Japanese Memories, Part 3

When reading these posts I wrote across the Pacific, be aware that was nearly five years ago.



Japan is an intensely emotional place. The people carry so many feelings around inside of themselves, and rarely let them show, especially to a stranger.



But their gentleness comes out in their art forms, and even in the workings of their infrastructure. The trains do not lurch about the tracks as in New York; if you have to stand, you barely need to brace yourself as the train pulls into or out of a station.



The gardens are breath-taking. I have visited this country in springtime and the beauty of the cherry blossoms could never be overstated. Even the phone booths are like little Pagodas -- so pretty.



It is a land of beautiful women. They move their hands with lyrical grace as they speak in soft, clear voices. None of which is meant to imply that Japanese women are docile or passive; they are not. Today's modern woman in Tokyo could be in New York or Los Angeles or London quite easily.

They are serious career women, educated, fashionable, worldly. What Westerners often mistake as subservience in fact is a certain refinement of sensibility that Americans -- men and women -- would be wise to emulate.



Japanese men are also very gentle and often very kind. Modern Japanese men can make great fathers -- rarely have I seen fathers so openly affectionate and loving as here in Japan. The one public display of affection that seems permissable is for a Dad to nuzzle, and kiss his little child on the train.

On my other trips, I perceived some of what I have written during this visit, but never in any depth, because I was working most of the time here, giving speeches, participating in conferences, touring factories,conducting interviews.

Also, now I am older, I think I see more. My eyes gather a different kind of information now. These may be the most gentle people on earth, and it is easy to love them.



Koenji KFC

Col. Sanders was out late last night. I think all of his likenesses have immigrated to Japan, where they like to hang out near the Drunk Raccoons and mechanical cats waving one paw.


window displays

No one knew where he came from, but a rogue monkey terrorized Tokyo a few years back. He broke into homes and stole food all over town, escaping every time across the rooftops before striking again. When he was finally captured, he was checked and found to be healthy. Just lost.

I didn't realize Japan had wild monkeys who live in the mountains far from Tokyo. There's not enough time during this visit to go to that distant place, but filmmakers have documented monkey families soaking in hot springs just like humans do.

There was a naughty monkey in the Akita Zoo. He would perch himself at the front of his cage and puff his cheeks out, looking cute. When an unsuspecting visitor drew close enough, perhaps to shoot a photo, he would splatter them with water he was holding in his mouth for just such an opportunity. Then he would clap his hands and screech with laughter at having tricked a human monkey.


little red truck

It's a gray, cool day here in Tokyo. Maybe I'll go out for a walk. The first day of the New Year is now night in the States. Here it is noon on the 2nd.



bamboo screen



I saw these two women on the train today coming back from a religious shrine I visited in Chiba. People in white uniforms bowed all along the way to the temple. They repeated over and over the phrase,"Congratulations on the New Year."

The faithful in this particular religion, which is related to both Shintoism and Buddhism, number nearly 900,000 in Japan. Today, people came both from Tokyo and from the countryside. The former wore the short skirts and boots and fancy hairdos of the fashionable; the latter wore simple clothes and often had rugged faces from working in the sun. Some of the country people actually stared at me, the only obvious gainjin who was present this afternoon, among thousands of Japanese pilgrims.

For the first time during this visit, I felt conspicuous. Since I do not share any religious belief, the best I could do was to bow politely to the faithful, but I could hardly pray, though I tried to a little bit. Many of the displays in the buildings I toured told the story of founder of this church, who passed away in the 1980s. There were the early implements he used as he carved his beliefs out of the earth. There was the simple, elegant rooms where he prayed and studied.

Inspired by his quest to find meaning in life, people gradually joined him, and together they built a magnificent garden, with waterfalls and blossuming trees, rock sculptures, and beautiful temples.

So this place I visited today, 1.5 hours from Koenji, truly felt like a spiritual place. It was so nice to see all of the people who were visiting the shrine, and how happy it made them to be there. This clearly is a compassionate religion, where the faithful devote themselves to try and be better people, kinder, and more forgiving of others.

***



Afterwards, I visited a place that is the polar opposite of the temple -- the largest store in Tokyo, filled with every consumer item imaginable.



It was WalMart on steroids, nine vast floors of consumer goods sold at discount prices. There were too many choices: I felt over-stimulated, and had to leave. I like the small shops with the mechanical cats in the window.