少子高齢社会

I'm glad to have got that Kabuki business out of the way. I'm glad I went to watch it, and I'm glad I wrote up my opinions and impressions properly, but the entry was fast becoming one of those things you put off more and more until just looking at it is enough to make you want to give up. One of the casualties of this situation is that the next few entries will be written with the use of notes and hazy memories rather than fresh impressions. Never mind.

To give a general summary of the week starting Monday the 21st, much of it was spent studying a phenomenon called Shoushikoureika. I can best explain this by explaining how it's spelled: 少(few), 子(children), 高(high), 齢(age) and 化 (change). In other words Japan is currently experiencing higher life expectancy, not a problem in itself, but quite tricky when combined with the low birth rate, all adding up to insufficient strapping young population to take care of those in their twilight years.

To be completly honest I can't remember too many of the details of these lessons, for I was cultivating the faculty of sleeping in for a little bit too long, hurridley doing some of the work due before leaving the house, then making lots of comments during class in the hopes of creating the impression that I knew what was going on. I do at least remember that the problem has to do with the "Baby Boom" to repopulate Japan after the war on one end, and social change meaning more women tend to work rather than be housewives and younger people in general tend to sort out their careers and not get married and have children until a bit later in life.

A few words on my non-Japanese classes. Classical Japanese is going quite well; I'm actually learning new things this term, though I usually forget them in between lessons and have to do a frantic little bit of revision just before going in. In Japanese Religions we're making a kind of erratic progress as the teacher in charge seems to have a lot going on and often cancels lessons. As for Japanese Culture & Art, one of the most interesting lectures recently has been on Geisha culture in the Meiji period, where many of them became super-politically-active, many in an espionage-type way. It's a subject that I've docketed in my mind to learn more about sometime.

Japanese Snacks Vol. 11 - Reduced sushi again, though this variety pack is a bit more expensive. At first I wasn't sure about the small round red/orange things or the shredded-looking yellow stuff, but they're both actually quite good.