Category Archives: japan & asia

Cherry blossom time in Japan

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Sakura in Tokyo byJames T. Kirk on Vimeo.

No doubt about it, the springtime blooming of sakura, or cherry blossoms, in Japan is one reason the country is special. The Japanese treat the season with wonder, with weather forecasts about the optimal blooming days and following the cherry blossoms from the warmer southern climate all the way up to Hokkaido, the northernmost island, where the sakura bloom late.

The Japanese even have a name for cherry-blossom viewing parties and picnics, “hanami,” when entire families might sit under the falling flowers to enjoy the fleeting beauty of nature. In this video, some of the parks packed with hanami-enjoying folks look like the crowds on a typical August day at Coney Island beach in New York City.

I had to share this video, created by someone calling himself “James T Kirk” on Vimeo. It was posted by Alexandre Gervais, a Japanophile who seems to find lots of cool videos of Japan and shoots some nice photos. I’ve added him to my list of websites that cover Japan….

Google runs into Japan’s historical prejudice over burakumin

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Google ran into trouble in japan over the use of historical maps of Tokyo that showed areas where burakumin, or the lowest caste, used to live.

Poor Google. They’re in a tough spot this time. The Internet giant has hit some cultural snags in Japan before, over how it rolled out its products in the Land of the Rising Sun. This time, they’re in trouble because Google used publicly available historical maps of Tokyo and Osaka in an overlay for its popular (and amazing) Google Earth program.

The problem is, the maps showed the locations of former villages where the “burakumin” used to live in feudal times. The locations have long since been developed with the concrete, steel and glass of modern Tokyo, but the antique map has dredged up centuries and shame, and a fresh spate of anger from the descendants of burakumin as well as government officials who’d just as soon forget that such prejudice ever existed — and apparently still exists.
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A pronunciation guide for Japanese words including “panko,” “udon,” “sake,” “anime” and “karaoke”

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WendyWhile we’re on the topic of pronunciation, I’ve been meaning to write this for a while, since Wendy’s began airing TV commercials for their new Premium Fish Fillet Sandwich. The commercials seem to have stopped, but the sandwich is still available at select locations across the country.

The commercial got Erin, our son Jared and me all riled up every time I saw it because it mispronounced “panko” whenever it was mentioned. Panko is the traditional Japanese breadcrumb coating for fried food, and it’s become something of a hip ingredient in American restaurants and kitchens. So it’s cool that Japanese food (starting with sushi a couple of decades ago) are catching on in the US and becoming mainstream.

However, it irritates me that so many Americans, including the guy on the TV commercial, pronounce the word as “PAN-koe,” like “pants.” The Japanese pronunciation is “pahn-KOH,” with the first part more like “pawn” — almost like “punk” — and the second like Homer Simpson’s “DOH!”

Here’s a caveat about this rant of mine: Language evolves, and as cultures merge and are assimilated, words and pronunciation patterns change and are re-invented. I’m sure the British still think Americans are buffoons for mangling their language, mispronouncing words and using “incorrect” words like “trunk” for a car’s “boot” or hood for a car’s “bonnet.”

I’m the first to admit that I don’t follow my own rules about Japanese words for other languages. I don’t walk into a Taco Bell and order a “bu-RRRIT-toh.” I don’t order a “kwassahn” at the bakery when I want a croissant. I say “kraw-sahnt.”

Servers at Thai restaurants snicker when I ask if I pronounced “yum nue” (spicy cold beef salad, truly yummy) correctly. Vietnamese servers guffaw out loud when I ask if I’ve said “bun dac biet” (combination grilled meat over rice noodles) right. Amazingly, I always think I’ve nailed it, but the guffaws come anyway.

And by the way, when you go to the Vietnamese restaurant for a bowl of “pho” noodle, it’s NOT pronounced “foe” or even “fuh.” A server explained to us that you have to add a slight upward lilt to the end of the word, as if you’re asking a question. So it’s, “Hi, can I have a medium bowl of fuh?”

Erin and I may not get it exactly right, but the point is, we’re aware of our inadequacy at pronouncing other languages, and we always try to learn and say it correctly.

On the other hand, let’s face it, people in other countries aren’t any better at pronouncing English, so turnabout is fair play, right?
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Texas lawmaker thinks Asians should change their names so Americans could “deal with them”

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Texas lawmaker Betty Brown suggested Asians should change their names so American could "deal with them" more easily.Oh, the wisdom of lawmakers. Especially in Texas. Texas state representative Betty Brown (R-Terrell, in North Texas) caused a ruckus on Tuesday by saying, during testimony about voter ID legislation, that Asians would have an easier time of getting along if they simply changed their names.

“Rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese — I understand it’s a rather difficult language — do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?”

She also told a representative of the Organization of Chinese Americans who was there to testify, “Can’t you see that this is something that would make it a lot easier for you and the people who are poll workers if you could adopt a name just for identification purposes that’s easier for Americans to deal with?”

Now Texas Dems are demanding an apology for “her disrespectful remarks,” and state Republicans are accusing the Democrats of making too much of the statements and using race to make voting IDs a partisan issue.

I don’t think Brown is a racist — at least, I hope not. But I think that she spoke without thinking, and her true feelings about Asians’ names came out.
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“The Japanese example” is not suicide

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Woodblock illustration of hara kiri, or the ritual suicide practiced in feudal Japan.The furor over bonuses given by AIG to employees after taking more than $170 billion in bailout money from the U.S. government is made all the more furious because of the sheer breathtaking scale of the cash flow. AIG paid 73 staffers more than $1 million, with one getting $6.4 and seven more getting $4.

Those amounts seem so out of kilter with the state of the economy, and the fact that just months ago, the giant company was about to crash without a hand up from the government — from us — that it’s not surprising that citizens as well as lawmakers are screaming bloody murder.

But one lawmaker is screaming bloody suicide.

The Washington Post (among other media) reported that Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) wanted AIG execs to commit hara kiri, or seppuku — the traditional Japanese ritual suicide often depicted as an honorable course of action from samurai times.

Sen. Charles Grassley suggested in an Iowa City radio interview on Monday that AIG executives should take a Japanese approach toward accepting responsibility by resigning or killing themselves.

“Obviously, maybe they ought to be removed,” the Iowa Republican said. “But I would suggest the first thing that would make me feel a little bit better toward them if they’d follow the Japanese example and come before the American people and take that deep bow and say, I’m sorry, and then either do one of two things: resign or go commit suicide.”

Grassley spokesman Casey Mills said the senator wasn’t calling for AIG executives to kill themselves, but said those who accept tax dollars and spend them on travel and bonuses do so irresponsibly.

When I first heard about this, my jaw clenched but I let it pass. Seppuku was a historical reality for centuries, after all, and it’s depicted in lots of Japanese pop culture, including movies and books. It’s been documented as a reflection of one of Japan’s driving cultural values, shame.
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