Not a whole lot has been going on over the last few days, so here are some more varied thoughts about Japan.
- Light - I recall reading an article (or perhaps the start of a book) written in the early phases of Japanese modern/Westernisation, and the author was complaining about how electricity produces such glaring light that shows up everything, whereas Japanese aesthetics are based around shadows and subtlety. He theorised that had the Japanese people been left to their own devices, separate from Western innovation, they would have eventually discovered electricity but harnessed it in a fashion more to their liking. Not that there was any way of proving this. However, in my time here I have noticed that there is a lot of frosted glass about - perhaps they found a way to have subtle electric light after all?
- Colour - From shop signs and banners to neon lights and advertising pamphlets, a lot seems to be brightly coloured. Sometimes this boarders on garish, but it is rather refreshing to see a big city that is not resigned to becoming grey nothingness.
- Sound - Continuing on from the previous point, sometimes it seems like there is a genuine effort to maintain a link with nature. Sometimes this is a literal link, such as the many parks scattered about the city, but at other times there is a sort of abstract mental link as well. For example, on underground stations an unobtrusive recording of birdsong can be heard.
- School Uniforms - In England to see someone dressed in a Japanese school uniform generally indicates that person is interested in Japanese pop culture and dressing up, and in manga starring students the protagonists are usually drawn in such a way as to make their age ambiguous. Therefore seeing people in such uniforms over here who are just school children (emphasis on the children part) takes some getting used to.
- Slippers - In my dorm building we take off our shoes and wear slippers inside. When I first arrived going up stairs without them falling off seemed like an insurmountable feat. But now I do it with no problems at all - maybe I've developed a necessary skill, or maybe I've just started wearing smaller-sized slippers?
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| An impressive building of uncertain purpose |
