Reaction

Learning about Japanese culture has been a very interesting an eye-opening experience. What shapes Japanese culture is very unique, quite different when compared to American beliefs. The ie family system used in Japan was the topic I wanted to look at and compare the positives and negatives to American culture. Growing up in the US made it hard to wrap my head around the idea that one individual wants and desires where set aside to be able to accommodate the needs of the structure as a whole. The way the ie system is very different in how it focuses on continuity of a lineage and its associated business. This structure promotes the need to use ones family to uphold a business, especially with a male leader, has had a large impact on the culture. With only males being the head of the families, this essentially lead to only men being allowed to be in charge of businesses. Family and children were seen more as parts of a whole instead of individuals. This also lead to things such as arranged marriages since family’s wanted to strengthen their family and their business by becoming connected with families of the same class in that business. The marriages became more of a business deal, again less focused on the individual’s desire to marry and more on concentrating on strengthening the family as a whole. This concept of arranged marriages does not, for the most part, exist in the US. The family structure isn’t based on upholding the family name and business, but promoting each individual to follow their own aspirations. Since arranged marriages are still happening occasionally in Japan, it shows the ie system has not gone away completely. Though the ie system may be efficient way of business, it stifles individuals chances to find what they truly want to do and limits them to only the family business or to only be able to do things that will uphold the family name.

Do you think the focus on the whole over the individual is a bad thing?

Or is the focus on individual damaging the whole?

Hayao Miyazaki

                Hayao Miyazaki is an animator and director who were born in Tokyo in 1941. Some films that he directed and animated were Nausica, Spirited Away, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Totoro, and Princess Mononoke. He is internationally recognized and has won awards such as an Oscar for Spirited Away in 2002. After his release of Nausica, he co-founded Studio Ghibli, which is where he has been working for the past years. Something that is predominant in Miyazaki’s films is a female protagonist. This for a Japanese filmmaker would seem like an odd thing, considering Confucianism and the idea that women are “inside the house”. The films usually portray a young female heroine who doesn’t fit social norms. Miyazaki believes that the difference between a man with a gun and a woman with a gun is a “powerful thing”. A theme usually seen in his films were the struggle between nature and humanity. Animism is also shown through his films, giving a voice to many different objects and characters. A good example of this is when the main character in Spirited away ends up accidentally stepping on a 'soot sprite' who reforms, becomes annoyed, then goes back to work. This method of giving character to nature and people alike would lead to the next prominent theme in Miyazaki’s film, where the antagonists aren’t completely evil. They are either misunderstood or misguided. His films aren’t black or white, with definite good and evil, but all gray area where the antagonist usually learns from their previous errors (Bernard).

Notice the beautiful landscape

                His films are filled with beautiful landscapes and animation, and themes that “hymns the beauty and mystery of the natural world. Miyazaki believed that “before they are stuck in classrooms, kids should be outside messing around with fire, climbing trees and tying ropes… Experiencing the sort of outdoorsy, unstructured childhood Miyazaki’s own generation enjoyed”. Miyazaki feels strongly about nature, which explains why his films represent nature as a living feeling force. He says how he “was frustrated because nature – the mountains and rivers – was being destroyed in the name of economic progress”. Though Miyazaki hasn’t appointed a successor at Studio Ghibli, his son Goro directed a hit film Tales from Earthsea (Schilling).

Soot Sprites

                In an interview, Miyazaki revealed how he creates his films without a script. He would start working on a film before the story was completely finished. When asked about how he is able to arrive to a stories conclusion Miyazaki replies with “It’s not me who makes the film. The film makes itself and I have no choice but to follow”. When asked about how his stories tend to be very free and independent of logic, Miyazaki responded with “You can't make a film with logic. Or if you look at it differently, everybody can make a film with logic. But my way is to not use logic. I try to dig deep into the well of my subconscious”. His films are made for children with “a lot of devotion”, which appeals to the adult audience as well. He claims that “the single difference between films for children and films for adults is that in films for children, there is always the option to start again, to create a new beginning. In films for adults, there are no ways to change things. What happened, happened” (Mes).

Questions:

                How do Miyazaki’s themes relate to various Japanese beliefs?

                Do you believe it makes sense to not have a definite bad character within a film?

Bernard, Anna. "Hayao Miyazaki Themes." Outsider Japan. PB Works, 2010. Web. 17 Sept. 2012. <http://outsiderjapan.pbworks.com/w/page/29870735/Hayao%20Miyazaki%20Themes>.

Shilling, Mark. "An Audience with Miyazaki, Japan's Animation King." The Japan Times Online: News on Japan, Business News, Opinion, Sports, Entertainment and More. Japan Times, 04 Dec. 2008. Web. 17 

Sept. 2012. <http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/ff20081204r2.html>.

Mes, Tom. "Hayao Miyazaki." Midnight Eye Interview:. Midnight Eye, 7 Jan. 2002. Web. 17 Sept. 2012. <http://www.midnighteye.com/interviews/hayao-miyazaki/>.

Mount Fuji

Hi! I am Melanie Holl, and this is my first year at Gettysburg College. I plan on majoring in computer sciences along with double majoring or minoring in studio art. I enjoying drawing and playing video games, which I why I wish to pursue studio art and programming. My hometown is Coatesville, Pennsylvania. I took Japanese culture because Japan was something that always fascinated me and I wanted to learn more about it. I look forward to getting to discuss these topics with you.

The articles I want to discuss talks about the recent news on Mount Fuji and its chance of erupting in the near future.

http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/fuji/news/15563/Mt-Fuji-Volcano-Japan-increase-of-pressure-in-the-magma-chamber-as-a-sign-of-an-impending-eruption.html

To summarize, the article talks about the possibility of Mount Fuji erupting in the near future. It states how the magma chamber of Mount Fuji has increased dramatically recently, mostly due to tsunami plus a 6.4 earth quake within 4 days of each other in 2011. Mount Fuji only needs 0.1 megapascals of pressure to erupt, and it was calculated that the pressure has increased to 1.6 megapascals. But, as it goes into greater detail in the article, the form of obtaining the calculations could be “subject to very large errors.”  The calculations do not mean Mount Fuji will erupt, plus “other parameters such as seismicity and deformation currently don’t show signs of an impending eruption.” There was a similar scare in 2001 when a professor from Ryukyu University observed various signs pointing to an imminent eruption and predicted one within 3 years. But the main issue that people are worried about is that the last eruption in 1707 could have been triggered by an earthquake, or at least influenced by one. The estimated cost of damages Mount Fuji would cause if it erupted would be around 2 billion US dollars.

This article was actually not what I had intended on posting about, but it caught my interest more than I had believed it would. I cannot even imagine the idea of just a threat close by, and reading the article made me realize even more how dangerous Japan can be with it being located on a fault line. Volcanos and earthquakes are much more common place there than around here. Being at such stakes to nature seems very frightening, but it also shows why Japanese culture is so intertwined with nature for their society depends on natures balance. Earthquakes are a regular thing that they have learned to live with. But still, a strong earthquake could come by some day and cause destruction. There is that kind of uncertainty when it comes to nature, which I believe is incorporated into Japanese beliefs in a way.  Living near a time bomb of a volcano, just waiting for the next eruption would be hard. Here in Pennsylvania, the only earthquake we encounter barley shook a table, let alone could cause any injuries. We are not as nearly dependent on nature cooperating since it is not as much of a danger, but I believe it also leads us to be less in touch with nature. Instead we only get annoyed with the little inconveniences nature causes, like a rainy day or a bad storm. Though with modern days Japanese culture is getting out of touch with nature, I believe they will always be more in touch than American culture would ever be able to. If Mount Fuji were to erupt in the near future, Japan may take a while to recover. Also with such a high estimate of damage costs, hopefully if Mount Fuji is going to erupt soon Japan will be well prepared.

Can you imagine living somewhere so dangerous? And how would it affect your view of the world?