[Iris Marin]

So, I have this obsession with a brand called tokidoki which means sometimes in Japanese. Tokidoki is the brain child of Italian artist Sigmone Legno. The above picture comes from his Kaiju City line and it goes to show the influence Japanese popculture has throughout the world.

[Iris Marin]

I saw this recently after all the fires here in Southern California, and Japan came up unfortunately. For your knowledge...

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/Fire-UNESCO-Japanese-Shuri-Castle-564136661.html

[Iris Marin]

I have actually never seen a Godzilla movie in its entirety. Now I am thinking of maybe using it as my review movie just so I can be forced to see it in it's entirety.  In response to the PM lecture, I had never thought of these monster movies and destruction of Japan in movies as an outlet for the pain from the bombings. It was interesting to note that Professor William Tsuitsui reviews it as a co-existence of venting/healing  and enjoyment of the fantastical destruction in addition to hope and optimism woven throughout. I agree with this view. It was interesting to learn that the Godzilla movie maker was a pacifist and wanted to end nuclear testing/bombing and creation. 

 

In closing take aways: Japan's apocolyptic imagination remains realistic and continues to believe in the government/military ( very nationalistic ) . Japanese spirit is indominable.  There is not many people from WW2 left to remember the continued hauntings of painful period.  It is now used as black comedy.  However, it does serve as a social function : preparing us for the time it actually happens.

 

[Iris Marin]

idea 1: It is bittersweet that War has definitely helped the Japanese economy grow. Based on the graph shown in the lecture those spike during war are irrefutable. Once the economy had gone up people wanted to be able to spend so consumerism post was also an avenue of growth. 

idea 2: Some ideas that resonate with me on the Japanese Employment Practices: lifetime employment, seniority wages, unions. Stake holder vs share holder mindset. Taking care of employee. This reminded me of LAUSD salary schedule, CAL strs retirement , medical. But there is so many fine line rules that you need to abide by in order to reap full benefits. 

idea 3: Japanese believed in  " buy the first machine abroad, make the second machine at home." this type of thinking has helped the Japanese be comptetitive. Yet now they are having difficulty to be the leaders. So it seems they can replicate and catch up, but what now? Could this be because they don't like risks (country with highest insurance acquisition) and its low entreprenurship spot on the list?

[Iris Marin]

Sara, I thought this was very interesting as well. First, those are horrible hours, even for a man to work, and it made me think of the limited time he'll have to develop his relationships: with kids, wife. Second, I found it sad that a woman is unable to re-enter the workforce as a lifetime employee. Hence, they are unable reap the lifetime benefits such as retirement, medical. Further, if a woman does enter the lifetime employee system, they face harassment from their bosses. 

 

 

[Iris Marin]

It was very interesting to learn that Japan had set up a cash based economy that prevented people spending beyond their means. Further, incentives to save in order to invest and industrialize in the future . I thought this was a great idea. Unfortunately, this collapsed during the bubble. It was unfortunate to hear that now they are spending more like westerners have been setup to do.

Further, I didn't realize that 99% of their oil is exported and led me to question if Japan is working on any more sustainable ways to power or fuel their needs.

[Iris Marin]

If you havent visited the Korean Friendship Bell in San Pedro, CA it is a beautiful place and the story behind it is even more interesting. It was a gift from the Korean government to the US to mark the friendship and comradery. They ring it a couple times of the year. 

[Iris Marin]

Makeup Session 4

 

Korean Cultural Center 

The Korean Cultural Center is located on 5505 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA. It is a wonderful space with a Museum on the first floor with Korean artifacts and replicas of homes/rooms. They offer many cultural rich classes and activities. The following are some of the culturally enriching activities offered by the Center: Korean Language Program, Performing arts (KPOP academy), Seminar/workshops, Cinema/Entertainment (movie nights). They do offer field trips to students and they will cover the cost of transportation, you just need to email them. I am interested in learning Korean and participating in the Language program. It used to be free and now there is a fee for the 6-8 week courses. If you get a chance to participate in the week long Korean seminar, it is a wonderful experience.

 

[Iris Marin]

Makeup Session 3

Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens : Chinese and Japanese Gardens

 

I visited the Chinese and Japanese Gardens at the Huntington. Both are beautiful and as the tour guides explained, are accurate replicas of such structures and gardens in those respective countries. Chinese workers were flown out to help create all the statues and other artifacts in the Chinese garden. I believe this was also done for the Japanese Garden, in fact some pieces were actually created in Japan and shipped to the US. 

The Japanese Garden consists of The Japanese house, The Ceremonial Teahouse, The Bonsai Collection and Zen Court. The Japanese House has paneled doors to allow for the house to remain open so guests can enjoy the garden. The Ceremonial Teahouse serves as a demonstration of a traditional  tea house with a traditional tea house garden. There is a beautiful bridge which is now closed to pedestrians for safety reasons. THe Bonsai Garden is full of small Bonsai trees and my favorite section in the Japanese garden was the Zen court , with a sand rake garden. It was so calming just standing there and viewing the lines in the sand. 

I highly recommend this visit for individuals, families, and class groups. It’s a beautiful space for all ages

 

[Iris Marin]

Marcos I agree that these policies led to huge migration. I too was in awe how much women and children were a moving force in the economy. It is unfortunate how much women are viewed as second class citizens (including now) considering how much important work they do behind the scenes. In searching for the current empress, I read about the wife of an emperor not being allowed to attend her husband's enthroning (2017). Further, their daughter will not be able to "rule" because she is female.

[Iris Marin]

"The Japanese learned that there is no fairness in foreign affairs, it's all about power and strength"

This is true in all areas of history and it is most saddening. How nice it would be if we just adopted a network marketing type of relationship where you build your asset and help others build their wealth. However, that is never the case.  Someone always has to oppress or outdo another. Looking at the "Meiji Transformation" those in rural Japan always get the short end of the stick when all these changes occur (change in religion, schooling, taxes). Hence, the revolt. 

[Iris Marin]

I missed this PD. It reminded me much of Korean art and the use of animals and landscapes as symbolic of internal/external qualities. It is also interesting how they really try to balance everything out (yin-yang) . I too was unaware of the smaller religions. What I find interesting is the inclination to do more "Western" things. 

[Iris Marin]

I viewed a documentary that told the story of the Korean War. The interesting thing was that in order to beat Russia from gaining land in Korea The USA needed to setup a border right away. the president called the generals there ate the time which looked at a map and said, "Well how about the 37th parallel" and that is how the demarcation line was chosen. The Citizens where not asked nobody was consulted. The US knew they wantes seoul and the ports so they reached this agreement with Russia. and that is how The US stayed with S. Korea and Russia helped N. Korea. Many families where separated. This is the simplified version of what I remember. 

[Iris Marin]

My concern lies in the pollution of the water. What is being done in China to limit water pollution? I mean for a river to be so polluted that it catches on fire is alarming! Based on what we have been discussing in decreasing glaciers, what are the solutions for water access in the future? This made me think of it being an excellent opportunity for investors to own water companies because if access to water will be an issue, as we know it already is, you know people are already becoming  billionaires from holding the power to water access. Further, it leads me to think of 21st century learners and problem solvers that will be able to come up with a solution to this issue, which in turn can patent and make money or find a sponsor to be able to give these solutions to the needy. I just hope I will be able to afford water in the future.

Also, that polluted water is making it's way to us, so I have often wondered how much radiation I've intaken through the fish or simply by swimming the ocean. With time we will know.

[Iris Marin]

Yes, someone please enlighten me on this Oceania business. I have heard it thrown around, but I just thought it was a difference in how differrent continents referred to the world or the name at different points in time. Kind of like the naming of the sea point of view. I hate getting into all the name changes especially if you learn it one way then it gets changed suddenly, so you have to teach the new generation the new name. I can relate it to the alphabet in spanish where I learned a certain name for the v, w, y and recently the Real Academia Española has changed their names also, the ch, ll are no longer part of the alphabet but have been placed in the digraph category. Fun times!

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