[Kurt Hansen]

I really enjoyed the lecture on Japanese architecture. Tokyo is a vibrant place with many variations of architecture. I like how you can have an ultra modern building next to a drab 1970’s apartment complex and around the corner a paper and wooden family home. Japanese architecture, although varied, does have a standard vision, the simple, clean lines and  practicality of use. With the opening up of borders, there are always cultural exchanges. The borrowing of styles from China and Europe, with its intricate detail has its place, I guess, but the simplicity and detail of traditional Japanese architecture truly has an allure for me. I’m a big fan of simplicity. It was interesting to understand how the simplicity and Zen fit together to create spaces of calm and serenity. I have a window off my bedroom and I’ve always enjoyed the view. The view is of the plants in my yard with glimpses of flowers. What I didn’t realize was that I was borrowing the view of the mountains in the background. 

 

[Kurt Hansen]

Lost Names:

Names have been lost all over the world. I never knew of the renaming process in Korea under Japan’s occupation. Colonization has caused  a large amount of the world’s population to change surnames. The Spanish were the leaders in sea exploration. They had a wide reach.Countries in South America and the Philippines all have Spanish surnames. I have to admit, I don’t know what true Phillipino surnames were before the Spanish. In South America and Mexico the only non-Spanish surnames come from the Yucatan Peninsula and interestingly enough, the most common native name is Chan. (No connection to the Chinese). Another group that lost their names are the Africans sent to America as slaves. For centuries one way of showing dominance over another is taking away their name and with that, taking away their identity. I think that the fact that Koreans stayed in their homeland and the Japanese were soon booted out of Korea, they were able to keep hold of their culture and get back their names and identities back.

 

[Kurt Hansen]

What I like about this article is "Barbarians". Everyone is a barbarian based upon their point of view and culture. The Chinese call the Europeans barbarians for their foul ways, their hoisting of Opium upon the residents and their effort to subvert the Chinese culture. Europeans considered the Chinese barbarians due to their “primitive” culture and “uncivilized” ways. The Chinese had little choice but to open their ports to the strongly superior European warships, but these placards proved that not all Chinese agreed and that they would do everything in their power, down to the last stone, to stop them. I think the Chinese had the better claim. Europeans countries were young compared to the Chinese. Like America seemed more barbaric than the Europeans, the Europeans appeared more barbaric than the Chinese. Barbarian is also an incendiary word which is used repeatedly in the placards to ignite an aggressive response to the Europeans taking over the 5 ports and manipulating foreign trade. One question, Was it helpful? Did it keep the Europeans out of the city? I guess that's two questions.

 

[Kurt Hansen]

I really enjoyed Cranes. Most of our reading is straight out historical. This story shows us the history by taking us on a path with two boys. We're well versed on the situation, but this story makes it personal. Two boys, same village, same farming background and different paths leading to the moment they meet up again as foes. until the moment they, once again return to being the boys they were. This story sure feels like the story of two Korea's veering onto different paths and coming together to, at least, an understanding of each other. I appreciate the imagery of the Crane surviving and them watching it fly off into the blue. 

[Kurt Hansen]

I found this story interesting. Dr. Lee is never going to be my best friend, but his sense of survival is “Adapt or die”. We often hear stories of people leading rebellion against their captors, dying bravely in battle or fighting a guerrilla war against the occupiers. This story is about a man who reads a situation and tries to find a way to live through it. No hero stuff here. Even in his personal life, he gives into the situations with his children or his wife dying. He’s a rule follower, no matter who is making the rules. If put into a tough, unknown situation, he will read the propaganda text and find a way to use it. When he spots something that may help his situation, he will file it away until it’s time to use it. Obviously, his skill as a doctor helped him through these tough times, but his chameleon-like skill at adaptation is what saves his neck many, many times.

[Kurt Hansen]

Everything built here is bigger, cars, apartments, stores, streets. Placeslike Tokyo have been adapting to this population build up for a very long time. I spent time in somewhat rural Japan and the houses are comparable to American houses. They have large rooms and nice roomy living spaces. When you get into the cities or even the suburbs things shrink exponentially. In the US, especially us here in the west, are used to large spaces. The roommate idea comes from this. A one bedroom apartment in Sherman Oaks is probably $2,500.00 a two bedroom is probably $3,500 to $4,000. You're right. Roommates are a necessity. Japan, while expensive, everything is scaled much smaller. There is no option for roommates because the apartments are so small. They do, however fit  a lot more apartments in the same size building. I lived in a hotel in Japan for 2 years and my room was probably 7x9. Bed, side table, shower and sink. I didn't think I'd ever adjust, but I did. Costs are high in both countries, but there is something simple and Zen-like in a 7x9 room with only yourself for company. 

[Kurt Hansen]

I just now saw this post. It makes me excited to see female candidates winning elections in Japan. I actually feel great when female candidates win here in America as well.  I was raised by a single mom from the age of 9 and I've always felt that women needed a greater say in government. In my house, mom ran it and she ran it well. Fast forward 20-something years and I work in Japan for 2 years in the early 90s. I look around and I see women having less say so in government than even in the United States. Even in their daily lives, they are treated as secondary citizens.  We've seen article after article about lack of women's rights, lack of immigrant's rights and a lack of modern thought going into the governmental agenda. It's time to dial down the patriarchal society and for women to have a stronger presence in government and a chance to move the agenda in a more productive and modern way.

[Kurt Hansen]

I also found Professor Katada's point about the reasons behind the role of women in Japanese society. Everything she said makes perfect sense for the 1940's. The idea that this mind set still exists, that women are only in the workplace until it's time for them to have children is ridiculous. Women can work their asses off to get into college, just to take the rest of their lives off to raise children. It seems like such a waste of talent and brain drain to let half the population go home and have children. Raising kids is great. I've raised a couple of my own, but its time for Japan to join the 21st century and treat educated, working women with the same rules as men and maybe free the men up as well.

[Kurt Hansen]

Anti-nuke is woven into Japanese culture. Absolutely due to the atomic bombs on Hiroshima nad Nagasaki, maybe, reinforced by Godzilla and the destruction of Tokyo, I watched Godzilla when I was a young kid. It was one of my older brother's favorite movies. When I lived in Japan, I rented the original from a store in Sasebo. I actually liked the Japanese version better, sans Raymond Burr. I think the message is better received in its original incarnation. It's not just a freaky monster movie. Its definately an anti-nuke anthem. When I was in Japan I went to the Nagasaki Peace Park. I got to see the Cranes draped over the statues in memory of the casualties of the atomic bomb. Kids on school trips actually asked for signatures for anti-nuclear petitions. Tokyo may have been destroyed by Godzilla and rebuilt in every film, but Nagasaki was completely destroyed by an atomic bomb and it's effect has lingered for generations through a seemingly simple, freaky monster movie.

[Kurt Hansen]

Its too easy to talk about WWII Japan. What I find interesting is how quickly Japan studied and implemented Western ways. For a country so steeped in tradion, it moved relatively quickly to take on wester wear, technology and ideas. I'm sure many Japanese found this transition distasteful, but it allowed Japan to move up the "Asian Food Chain" and become the technological, martial and modern leader of all it's asian neighbors. Once Japan realized how sophisticated western ways were, they did everything in their power to discover them and use them for their own benefit. We think of Japan as a country rising from the ashes of WWII, but in reality they had always been trying to compete with America and Europe. Once Japan became a world power pre-WWII, they felt the need to protect themselves in the worst way possible: The invasion of China and Korea. I try to think of what Japan would be today without the devistation of WWII or the missteps into Korea and China. What would the level of Japanese technology be today without the poor leadership that led them to WWII? What new innovation could have been created if their young men had remained in college instead of killing themselves in their Zeros? One huge fauxpaux that led to the devastation of a country. 

[Kurt Hansen]

Hong Kong protets are a tough situation for China. These protests go way beyond extradition. They force China to make a decision it does not want to make. How do you allow Hong Kong to maintain its limited independence when other chinese people are forced to live under the strict rules of Chinese leadership? China needs Hong Kong to boost its economic standing, but cannot abide it's protests. We talked in class about Manchuria easily joining China's rule because it had been ruled without Democratic rights. Hong Kong, tasting that Democratic freedom for the decades it existed has no desire to have those rights curtailed by China's current leadership. Perhaps a compromise would be similar to Taiwan should be in the works. "Yes, it's ours, independent...yet not"

[Kurt Hansen]

As I did my research for our classroom acting debut, I was fascinated by Qiu Jin. Ahead of her time is an understatement. From talking her parents into not binding her feet and studying martial arts to deciding to leave her husband and children to lead the life of a dissident and revolutionary. People who sacrifice everything to fight against an oppressor or foreign invader have always intrigued me. I read a lot about Che Guevarra when I was younger, and I find that Qiu Jin has that same passion that he had, to right things they felt were wrong. Their methods and ideologies may not be the best formula for success, but their passion was admirable. Che founded Cuba with Fidel Castro but went back to the jungles of Bolivia, there to be killed by militia. Qiu JIn, beheaded by the Manchus, teaching future generations of dissidents. Short life span, long remembered.

[Kurt Hansen]

Conquering enemies use many different ways to bring conquered countries in line. Sometimes its prisons, work camps or death and sometimes it’s as simple as changing their hairstyles or giving them names that fit the new regime. Putting an enemy in prison creates a web of enemies, friends, families and extended relatives. It also creates martyrdom for the imprisoned. Something as simple as forcing people to wear a certain hairstyle as the Manchu did or changing family names, as the Japanese did, create a slow submission to the conqueror. In the story, Lost Names, they are punished for using old names and the habits created end up being hard to disassemble. As time passes and generations move on these changes can create the desired effect of assimilation until the original name and nationality is something out of history and a vague memory. The problem is that it doesn't seem to work. Nationalism and familialism run deep. The Manchus reigned for over 200 years yet Chinese nationalism in one form or another won out. The colonization of Korea by Japan lasted a mere 35 years and even though it is divided, it built itself up and created a world economic power and kept its strong national ties to its long heritage.

[Kurt Hansen]

Unfortunately its not hard to believe that 2.7 million people have no voice in the governing of Japan. Faced with an aging population and the problems that come with that, the government has no plan for immigration reform. I didn't know that they also clung to the idea that any non-japanese person wasn't allowed to vote. These are 2.7 million people who aren't represented by their government and have limited ways to have their views even brought up. Its brilliant that these women are standing up and trying to at least open communication that this probelem exists and foster a debate about it. Maybe it's time for the American educated Empress to start advocating, for these women and the 2.7 million others who cannot speak for themselves.

[Kurt Hansen]

Hi, Kurt Hansen Here. I've been a sub teacher for LAUSD on and off for 18 years. I just got hired as a Special Education, RSP teacher at Sepulveda Middle School. I was referred to Asian studies by a fellow teacher who knows me really well and my interest in Asian culture. I spent two years in Japan and have a Japanese ex-wife and two amazing happa daughters. I'm looking forward to increasing my knowledge of Japan and learning new information about China and the Koreas. The salary points, multi-cultural credit and stipend got me here, but the presentation and info is going to keep me coming back for more.

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