Theme: People

We're all people.

Most of the time, Japan seems like a foreign world, it is a society that works very differently than I am used to and the language is not Latin based. However, I need to keep in mind that the Japanese people are people. We are all people and we have more similarities than differences. The first place that this struck me was when I visited a look out point over the city of Morioka. My host mother explained to me that young couples usually come here together. It stuck me how similar this sounded to the western culture. Especially in the US. This could possibly be the result of the western world effecting Japan, however this time it didn’t feel like it. The area was old and look out points are natural. I think the common wish to date in all people and the romantic, remote location created this in both cultures. We go about it in different ways but we all cry during dramas, try to help others out when they’re lost, and gossip. No matter the goal or the result, we all make friend groups and hold the family as a significant social group in our lives. The picture above is of the lookout point.



A people embedded with history

The people here in Japan are the result of a web of history. The culture in the United States stems from historical events, but the “American” culture only began during the western settlement of the Americas. Here, recognizable Japanese culture is much longer. And this is not even a passive historical influence. Many times when my host parents, mostly my host father, is explaining something about Japanese culture he will refer to a time period that is far older than the United States. At the same time it is obvious to anyone studying Japan that the culture is still evolving and there are many modern components that originate both from foreign countries, like the United States or South Korea, and from the culture its self as it uses its new technology to solve old problems. The picture above was taken at a temple, looking outward toward the surrounding neighbhorhood. As you can see, there is little to separate the traditional gate from the surrounding modern city. When I walk around Morioka I am surprised at the sudden transitions from modernity to a more conservative or traditional style. For example next to a normal Japanese suburban house you may find a modern preschool, or a small temple or old-fashioned shop. Everything is very interwoven and I believe this is a result of the history that makes up the people here and is expressed in the surrounding city.