Tokyo 1964

Nearly fifty years ago Tokyo hosted the Olympic Games.

It was the first time that the Olympics were ever brought to Asia, a huge occasion. Japan was set to host the games in 1940, but had to resign because of the Japanese invasion of China and World War II. The man who lit the torch, Yoshinori Sakai, was born in Hiroshima the day that the first atomic bomb struck land. 

Ninety-three countries participated in the games, however, South Africa, Indonesia, and North Korea did not compete in the competition. At the time this was a very large amount of competitors.

Judo and women's volleyball were popular games in Japan and were introduced at the games. Japan won three gold medals in Judo and the Japanese Women's Volleyball team took home the gold, with the final match broadcasted live. These games were also the first to be telecast internationally without the need for tapes to be flown overseas as they were for the 1960 Olympics four years earlier. Soviet gymnast, Larisa Latynina, took home the record for most Olympic medals (eighteen) which stood the new record until Michael Phelps broke it in the 2012 London Olympic Games. The women's pentathlon was also introduced. 

Although Japan's foreign policy was closely linked to the United States during the Cold War, the city of Tokyo hosted the 1964 Summer Olympics in the spirit of peaceful engagement with the entire international community, including the Communist states. The goals were to demonstrate to the world that Japan had fully recovered from the war, had disavowed imperialism and militarism, welcomed high-caliber sports, and sought to engage the peoples of the world on a grassroots level. Sports were kept entirely separate from politics. The event proved a great success for the city and for Japan as a whole, with no untoward incidents. Japan's foreign-policy was expanded to include sports diplomacy as the nation sent teams to international competitions across the globe.

Japan later hosted two winter Olympic Games, one in Sapporo in 1972 and one in Nagano in 1998.  The 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo was significant because it was the first winter games to be hosted outside of Europe or North America. 

Japan is set to host the summer Olympic Games in 2020 once again, after beating out Istanbul and Madrid. There is much buzz about the opening ceremonies, costs, and layout of the next games.

OHAYOU TOKYO

おはよう東京
Ohayou Tokyo
Good morning, Tokyo!

Tokyo is home to about 8.946 million people and with 845 square miles, it gets a little cramped. Houses must be kept extra close together, some even a foot away from their neighbors.

This house (the one in the middle) uses innovative architecture that allows an appropriate space for living as well as a car port. You can see that the houses are really close together. The house also shows the car port and that sometimes a family or single person has to create their living spaces on just a small street corner. Having all of these cramped spaces makes Tokyo ideal for housing a lot of people. With each small home, the Japanese can live within the city and have enough room to live.

Sometimes it is ideal for some Japanese people to live outside the city and commute by train to work. The train works marvels. Tokyo Station has a hotel and shopping center as well as the train. With over three thousand trains clocking in each day, it is one of the busiest stations in Japan. As you can see,

 

It is an enormous station and at the time this picture was taken, very busy. 

Tokyo hosts several different areas to shop, experience culture, and dine. The city even—as crowded as it may be—has several parks and green areas. The imperial palace hosts several different parks and gardens. A lot of people in Tokyo will bike, walk, or jog around the palace as it creates a great track. Around the palace is an immense amount of greenery and gardens. 

Tokyo is also home to Tokyo Tower, a communication and observation tower. At 1,093 feet, it is the second tallest artificial structure in Japan. The tower was modeled off of the Eiffel Tower using the lattice architecture structure. Built in 1958, the tower's main sources of revenue are tourism and antenna leasing. Over 150 million people have visited the tower since its opening. The tower acts as a support structure for an antenna. 

The world's largest, busiest fish market has long been a favorite destination for tourists from all countries. It is common for many to go at 5 a.m. to catch the live tuna auctions. Before you go, however, be sure to check to see if public access is permitted that day. If so, it will be on a first-come, first-serve basis, and limited to 120 people, admitted in two shifts of 60. You'll still see fishmongers filleting the day's catch, but you won't have to dodge so many trucks and trolleys.

Winfrey

In Japan, first names are not used as frequently as in the United States or "the West." First names are used to call only those who you are extremely close to, for example, younger family members and very good friends. You would never call a superior by his first name. Last names and titles are used instead. 

For example: Winfrey instead of Oprah. 

If first and last names are given, the family name generally appears before the personal name. Japanese do not usually have middle names. 

Children are normally given their names by parents or other family members. Some considerations are made in selecting names, including birth order, matching the first and family names in meaning, sound and number of kanji character strokes, and birthdate. Perhaps more common, however, is the selection of names for their auspicious meanings and happy associations. 

Here is a list of some Japanese boy names

Akio 昭夫, 昭男, 昭雄 meaning 昭 [aki] (bright) + 夫 [o] (husband, man), 男 [o] (male) or 雄 [o] (hero, manly).

Akira 昭, 明, 亮 meaning 昭 (bright), 明 (bright) or 亮 (clear).

Aoi 葵, 碧 meaning 葵 (hollyhock, althea) or 碧 (blue).

Daisuke 大輔 meaning 大 [dai] (large, great) + 輔 [suke] (help).

Hayato 隼人 means隼 [haya] (falcon) + 人 [to] (person).

Hikaru 光, 輝 meaning 光 (light) or 輝 (radiance).

Kohaku 琥珀 meaning (amber).

Japanese don't have middle names. Many didn't have family names until 1870 when the government required Japanese to take them as part of reform efforts to catch up with the West. Many female Japanese have a given names that end in the suffix "ko," a diminutive expression that means "little" and is sort of like the "ito" suffix in Spanish. "Akiko" and "Yoko" are diminutive versions of the given names Aki and Yo.

 When Japanese write their names in Japanese they write their family name first and their given name second.  In contrast, Chinese and Koreans, usually write their family names first in their native language and in English. 

English names can be translated into Japanese. They would be written in katakana

For example

Grant

グラント

Guranto

Barton

バルトン

Baruton

The Temple of the Golden Pavilion

The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, or Kinkaku-ji (keen-kah-koo-jee) in Japanese, is a zen Buddhist temple that was founded in 1397 by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, in Kyoto, Japan. After Yoshimitsu's death, his son converted it into a zen temple, following his fathers wishes. During the Onin War, all of the buildings in the complex burned down except for the pavilion. Later in 1950, a novice monk burned down the temple. During the fire, the original statue of Yoshimitsu was lost in the flames, but has since been restored. 

The restored pavilion was built in 1955. The pavilion stands three stories tall and is said to be a near replica to the original. In 1984 the gold coating began to decay and restoration was completed three years later. Not only was the shell reconstructed, but the interior of the building, including paintings and the statue of Yoshimitsu were restored. In 2003, the roof was restored, finishing the reconstruction process. The name Kinkaku is derived from the gold leaf that the pavilion is covered in. Gold was a significant color on the pavilion because it was to lessen the severity towards negative thoughts and feelings towards death. With the focus on the Golden Pavilion, it creates an impression that stands out because of the sunlight reflecting and creates an excellent reflection on the pond that surrounds it. 

After seeing Kinkakuji from across the pond,

 you walk passed the head priest's former living quarters that are not open to the public. The path passes by Kinkakuji from behind then leads to the temple's gardens which are in their original state. 

The gardens hold a few other spots of interest including Anmintaku Pond that is said to never dry up, 

and statues that people throw coins at for luck.

Continuing through the garden takes you to the Sekkatei Teahouse and various gift and food stands. I personally recommend a nice green tea soft cream (ice cream). 

When I was in Japan, visiting the Kinkakuji temple and gardens was one of my favorite historical spots. The scenery is so beautiful and the gardens were stunning. It was amazing to think about how those gardens had been here for a little more than six hundred years. 

(All of the above images, except the first one, are from my travels)

Let's Go to Japan

Nihon ni ikimashou!!
(nee-ho-n nee ee-kee-mah-show)
Let's go to Japan!!

When I heard about my free trip to Japan through the Kizuna project, I got really excited. I am a firm believer that you should take ever single chance you can to travel. So, when you go to Japan you need to remember a few things. Obviously, remember your basic care products... please.

First, your passport! If you don't get a passport or don't have one... Sorry, you won't be allowed into Japan (or any foreign country for that matter).

Second, Japanese lifestyles are a lot different from American ones. It is customary to, upon meeting and greeting someone, bow as a sign of respect. The bow takes the place of the handshake in American society. Also, when walking into a store it is normal to hear about fifteen say "irashimase!" This basically means "Welcome to our store!" In response, bow and say konnichiwa and continue on with your shopping. Later in your shopping adventures in the same store, a clerk or a man stocking shelves may say it to you. Corporate men wear pink. Men in Japan wear pink and think nothing of it and have been doing so for a long time. Pink is usually reserved for dress shirts and ties but I have seen men's' workout clothes in pink too. Also, Japanese roads are very narrow and often packed, but it's uncommon to witness or hear about accidents on the road!!

NO SHOES ALLOWED inside. In Japanese homes, schools, and sometimes historical places will have what is called a genkan. A genkan is a lower landing of the front entry way to the house. Upon entering, one must take off their shoes and (without stepping on the genkan floor) step up onto a higher landing that is the first floor of the house. The Japanese do this because it wouldn't be clean to step into someone's house with dirt on their shoes.

In Japan there is an emperor. Japanese people don't talk about the Emperor or his family in public. Where Americans feel quite comfortable to rag on the President and his family, this is considered rude and taboo in Japan.

Vending machines are common on every street corner. They are very popular and convenient for anyone who needs their thirst quenched. People can buy sodas, iced teas, hot coffee, hot tea, sandwiches, Ramen, cigarettes, porn videos, beer, and hot chocolate in vending machines.

Obviously,  these aren't all the differences between cultures, but I will go into more detail about some unmentioned enigmas in other posts.

The Difference Between Anime and Anime

It would be pointless to go any further with this blog without first introducing correct pronunciations of Japanese "syllables." The Japanese language isn't hard to grasp and once you have the basics, you'll be able to say any word correctly. First, the vowels (A, I , U, E, O) are the same as the English vowels, but with a different diction and order.

"A" あ is said like the "aw" in thaw or saw. 

"I" い is said like the "ee" in seek or creep.

"U" う is said like the "ou" in coup or soup.

"E" え is said like the "e" in elephant or ever.

"O" お is said like it sounds. 

A Japanese word like karaoke, for example is not pronounced care-ee-oh-kee, but instead, caw-raw-oh-keh. Another misarticulated word is anime. It is not ah-nih-may, but aw-nee-meh. The consonants in Japanese are dictated just like the consonants in English. The only exceptions are N and J.

"N" ん is said like "unn" and is more of a sound instead of a syllable. It's similar to humming, but with an "n" instead of an "m."

The only time "J" is spoken is with "ji" じ or "gee."

Two consonants will never be together and are always separated by a vowel. "N" is the exception to this again and can be put next to other consonants. However, "N" is usually used at the end of the word to tie it off. For example, futon or foo-toe-n. 

Two vowels can be next to each other. It is just pronounced with the elongated vowel instead of the short one. 

Whenever a sentence or phrase in Japanese ends with "su" or す it isn't pronounced as Sue would be, but rather just a "ss" noise. For example, the "ss" in pass. 

There are four "alphabets" in the Japanese language: romaji, katakana, hiragana, and kanji. Romaji is used to translate Japanese words into English readings. For example, romaji would be written as ろまじ in Japanese, but spelled romaji to read in English. Romaji isn't used that often in Japan because Japanese people can obviously read the characters and don't need it. The next alphabet of characters  is katakana. Katakana is used for writing English words in Japanese. For example, ミルク for milk and in romaji, miruku. Katakana is popular amongst the Japanese when used in other Japanese words. Ramen noodles is a Japanese meal and is usually written in katakana as ラーメン. In katakana there will be a "bar character." When you see this, you elongate the previous "syllable." For example, raamen instead of ramen. Hiragana is the third alphabet of characters. These characters are seen everyday in Japanese arts, schools, and culture. Words written in hiragana are actual Japanese words, like おはようございます or ohayou gozaimasu for good morning. The final character alphabet is kanji. Kanji is seen everywhere in Japan. The characters were derived from Chinese characters and each character can be broken down into its hiragana parts and of course its romaji parts. 

For example:

To eat

Taberu

たべる

食べる

One kanji can have many different meanings. In order to discern which meaning is appropriate, context must be taken into count. There are thousands of different kanji characters, but none of them are necessarily used in everyday life. One hiragana character doesn't necessarily equal one kanji character. Many hiragana characters can equal one kanji character. Kanji is important because it provided the Japanese an easier and more efficient way of integrating and writing their language. 

This is the basic overview of the language and hopefully, when reading further blog posts, you can pronounce each of the Japanese words that I will be introducing to you correctly. 

About this Blog

こんにちは!
Hello!
My name is Grant and I am a junior in high school. I am sixteen and detail-oriented. I have four people in my family other than myself: my mom, dad, older brother, and younger brother. I also have a dog named Tucker. I am involved in band, show choir, speech, and drama. I like Japan.

In English, this introduction might sound weird, but this is something that you would say in Japan to introduce yourself. Japan has always interested me. My older brother, Josh, took the class in high school and I instantly became transfixed by the language and the characters that he could instantly spout out. I really wanted to learn all I could so in the summer before freshman year, I took a Japanese course at Coe College. There, we learned bits of the language and some pop culture. When I started high school, I knew that it would only enhance my craving for knowledge about Japan. In this blog I will, to the best of my ability, teach you tidbits about Japan. This will include, the language, culture, history, arts, phrases, and day to day life. Having been to Japan, I will tell you about my experiences in a Japanese home, school, and being on the street in Japan. I hope you enjoy my insight on Japan while reading.