suit." These "Sailor Suits" are very popular and are often depicted in many Japanese cartoons. I have to say that I personally think they are much cuter then American uniforms. Also, in Japan, in Junior and High school teachers are the one who switch classrooms, not students. This means that each student is with his or her classmates all day. Teachers take their job very seriously and wear business attire to school.

Lunch time in a Japanese school is also very different then American schools. Students prepare, serve, and eat lunch right in their classrooms. Many students carry an Obentou(Japanese lunchbox おべんとう ) to school. Obentou's can be big or small and many come in fancy designs or with popular cartoon characters on them. Some people even get creative with how they decorate the food on the inside.

After lunch, teachers and students help to clean their classrooms. Students take pride in their rooms and always work hard to make sure they look nice. Once school is over many students participate in clubs. Clubs are a big part of Japanese school life. Schools offer many different types of clubs such as Kendo(traditional Japanese sword fighting けんど), home economics, handicraft, and various sports clubs. It would be hard to find a student who was not involved in at least one club.

Most High school students in Japan are college bound. Starting in High school, students will attend Juku(学習塾 Cram School). Juku is a college preparatory school held after school and on weekends. Students attend Juku to prepare for difficult college entrance exams. These exams are held once a year and if a student fails they must wait an entire year to take the exam again. This is why it is very important to pass the exam the first time.

The Japanese Cultural Festival(Bunkasai文化祭) is an event held by most schools in Japan from Junior high to Universities. Students use this day to display their everyday achievements. People who are looking to enter the school, families, and people wanting to know what is going on in the school come to see the atmosphere or school work their child has been doing. Also, many people come just for fun. Classrooms and gymnasiums are often transformed into temporary resturants and cafes. Some classrooms host dances, concerts and even plays. Volunteers, students, and various clubs work together to ensure that the festival is working properly. Another festival held by Japanese schools is the Sports festival which is held in the Autumn. This festival gives students a chance to show off their athletic abilities. Students will run relays, do tug-of-war, have an egg drop and preform dances they have been practicing all year.

たのしそ～

(If you have trouble viewing a picture try clicking on it, sometimes doing this makes them larger.Photos courtesy of my friends Tomomi and Azumi.)

Japanese Celebrations - 祝日-

Since the holiday season is just around the corner I thought I would discuss some Japanese celebrations in this post. Even thought they occur eairler in the year.

The Japanese Doll Festival or Girls Day (Hina Matsuri 雛祭り or Momo No Sekku もものせっく) is held on March third and is a celebrated to wish for growth and happiness for young girls. On this day families set up a display of dolls decorated with peach blossoms, rice cakes, and sweet white liquor called "sweet sake." According to Japanese legend, these dolls are believed to be guardian angels and must be put away the evening of March third or the family's daughter or daughters will not marry at the proper time.


Childrens Day or Boys Day (Kodomo No Hi こどもの日or Tango No Sekku たんごのせっく) is held on May fith and is celebrated to wish for growth of young boys and to rid oneself of bad luck. Althought this day is devoted to only boys, over time it has developed into a day celebrating children in general thus is also refered to as Children's Day. On this day a display of dolls is also set up but these dolls resemble warriors and heros. This display is decorated with rice dumplings and rice cakes. Also, outside a flag resembling Carp is flown. This flag is called Koi Nobori (こいのぼり). The Carp is a symbol of sucess in life because they have the strength to swim up waterfalls.


The Comming Of Age Day (Seijin No Hi 成人の日) in Japan is celebrated on the second Monday in January and is a day to celebrate all young people who turn twenty years old. In Japan, twenty is considered the beginning of young adulthood and is aslo the minimum legal age for drinking, voting, and smoking. On this day many Japanese males and females dress in traditional Japanese outfits and go to a Shrine to pray. This day is celebrated only once a year for the people who turned twenty since the previous year.

Women wear a traditional Kimono on the Comming Of Age Day but it is also tradition to wear a white wrap on this day also.

とてもすばらし！

(I added Hypertext links but unfortunatly they are the same color as my normal text so in order to view them you need to move your cursor over the text.)

Kimi Ga Yo -君が代-

Before I begin to explain modern Japan I want to explain a few more aspects of traditional Japanese culture. I picked Kabuki, Geisha and the Japanese Tea Ceremony because these three things are still very well known elements of Japanese culture.


Kabuki (歌舞伎) is a type of traditional Japanese theatre. Kabuki is best known for its drama style story lines and elaborate makeup worn by the preformers. In the beginning Kabuki preformers were women only but now Kabuki has changed and the preformers are only men. Men take the roles of both male and female characters in the play. Kabuki preformances are grouped into 3 categories, Jidai-mono (時代物) history plays, Sewa-mono (世話物) which are plays about townspeople and commoners, and Shosagoto (所作事) which are dance pieces. Unlike Western theatre where one would watch a play for a few hours, Kabuki plays are preformed in full-day programs. This gives one a day to devote to theatre and a feeling of "escape" from the real world. Today there are only a few Kabuki theatres left in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka.

Geisha(芸者) are traditional Japanese female entertainers. Geisha were usually hired for an evening by rich men. Geisha would pour drinks, dance and play the Shamishen(しゃみしぇん a traditional Japanese instrument) as a form of entertainment for the men.
A full-fledged Geisha is called a Geiko (芸子) and an apprentice Geisha is called a Maiko (舞子). Apprentence Geisha must complete 3 stages before becomming a true Geisha. The first stage is called Shikomi(しこみ), at this stage the Geisha take on the role of a maid. The second stage is called Minarai(みならい), at this stage the Geisha no longer has household chores but instead spends all of her time training in music and dance. The third stage is Maiko(舞子), at this stage the Maiko are "adopted" by a senior Geisha. The senior Geisha becomes the Maiko's mentor and takes the Maiko everywhere she goes. This stage can last for years but once the Maiko becomes a Geisha she will stay a Geisha until she retires. Geisha are always single women and must retire from the profession if they decide to marry.
Geisha are not prostitutes and are not to be confused with Oiran (花魁). This confusion occurs frequently espically among Westerners. This is because Oiran look like Geisha but do not function as Geisha do. A part of an Oiran's job is to have sexual relations with her clients. A true Geisha never has sex with her clients and a pristine repuation is her primary objective. The way to tell them apart is the difference in the way they wear their Obi. An Oiran's Obi is tied in the front where as the Geisha's Obi is tied in the back.
Today, Geisha are extremely rare. The only place to find a Geisha is in Kyoto. The decline of interest in traditional arts and the high price of being entertained by a Geisha are contributing factors in their declining numbers.


Chanoyu (茶の湯) is the traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony. Basically, the tea ceremony is preparation and serving of tea to guests, but it has evolved into a delicate art form. The host, male or female, must wear the Japanese traditional Kimono. Each utensil used in the ceremony is ritually cleaned in front of the guests in a precise order using prescribed motions. The utensils are placed in an exact order according to the particular style of tea-making being performed. When the cleaing of the utensils is complete the host will place a measured amount of green tea powder in a bowl adding hot water and stirring in a particular set of movements. The bowl of tea will either be shared by all the guest or each guest will recieve their own bowl depending on how the host wants the ceremony to go. Some ceremonies serve food. The entire ceremony can take hours depending on the number of guest, if food is served and what type of ceremony the host performs. One goes to a tea ceremony not just for tea but for the entire experience because the host puts on quite a show.


すごい！～