Final impressions - Great Japanese Graphic design

For my final post for this blog, I would like to introduce one of my favorite and most lasting impressions of Japan. Japanese graphic design. As and experienced graphic designer, I immediately noticed that Japanese Graphic design is unique, clever, and often very well done. The Japanese traditional and pop cultures allow for designs that would never be possible in the west, many of these designs are truly innovative and charming. One interesting and common Japanese motif is using cuteness to help convey a message, or diffuse tension. This is especially effective when the content is sensitive and is good in sending out helpful reminders, while keeping every one's feelings from getting hurt.

For those with further interest, In the coming weeks I will organize and upload my full collection to my Flickr page.

Some of my favorites:

The sign reads, "construction ahead." (and therefore road closed) Road closures are a nuisance, but a great big photo of a cute puppy really softens the blow.


A poster about bad manners on the train. Don't be like the rude monkey! The message is strong, but the cuteness helps keep everyone from getting too offended.


(look close:) The barber shop's sign has three barber poles running with scissors. Your grandmother may have told you never to run with scissors, but in this case it really helps lend a feeling that your haircut will be speedy and efficient.

An old sign on an abandoned building. Probably designed in the 70's. The red circle shaped emblem is reminiscent of Japanese seals, and to a lesser degree, family crests.

Graphic design not only uses cuteness, but is also not afraid to use fear to get its message across.

Another poster of manners at the train station. The classy calligraphy reminds customers that manners is a matter of "heart."
One of my personal favorites: Murasaki shikibu would love to sell you a frying pan or appliance. (This is located in Uji city in Kyoto. Uji is known not only for it's tea but also for being the setting for the final 9 chapters of Murasaki Shikibu's heian period novel "The Tale of Genji.")

The Japanese Version - Products that show sterotypes

This is how Americans enjoy their coffee, lying on the hood of a convertible.
This clearly shows a highly iconic stereotype of American culture.
Many people in Japan were shocked to find out that I (an American) preferred tea to coffee.

Many "foreign" products often reveal stereotypes of the cultures they came from.

A "French" salon.

This free tour bus in Asakusa (Tokyo) features winking eyes, and a cheerful bus driver who loves to take foreign guests around. If you look carefully you can see he is wearing a "Ninja" headband, which is actually from a Naruto (comic/manga) anime cosplay outfit. His enthusiasm and friendly attitude are wonderful, but I can't help but think that he is only serving to deepen bizarre, if not charming, stereotypes that foreigners have towards Japan.

Religon In Japan - Shintoism and Liminality*.

Shintoism and Japanese culture is very concerned with the borders between things, in and out, uchi and soto, honne and tatemae, and most of all pure and unclean. Therefore things that lie on the threshold, things that are in grey areas or other forms of transition are very threatening in the Shinto mindset.

Mekari Jinja is located on the northernmost part of Kyushu and marks the narrow boundary between the islands of Kyushu and Honshu.　(note: photo is a work in progress composite panorama of over 40 separate images, so some visual glitches and inconsistencies are still present.)

During the Kuruma fire festival in Kyoto, the barrier between the inside and the outside of the shrine is carefully breached with a special ceremony.

A few other examples of liminality appearing in Japanese culture:

toori gates mark the entrance to shrines
miyajima's itsukushima shrine has a toori gate that marks the spaces between land and sea and the low tide and high tide.
gates on houses. even ones that have apparent function.
changes in the seasons, year end, beginning, solstices and equinoxes are all carefully marked and guarded with festivals, traditions and ceremonies.
salt is often placed on the boundaries of a property, on the cardinal directions creating a sort of spiritual barrier to protect the property from uncleanliness and promote good business.

*Via dictionary.com: The word liminality is defined as "the condition of being on a threshold or at the beginning of a process" and stems from the latin limen 'threshold'

Sports in Japan - hip hop dancing

Many Japanese young people have become increasingly bored with their own culture and are looking outward to other cultures. Hip hop dancing has become a bit of a dance craze in Japan, and while these dancers consider themselves to be acting very American, I find myslelf having a hard imaging very many Americans doing anything similar. Certinally, the incredible popularity hip-hop dancing enjoys as well as the enthusiasm and dedication with which Japanese persue it cannot be found easily in America. In the end, it is possible that the Japanese have formed a new genere of hip hop dancing.

Pop Culture in Japan- Cosplay (update)

Update: From my archives, video of cosplayers at the Kyoto costume institute.

Politics In Japan - Gaza protest in Yodoyabashi

In protest of the bombing raids in Gaza, as well as America's support of Israel, a demonstration was held in Yodoyabashi on January 10, 2009. This was one of many such protests held at the beginning of the new year across the globe. I was able to capture a some of the scenes from the rally. The complete photoset can be seen at my flickr page.

The sign reads: "Don't kill Gaza's children."

Sign captions include: "Don't kill!" "Don't allow Israel's attacks on Gaza, Don't allow Israel's genocide of Gaza!"

Sign on bottom right reads (in osaka-ben): We wanna stop war! Protect life.

A Japanese woman's face wrapped in a shawl reminds us that even though that we may all dress different, speak different languages, and live in different areas of the world, this is a problem that we cannot ignore. Genocide is much deeper than race and political boundaries. It is a matter of humans killing humans.
Sadly, based on the slim participation and media attendance of the protest, it is a message that may have largely been a cry to deaf ears.

Gender in Japan - Homosexualiy in Osaka The Kansai Rainbow Parade - 2008

Many people dressed up for the parade, and surprisingly had no reluctance whatsoever to getting their picture taken. However at the end of the parade there was a specifically marked section for people who did not want their pictures taken. This is a feature that is unheard of in American pride parades. Being outed as a homosexual is definitely something that many people still very afraid of in Japan.


A few quick facts about homosexuality in Japan.

• In 2007 the Kansai Rainbow parade had more than 1300 participants. Compare to my hometown of Salt Lake City had an estimated 50,000 participants. For reference the population of Salt Lake City and the surrounding valley is approximately 2,150,00. Whereas the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto population is 18,643,915. In other words, while relatively conservative Salt Lake City had over 2% of the population attend the event, Kansai had less than .001% in attendance. (These figures are based on my own, unscientific calculations.)

• There are no laws that prohibit homosexual behavior. There are also no laws in place to protect against discrimination.

• Until recently Japan did not allow it's citizens same sex marriages in countries where it was legal, but recently that has changed. (see article)

• Japan has a huge market for homosexually themed romance comic books, both pornographic and non- pornographic. However, the biggest demographic for the gay (guy on guy) literature is with young women. (However, there is apparently a very complex genre structure that carefully distinguishes between the various styles, content and target audiences.) For more info: Boys' Love," Yaoi, and Art Education: Issues of Power and Pedagogy

More photos:

A volunteer roams the parade route asking for donations.

A homo-erotic cosplay spin on Princess Mononoke.

The Parade procession, Crossing Famous Dotonbori.

The flag in the foreground is from one of many GLBT circles. These circles provide chances for GLBT people to have a chance to socialize and find support from people of similar age and interest. They are also a good alternative to bars and saunas for finding a relationship.

The sign reads "After the rain, comes the rainbow."
Gay rights have a very long way to go in Japan, however Japan may have a bright, rainbow colored future for gay couples after all.

For great photos from the parade, please visit my Kansai Rainbow Parade 2008 photoset at Flickr.