reaction paper #1

9/22/12

Reaction paper 1

            In the past four weeks I have gained a much more in-depth understanding of Japanese culture and how their traditions have affected their modern day culture. The first week of class we learned about transportation specifically the bullet train and how it is know for always being right on time and is major form of transportation for many Japanese people. We also learned about the geography of Japan the country is split into 8 regions and that the country has many different climate areas since it is such a long chain of island. The fact that there many different seasons plays a major role in Japan and they often have festivals celebrating a particular season, these festivals have been going on for many years and play a large part in the culture of Japan. The next week we talked about the House and family system, which play a large role in Japanese day-to-day life. The family system that was used by most Japanese family and was part of their law was the IE system which was a tradition from the samurai and Confucian ideology. The IE system gives all the power to the male of the household and it also has structure for family hierarchy in order to make sure that, the parents and older family members will have some one from the younger generation to take care of them which plays into the Confucian idea of filial piety which is major focus of the IE system. It also instills the idea that individual is not important compared to the family as a whole and that it is always important to put the family first. After studying the IE system it is very easy to see how this system has had a major cultural impact on Japanese society and many ties to this system can still be seen in Japan today. But understanding this traditional form of family and their relationship it was easier to understand certain Japanese cultural practices and how they fit into their society because of how the IE system affected Japanese society. Then this past week we have been talking about socialization and classification, but to more specific mostly about the idea of Uchi and Soto. Uchi and Soto mean inside and outside but it goes for beyond that it is the code of cultural relations in Japan. The idea of acting on way in public and another in the home, these two ideas are major factors in the cultural identity of Japan and how one must behave both at home and in public. It also instills the idea of home cleanliness and how the outside and inside most is separate. This idea started the practice of leaving one shoes at the door and having inside slippers in order to keep the dirt from outside from entering the clean home. After these last few weeks although we have only begun to scratch the surface of Japanese culture I really feel as though I am begging to gain a much better understanding of Japanese culture and where it came from and why certain cultural ideas exist there and are enforced. I am looking forward to the rest of the semester and really gaining a deep understanding of Japanese culture. 

sake to beer

Emmett Moore

9/17/12

Sake Brewers try their Hands at Beer.

In Fussa city, Tokyo there is a man named Taro Ishikawa and he is the president of Ishikawa Shuzo. He is a sake brewer first but has also become a well-known beer brewer as well. His company besides producing Tamajiman sake has also been producing Jibi ru(Japanese craft beer for 14 years now. But their history with beer goes back much farther starting actually in 1887 when the brewery created a German style pilsner but that was a short lived venture and production stopped in 1890. By 1998 though he thought to give another try, mainly due to new tax law changes in the mid 90’s allowed smaller breweries to obtain license, with these laws hundreds of new breweries opened all over Japan. Soon though many of these new microbreweries closed but Ishikawa Shuzo is one of over 200 that have remained open and he also says that 20% of that group also makes sake like him. He believes there is reason behind this and that reason is that sake brewers understand the technology and process of fermentation thus making the quality of their beer better as well.  He makes a European style beer with American malt and European hops but is has a lighter body to suit the taste style of the Japanese. They also create a richer version which they let ferment in the bottle for 3-5 years. Ishikawa Shuzo has two separate brew master that work for him one for the sake and the other for the beer in order to keep the process separate. At Kumazawa Shuzo in the Kanagawa prefecture the master brewer and his staff their actually spent two year in Germany with a German brew master in order to better understand the process. They said that making beer is much easier because it has fewer process then making sake, also that the most important thing is cleanliness during the brewing process. Mokichi Kumazawa went in the beer business in 1996 establishing Shonan Beer after discovering craft beer in the United States. They have three major brews. One of their beers has also won two medals at the world beer cup contest, which is quite the feat.

            While reading this article I noticed that the idea of small batch brewing comes into existence much latter then in America mostly due to tax laws but I also wonder if beer is as popular in Japan as in Europe or America or if the average Japanese individual would prefer sake to beer. I also find it interesting how these sake brewers are making the leap into beer although it makes sense dealing with the same idea of fermentation but in much different way then when making sake. It seems like a lot of this popularity came in the early 90’s and could this be involved with the westernization and the changing of certain laws and cultural practices in Japan.

Do you think westernization has led to increase in popularity of beer?

Would you ever identify beer with Japanese culture, do you see a connection with other cultures?

Do you see this trend of popularity increasing or decreasing and for what reasons?

Link: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fg20120914mj.html

show and tell #1

Emmett Moore

THE BOSOZOKU

The bosozoku are notorious collection of Japanese biker gangs and are well know for their modified bikes, flashy clothing, and unique hairstyles. But all of this was back in their heyday and it seems like this sub culture group maybe dieing out, since their membership is at all time low and many of their traditions have begun to fade. The Bosozoku first appeared in Japan in the early 1950’s right as japans automotive industry begun to expand. The reason for this group starting was a way for the young lower class Japanese class to be part of something bigger then themselves while still not joining the mainstream system. Almost all members of Bosozoku are under the legal age of 20 in Japan; often when they do come of age they will move on or in some cases join the yakuza. They reached their peak of power in the 80’s and 90’s and were most well known for their illegally modified bikes and their acts of hooliganism. Their numbers in recent years have fallen from 42,520 in 1982 to very low 9,064 in 2011, this was mostly due to new laws being passed in late 2004 which gave the police more powers in order to arrest large groups of these rowdy and rough bikers. The Bosozoku were most well known for their bikes and their customization that would do to them, these bikes were mix of many different styles and would often have certain stylistic attributes to represent the region of Japan they came from. This group became so infamous that they become featured in Japanese TV shows, movies and even anime. They were easy to recognize in these programs because of their distinct clothing choices and over the top hairstyles.  Why have the Bosozoku declined mainly due to the stricter police policies as well as the global recession have left these hooligans ill equipped to mange their once lavish lifestyle. The Bazooka of the modern day have left many of the old styles of doing things behind replacing motorbikes with scooters and their flashy clothes for my subtle style.

While reading this article, I could not but help but be reminded of our biker groups here in America, many of which still have strong followings today and how many of these groups are seen in the same light as the Bazooka in Japan or worse. But they still exist in large numbers here in America and I think interesting that this group might be declining in Japan and if there are more cultural reasons behind their decline. Another difference I see between American biker groups and their Japanese counter part is the age of the average member. In America the average is around 25, which is considerably older, then the Bosozoku. Another thing I noticed was that went very much out of their way to stick out and go against the system in country from my understanding views going along with the system as cultural value.

So here are a few questions to think about?

Is the reasoning why the Bosozoku are declining is due to what factor is just the changing time or are modern kids are not interested? What is your opinion?

Is the reason why American Biker groups are still large in America due to the fact the stepping outside of control bounds or rebelling is very close to the American idea of freedom and rebelling?

The final question I have is does it matter that semi-illegal sub culture group is declining should anyone care and could point to changes in attitude in the over all culture.

also here is a link to the article http://www.tofugu.com/2012/03/26/violent-japanese-biker-gangs-just-not-what-they-used-to-be-bosozoku/ 

Self introduction

My name is emmett moore and I am senior at Gettysburg where I major in sociology and have a minor in film studies . I am from Washington DC and I enjoy learning about Asian culture, especially their unique styles of movies. I have never been to japan but I would really like to go and explore this fascinating country first hand.