Blog 14

Ryosaikenbo are the social expectations of Japanese women; the term’s literal translation is “good wives and good mothers”, and this definition displays exactly what females in Japan are expected to do – raise a family.  This is a struggle for many modern Japanese women, who want to uphold traditional values but also want their own careers.

Zoto is the Japanese custom of gift-giving, which “covers all events in Japanese life and is used to express a variety of feelings”.  There are appropriate and expected gifts for every sort of situation, including birthdays, anniversaries, and career success.

Soshiki is the term for a Japanese funeral.  Most funerals in Japan today are Buddhist, with a Shinto background, although there are many variations for those who hold different religious ideals.  The basis of soshiki is that it “requires respect and honor for the souls of one’s ancestors”; in order to achieve this, many, many different rituals are used, including the Cleaning of the Deceased (matsugo nomizu).

Blog 13

1. I'm not sure that I found the scene that explains it well, although perhaps Kurokawa's decision to make Horikoshi work on an already completed project was an example?  Maybe also the point where Horikoshi is told that he will stay in Germany without really being asked what he wants.

2. When it comes to Sempai-Kohai relationships, the obvious example in The Wind Rises is the relationship between Kurokawa and Horikoshi.  As Horikoshi’s boss, Kurokawa has the right to order Horikoshi around, even “hazing” him slightly.  Because Horikoshi understand this relationship, he answers all of Kurokawa’s questions and orders with a simple “hai” (“yes sir”).

 

3. One of the major themes in The Wind Rises is the process of Japan trying to catch up with its Western counterparts in terms of technology and engineering, so this process of iitoko dori takes place throughout the film, as Horikoshi travels to Germany and speaks to an Italian designer to learn how to create something uniquely his own.

4. Your comparative analysis paper

① What are you going to compare and contrast?

Silence and ambiguity in social interactions in Japanese and American cultures.

②What Japanese key concepts are you going to use? 

Chinmoko, aimai, kenkyo, honne, tatemae

③Thesis statement---What are you going to prove by explaining #1 and #2.  

Although these two cultures have different ways of achieving it, both cultures are attempting to achieve a stronger sense of community: the Japanese use silence and ambiguity in the hopes of causing no one offense, while Americans speak their mind in the hopes of open opinions causing change to ineffective or offensive social rules.

④What is the writing format for your paper

MLA

Blog 12

Nemwashi is the idea of laying "groundwork" in business practice.  Business professionals have a pre-meeting of sorts, researching what the opinions of different members involved with decision making are - it is "groudwork laid unobtrusively in advance".

Sempai-kohai is about social hierarchies within different facets of Japanese life.  "Horizontal relationships are not the norm in Japanese society... and vertical hierarchies dominate".  These hierarchies can be based off of age, experience, and school grade.  Promotions in the Japanese workforce are often based off of age, rather than skill, with the thought that those who have been in a particular work area longer will naturally be better at the job.

Iitoko-dori is the process of adapting elements of foreign culture in order to benefit Japanese culture and lifestyles.  This process is the answer to the question, "why was Japan able to modernize more rapidly than other countries?", and goes back to Japan's Shinto roots.  Because Shintoism has "no absolute sense of values...this has enabled it to coexist with the other valve systems that have entered Japan from the outside".

Your kimono was beautiful!  I've wanted to wear one for a long time, though I had no idea that you were supposed to be flat-chested to wear one properly, or that you had to stuff a towel into it to wear yours properly.