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This column may be of interest to website visitors as it focuses on some
topics with culturally unique Japanese aspects that may provide useful
insights into the Japanese market.
Kindly send your feedback to:shiotani@sigma-international.net Thank you!
Text & photographs by Masato Shiotani (Sigma International)
- 17:Influence of the Western culture December 1st,
2009
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- In addition to the influence on food culture of Western brands such as
Mac and Coke, a wide variety of other Western influences are observable
in daily Japanese life. Relatively few Japanese people are strictly religious,
in the Western sense, in my opinion. This is observable from the mix of
holiday activities in Japan that are drawn from various religions and cultures.
One that is particularly noticeable at this time of year is the Christmas
illumination that decorates many Japanese homes. Also, in December, many
Japanese exchange gifts and enjoy large Christmas cakes that are usually
purchased at a local food shop or convenience store. Also, there are numerous
parties at which business colleagues or friends enjoy a variety of different
foods and drink. On New Year’s eve at midnight, many Japanese go to Buddhist
temples for a ceremony in which participants take turns ringing a huge
bell a total of 108 times. This ceremony signifies the cleansing of evil
spirits. At this time it is customary to eat “new year soba noodles” at
home. On the following New Years Day it customary to go to a Shinto Shrine
to clap hands to alert the local deity of one’s presence, to pray and make
a small donation. Afterward, Japanese enjoy Osechi Ryori, traditional Japanese
dishes that are prepared only at this time of year. Also, prior to the
New Year, Christmas decorations are replaced with traditional Japanese
New Year symbols such as pine branches and woven straw objects that are
placed at the front gate of the home or business entrance. This mix of
activities and customs all taking place from December through early January
each year may seem to suggest that Japanese are disorganized in terms of
religion. However, I think Japanese people just accept these practices
for the utility and enjoyment they provide rather than observing them in
a spiritual sense. In this sense, Japan may be a cultural melting pot.
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- 16:Oh My Dog-No.4 (Alliance) November 24th, 2009
Soon Cookie had been
asked to go to a training school to become a reasonably good dog! But he
did not listen to our advice or refused to do so for a long time. Finally
we forced him going to the training school every Sunday. However I have
to confess that our secret hope did not work or we just wasted the money.
He was as active as before enjoying playing with us at his own sweet will.
In addition he gradually gained his alliances in our neighborhood.
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- 15:Oh My Dog-No.3 (Friendship) November 20th,
2009
Rintaro was a kind
of sports-star-kid at school wining many medals of Karate tournaments,
however, soon after we had Cookie for him, we found out that Rintaro had
a bone disease named Kohler disease. Therefore he had to refrain from any hard physical activities let alone
Karate for one year. Under these circumstances, he and Cookie became very
close friends.
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- 14:Oh My Dog-No.2 (Illusion of Milo)/ November
11th, 2009
We were excited for having Cookie
with us and my wife went so far as purchasing a cage and a little funny
looking dog-sleeping-house. However, the initial happy period did not last
that long and the image implanted by the movie The Mask’s Jack Russell
Terrier, the smart and cute dog Milo, vanished completely. He was a monster
or even devil running around every corner of our house and gradually started
damaging our furniture one by one. In addition, we often found a little
pond in the house which we needed clean quickly. For a certain period,
I had to survive with a kind of emotional trauma shouting “Oh My Dog” constantly!
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- 13:Oh My Dog-No.1 (Unexpected Encounter)/ November 3rd, 2009
I was long not sure if I should write about my family’s pet story. However,
I thought that it would be rather shame not to since it’s so funny. This
is the story about the happy and terrible experience resulting in living
with two wild Jack Russell Terriers. The family made an easy decision to
keep them without having any experience keeping dogs at home, especially
in a relatively new house.
I had been constantly asked to consider keeping a dog in our family by
my wife and son. I actually had a vague image or dream watching a TV with
an almost human size dog sitting side by side, just like a Golden or Labrador
Retriever, gentle in their mind and could be slightly hairy. But my wife
and son were far away from that. They were considering a black Shiba Inu
dog (Japanese traditional own breed), short and little chunky one. So one
day we went to a pet shop but could not find the one we like so left the
message asking to call us when they got a good and nice one. Soon we had
a call from that pet shop and they were so excited driving down to that
shop. Of course we did not forget asking our son; “promise that you wake
up early in the morning to take him for a walk, feed him, give him a bath
and clean his xxxx, etc.” At the pet shop we all met with that black shiba
dog ok. However, our son, Rintaro was caught by a straight friendly look
by a brown Jack Russell, which actually charmed him strong enough to have
him change the mind. This was the beginning of a long story with our be-loved
doggy, Cookie, the nick name after his small cookie-sized brown hair mark
on his right leg.
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- 12: Enoshima Island/ October 17th, 2009
Today I will
you through a short tour of the Enoshima Island near Kamakura. The island
sticking out in the blue waters of Sagami Bay or Pacific Ocean connected
by the Benten Bridge. This is one of the famous tourist spots in the Shonan
area. They say the Island was created by the volcanic activities long time
ago when the Mt. Fuji erupted. From Tokyo there are a couple of ways to
get to Enoshima by train, one way is to take Odakyu private railway from
Shinjuku straight to Enoshima Sta. which will take about one hour fifteen
minutes, the others are taking Tokaido or Yokosuka line from Tokyo Sta.,
both require approx. an hour ride, getting off at Fujisawa sta. or Kamakura
sta. respectively and then take a local Enoden train to Enoshima Sta. The
view from the bridge connecting to the island commands a beautiful view
overseeing Izu peninsula and/or Mt. Fuji on your right and Miura peninsula
on your left if the weather is fine. After crossing the bridge you can
enjoy strolling through the narrow main street filled with souvenir shops
which leads up to Enoshima Shrine. In the Shrine, Benzaiten holding a lute
has been worshipped as the Fairy of Music by the artists, musicians and
many people. If tired, you may take a couple of escalators bringing you
to the top of the island. Reaching the shrine what you could do is to pray
for a good luck or purchase Omikuji (paper fortune), or Ema (a votive tablet),
and of course, you should not forget washing your hands before praying
to cleanse your spirits. On the top of the island, there are a lot to see;
a garden, a temple, the Enoshima Lighthouse, 119.6 meters observation tower,
where you could go up and enjoy a spectacular view of Shonan area and others.
In addition there are many sight-seeing restaurants viewing Ocean where
you could enjoy delicious Japanese dishes. Further going down, there is
a flat rocky stretch, Chigogafuchi, where you could play around. At the
end of Island, there is a cave named Oiwaya, some people say that it is
still connected to the Mt. Fuji in the underground and could feel the wind
coming from the Mt.Fuji.
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Enoshima Slide Show
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- 11:From Gramophone to i-Pod / October
10th, 2009
- Ｉｔ was the moment that I just stepped in the small gramophone shop named Umeya at Kanda Tokyo. I was just stunned by the sound and it filled in every part of my body gradually. I could not move for a whole and it completely overwhelmed me. That sound was generated by the old EMG Mk10b gramophone with a huge long horn playing the old jazz 78 rpm record of Coleman Hawkins. Since then I have been intrigued by this old wooden music box which creates incredible sound. Hi-Fi audio/visual is my hobby and in the past I used to have a quarrel with my wife. She complained why I needed so many speaker or amplifiers. Then I would respond to that “Yes my dear but it’s a part of my job ‘cause I am working for the record company.” Right after this desperate last-ditch answer, she often said, “Then, how come doesn’t your company pay for the cost?” I just remained silent after this and unable to continue the conversation with her. Well, I guess that audio/visual hobby sometimes may require having this kind of battle with the CFO at home.
Speaking of development of these music media devices, after these old 78
rpm records we, of course, had LP/EP records, Open-Reel and Cassette Tapes,
DAT, MD, and finally the CD was introduced by Sony/Phillips and then the
DVD-Audio/SACD followed. Definitely we were relieved from such a time-taking
maintenance jobs which needed for these old devices and obviously the sound
must have improved and at least so I had believed until I stepped in the
Umeya.
According to the statistics from RIAJ or Record Industry Association of
Japan, the music software market has been relentlessly declining year by
year in the last ten years. Even Japan was not an exception. It had started
falling down after culminating it’s the peak production figure at 6.07
billion dollars in 1998; believe it or not, it has been diminishing constantly
reaching far down to 2.96 billion dollars in 2008, which is less than the
half of the highest production year! They say that the reasons are two-folded;
the copying issue which coincides with an increment of PC penetration at
home and the downloading was becoming conspicuous, now the i-Pod is the
most common music playing device among young people. It certainly provides
a new style of audio entertainment but I am not sure if the young people
would really know that there is a different kind of sound with a great
deal of comfort.
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EMG Mk 10b at Umeya
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HMV 163 at home |
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Music Software Production: Source RIAJ
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- 10: Strolling on the Shichirigahama Beach/ October 02nd, 2009
One day I had
a late lunch with a friend of mine at the restaurant Rondino Inamuragasaki
and strolled about through the beach up to Enoshima. The sun was bright,
people looked happy and the wind was very smooth. Please enjoy the strolling
by pressing the button right, which will take you through the slide show:
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The last slide is taken by Mr.Jun Nishikubo, a friend of mine |
- 9: TV Broadcasting System in Japan/ September
28th, 2009
The Japanese government has been expediting a huge PR campaign to explore
digital broadcasting system which is scheduled to replace the current analog
TV system in July 2011. The countdown is going on and now it is less than
two years until the final termination day which is July 24th 2011. It is
imperative to replace the current non-digital TV with a new digital tuner
equipped system so as to watch this new high definition TV system. It is
also needed to alter the antenna from VHF to UHF as well. According to
the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the latest penetration
rate for households of digital TV relevant equipments was 60.7% as of March
2009. The new Hatoyama government decided to continue providing the purchase
inducing promotional campaign as Eco Points System for some designated
electric appliances. In general, besides cable TV system, Japanese TV system
can be divided into two; one is terrestrial and the other is satellite.
This satellite is also comprised of two; BS which stands for Broadcasting
Satellite and the other is CS as Communication Satellite. The BS is intended
for much wider range of audience including government broadcasting as NHK
and NHK Educational as well as major private stations such as NTV, TBS,
FUJI, ASAHI, and TV Tokyo. As for the CS, it is more narrow-segmented broadcasting
with a lot of TV shopping stations and other specialty channels. As far
as terrestrial is concerned, the analog and digital broadcastings are coexisting
at the moment. The content is almost same as BS as mentioned above, two
government controlled stations and five nation-wide network stations. In
some regional areas, small regional stations are operating based on a UHF
scheme. Anyway the government has been encouraging people to change their
TV set to a new digital TV system which has several premium points at the
expense of some investments, according to the MIC, 1) no ghost images 2)
Hi-definition TV with a wider screen of 16:9 and more higher resolution
as 1080 lines with a CD-quality-sound 3) a couple of programs through per
channel 4) Some other convenient features as subtitle caption, adjustable
speaking speed, and audio descriptions for the visually impaired 5) News
and weather report are available anytime and participation in competitions
and questionnaires via a phone line or Internet connection. See more
info at: http://www.soumu.go.jp/main_sosiki/joho_tsusin/whatsnew/digital-broad/index_en.html
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Flat LCD TV is becoming more common
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Sometimes HDD is attached to record the program or to see digital photos
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- 8: Hokokuji Temple/ September 24th, 2009
One of my favorite temples in Kamakura is Hokokuji Temple, or casually
called Bamboo Temple. At the back of the temple there is a breath-taking
beautiful bamboo garden where you can appreciate the beauty and the power
of 2,000 or more Moso-bamboos (the biggest species of bamboo) all year
round. This is actually one of Zen temple which belongs to Kenchoji Temple
of Rinzai Sect. It was originated by Tengan Eko in 1334 (the first year
of Kenmu-era) to commemorate Ashikaga Ietoki, grandfather of Takauji, first
of Ashikaga shoguns.
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 The Temple Gate |
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The Bamboo Garden |
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The Bamboo Garden |
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The View from Tea-House |
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- 7: Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine/ Spetember 21th, 2009
The largest and almost symbol of Kamakura is this shrine located on the centeral area of Kamakura city facing toward the Pacific Ocean. It was founded by Minamoto Yoriyoshi in 1063, and enlarged and moved to its current site in 1180 by Minamoto Yoritomo, the founder and first shogun of the Kamakura government. The shrine is dedicated to Hachiman, the patron god of the Minamoto family and of the samurai in general. The Torii Gate is guarded by the Japanese stone statue of dogs,known as "Komainu", the guardians inside the Shinto shrine. From the top of the Shrine
you could see three Torii Gates lining up to the Ocean. On the day I paid
a visit to the site, a traditional Japanese Shinto style wedding was going
on. Enlarging the picture you may recognize the bride and the bridegroom
standing in the hall in the middle of the picture. (See below left)
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Torii Gate
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Komainu's Close-up |
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Hachiman's Front View |
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Three Torii Gates |
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- 6: Who is the most handsome guy in Kamakura?/ September 20th,
2009
The answer is Kamakura Daibutsu, the Great Buddha Kamakura. The height
is 13.4 m and the weight is 121 tonnages. The seated Buddha, Amida Nyorai
known by the familiar name of the Kamakura Daibutsu is the principle deity
of Kotoku-in temple. It is a national treasure. Construction of the Daibutsu
began in 1252 and continued for approximately ten years. He attracts many
tourists from many parts of Japan as well as other parts of the world as
well. He has been sitting there for more than 777 years with the beautiful
smile.
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Explanation ForThe Construction |
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- 5: Odawarajo Castle/ September 19th, 2009
We took a 35 km bike ride to Odawara city from Shichirigahama visited Odawara
Castle on Saturday, September 19th. Odawara City, population approx. 200k,
80 km southwest of Tokyo, can be reached by a 1.5 hour train or 2 hour
drive from the capital. Surrounded by mountains of Hakone and Tanzawa on
the north and west, the city faces Sagami Bay on the south. A mountain
castle built by the Omori Family in the Muromachi Period (from 1338 to
1573) was a forerunner of Odawarajo. This donjon was rebuilt in the style
it had at the end of the Edo Period (1603 to 1867) based on a model made
around 1700 in the Edo Period. Inside the donjon are exhibits with historical
information materials. The top floor with latitude of 60m commands a good
view of Sagami Bay. There are many old castles in many parts of Japan.
Please refer to: http://shiro39.hp.infoseek.co.jp/index.html
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Samurai's Armor |
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- 4: Booming Pet Market / September 14, 2009
Even in our neighborhood many people strolling with their dogs can be observed
and the rising number of pets is very evident. According to Fujikeizai
(Chuo-ku, Tokyo), a highly reputable market research company in Japan,
despite the dropping consumer consumption trend, the pet-relevant-market
showed positive growth in 2008 up by 2.9% recording 3,981 oku yen or 4.28
billion US dollars. Moreover, they are predicting higher increments this
year by 4.5% and expecting to reach 4,159 oku yen or 4.47 billion US dollars.
In every corner of Japan, females are cuddling up to their dogs and enjoying
the everlasting chit-chat about their much loved pets with their friends.
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- 3: A Great Painter Kame-chan! / September 7, 2009
Kame-chan lives just a block away from my house and he used to run a design
office in central Tokyo. One day he run into the art exhibition of the
famous Japanese movie star, Yuzo Kayama, and saw a picture there. At an
instance he viewed the picture a wild idea struck him that he thought that
he could do much better painting job. He then took another bold step of
quitting his job and moving down to Kamakura to start his completely new
life there. He has a wife and two children, but he made up his mind and
they all moved down together. After coming to Shichiriga hama beach, an
outskirt of Kamakura, he has been painting picture everyday: Please visit
and enjoy his website to see more. http://tortoiseroom.cool.ne.jp/
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 Kame Chan |
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One of His Paintings (showing with consent) |
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- 2: Will Japan change? Entering a Period of Consequences?/ September
1, 2009
The latest lower house election which was held on August 30th in Japan
resulted in a landslide victory for the opposition to the long-ruling Liberal
Democratic Party, i.e., Democratic Party of Japan led by Yukio Hatoyama.
Now the DPJ stands firm in both lower and upper houses in the diet. Is
Japanese foreign diplomacy going to change more shifted toward East Asia
or becoming more independent from the United States? "The Era of Procrastination, of Half-Measures, of Soothing and Baffling
Expedients, of Delays, is Coming to its Close. In its Place We are Entering
a Period of Consequences. " Sir Winston Churchill, November 12, 1936
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Source: Asahi News Paper August 31, 2009 |
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Shonan is a region located south west of Tokyo which is very popular with Japanese people for the sunny beach resort area with a slightly upper-class image. During summer vacation a lot of tourists, surfers, and young couples visit this famous resort coast. Kamakura, one of the ancient tourist towns belongs to the Shonan area which is famous for many temples and shrines. Our office, Sigma, is located in Shichirigama which is on the Enoden private railway line between Kamakura and Fujisawa. On the beach there are many cafes which attract young people. Taro’s is one of these cafes located in Inamuragasaki run by Shige who has run this shop more than 30 years.
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 Shichirigahama Beach |
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Shige |
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Cookie (R) and Candy(L)
