I have met a lot of American who are interested in Japanese popular culture, especially  Anime since I came to USA. I even feel Anime became new Japanese symbol through pop culture all over the world. On the other hand, Korean music became symbol for Korean popular culture in the world. I found interesting article: “Top 7 reasons for K-Pop Music’s World Wide Popularity”. (http://voices.yahoo.com/top-7-reasons-k-pop-musics-world-wide-popularity-10481125.html)

I especially agree with three reasons: Fun dance moves, Years of vigorous idol training, and Government support.

Firstly, K-pop music is characterized by dance performance.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

K-Pop Idol Stars hit songs usually have dance moves that are intriguing, yet simple, inviting viewers to dance along.

Secondly, in order to form a new idol group, they have to go through a period of training that varies from 3 to 5 years. Not only they receive dance and vocal training, but also personality and character training. They also would learn foreign language training, as they are expected to be international stars that could speak not only Korean.

Finally, South Korean government greatly supports the K-Pop music industry in order to advance to  world markets.

“Recently South Korean government remodeled the Olympic Hall into a K-Pop concert hall with more than 2000 seats. They also support overseas concert, and plan to launch a K-Pop academy.They seem to realize that K-Pop music has a potential to further introduce South Korea to the international world, and they really utilize that potential.”(http://voices.yahoo.com/top-7-reasons-k-pop-musics-world-wide-popularity-10481125.html?cat=33)

These reasons made K-pop music so popular in USA.

There are at least five time differences : Haruki #1, Jiko, Nao, Ruth, and ‘now’ through this story. Each time has different situation. However, I found out that basic social situations are similar. For instance, bullying exists in all ages such as bullying among army toward Haruki #1 , in junior high school toward Nao probably more than ten years ago, and nowadays.

I was really moved when Jiko had been dying and painting ‘生’ (Life). I feel that Jiko is the person who really understands what 生 means because she lost her son and almost lost her grand-son and great grand-daughter too…. Apparently, Jiko gave the word 生 to Nao and Haruki #2.

“Our human body appears and disappears moment by moment, without cease, and this ceaseless arising and passing away is what we experience as time and being. They are not separate.” (Ozeki, p.324)

 This quotation is so true. No one can live forever. This every moment is time being. Thus, Nao kept a diary to make a mark on the world. For me, keeping diary is to organize my thoughts, and when I look it over again, I can recall how I spent time.

I think this reading part is talking about memories a lot. It was impressive for me to read Haruki #1′s Letters and conversation between Haruki #1 and Nao. Although these letters do not describe his true feelings, I still can see change of his feelings.

January 2, 1944 ”The way ahead was clear, and I could stop worrying about all the silly metaphysical business of life – identity, society, individualism, totalitarianism, human will – ….”(Ozeki, p.251)

March 27, 1945 “I’m afraid my day is approaching and my next ‘official’ letter to you may be the last one receive from me.”(Ozeki,p. 258)

Haruki #1 faced his death more than for one year. He pretends to be optimistic in the first letter. But, the second one that is his last letter in the book shows his longing for his mom, Jiko and fear of death in the near future.

I was thinking why Jiko had given Haruki #1′s remains to Nao. Jiko knew how Haruki #1 hated war, the government and its bullying politics of imperialism and capitalism and exploitation. Thus, I assume that Jiko wanted Nao to be peaceful person as Haruki #1 had wanted to be when she knew bullying toward Nao. She felt similarities among them. Nao also gave the letters since she wanted his father to understand how how he was coward unlike Haruki #1.

Reading these parts made me think about a lot of things such as war, , September 11 attacks, suicide, a natural disaster, nuclear, and bullying.

In this reading part, it mentions about earthquake, Tsunami, and nuclear power  accident in Japan a few times.

“I have lost everything. My daughter, my son, my wife, my mother. Our house, neighbors. Our whole town.”(Ozeki, p.111)

“Nuclear power is energy for a brighter future! The correct understanding of nuclear power leads to a better life!”(Ozeki, p.141)

It was time for me to face death too. TV programs reported us horrible situations there all the time, and everyone talked about it all the time. I thought of it all the time too. The number of deaths were getting more and more.  The death was not only things that people lost in Japan. It was also the death of hope. They lost places to live and work, and neighbor communities and properties including memories such as photos. Nobody could foretell it happened then. As the second quotation says, ironically, Nuclear power station in Fukushima was hope for the population in this district… It made a lot of businesses and subsidies there. However, that accident made a huge impact on the world. As this book talk about that, people should never forget about fear of Nuclear.

Moreover, death is related to both Nao’s existence and Ruth’s feeling. Nao got held her fake funeral by classmates.

“I was already a vengeful ghost, haunting the living, so it didn’t really matter if I lived or died, and anyway…..”(Ozeki, p.131)

Ijime against Nao was too much awful…  I really had difficulty reading these part. But, I think these cruel ijime sometime happens in Japan, so it became a social problem.

“It was true that compared with Manhattan, there wasn’t a lot of excitement on their island, but how much excitement did you need if you were dead?” (Ozeki, p.142)

It is interesting to see similar feelings between Nao and Ruth at the same. Ruth kept reading Nao’s diary it happened in the past as if she was trying to sort out her feelings again.

It says that Masala means a bunch of hot spice in the film. Mina was born as Indian in Uganda. But, she is familiar with American culture more than both Indian and Ugandan because she spends most time in America. On the other hand, Demetrius is a  black American. Thus, their love is such a cross cultural thing like Masala spice.

intergenerational conflict in immigrant communities

In order to explain this topic, I can use an example of relationship between Mina and Jay. As I says before, Mina identifies as American. In contrast, Jay was born in Uganda and spends most time there until his family is expelled in the 70s by Amin. He really resents for it because he identifies himself as Ugandan, so he has a complex about his color and Mina’s parent has  a grudge again black community a lot unlike Mina.

I was really impressed by Jay’s lines, “My home is where my heart is.” Even though he had obsessed with returning to Uganda and reclaiming his property from Uganda’s governments, I assume that he realized that his heart was with Kinnu in America after his visit to Uganda again. Okelo has already passed away and the environment where he used to be has changed too.

The scene when Jay’s family is expelled from Uganda reminded me of exclusion against Japanese American during WWII. Both Asian groups in Uganda and America were distinguished by not nationalities they identified as but their races or colors.

-Slang: there are lots of slang in Nao’s letter, so I wondered why young Japanese uses slang a lot (other countries also have own slang). As writhing on the wall from last Kato’s reading, people use slang to communicate with specific people. Using slang is sometime cool. Slang is being made one after another. Additionally, because slang is a part of identity, Nao kept using it in letter even though she did not know who was going to read or understand it.

-Text: text is very important for Nao to communicate with others. She uses it to get advices from Jiko and talk with her best friend Kayla because they live far away from each other.

-Maid Cafe: I feel that going to maid cafe is new method to communicate with others, especially it is not a bar or a night club. But heart still can be healed and feel satisfied by it.

-Praying: Although Nao does not believe in god, she prays for old Shaka-sama like talking to old Jiko. I think that Shaka-sama never give you the answers if you ask something. However, telling and praying for others like Shaka-sama make you relieved. Nao also wrote letter to somebody she did not know or was not sure if it was going to reach somebody in order to appreciate her thought again on the letter.

Lost

-identity:Nao identified as American because she felt like her whole life started and ended in Sunnyvale, additionally her Japanese language skills were limited. Sadly, she was bullied in school due to the difference from other students. Thus, she played dead or pretended she did not exist in school.

“I walked though the crowded hallway like I was invisible, a ghost or a spirit go the dead.”(Ozeki, p.76)

I feel so sad to read it. Nao lost her identity and existence…..

 ”In both Jeet Kune Do and hip hop culture, creativity arises from the autonomy of self-expression.” (Kato, p.178)

This chapter is very interesting and reminds me of the film I’ve watched at Asian American festival, which is called ‘Raskal Love’ even though its story is about b-boy in the Hip Hop dance scene. I feel something familiar to hip hop, but I had never thought about the root of hip hop before I watched that film. In the film, Vanna Fut who is Asian American tells about his experience during the gang wars in the early to late 90’s gangster era in Pomona and Seattle Washington. Vanna Fut has the will to pursue his dreams against all odds.(http://raskallove.com)  As the quotation above says that hip hop has strong self-expression in lyrics. It is like poem.

Writing on the wall

 ”The spontaneous formation of the culture and aesthetic of  writing has come to represent the existence of a ghetto marginalized and incarcerated by the forces of post-industrialization and globalization.”(Kato,p.179)

I feel like everyone has different ways to express their feelings and identify themselves against society or government by writing on the …such as social movements, fashion, Slangs and so on. Especially, writing on the public walls is against the law. I did not know that there are its own language in spray painting on the wall. It remands me of a lot of dialects in Japan despite it is small country. Each groups had its own dialects to identify and historical background.

“Bruce Lee’s performance reorganized aesthetic form with his kinetic self-expression, creating an autonomous kine-aesthetic narrative as a critique of the dominant aesthetic form.”(Kato, p. 114)

I was moved by Lee’s nimble and flexible movement on the film. It is quite obvious that his physical ability is way too better than other casts’. It is also beautiful. His action let us show his feeling such as anger, sadness, and regret. Lee’s action is powerful enough even though it is not used computer graphics as recent films. In addition, Lee mostly does not use arms, so it shows an appeal and strength of Kung Fu.

“A careful examination of the postmodern construction of ‘Oriental’ protagonists and villains can inform us of the aesthetic manifestation of the strategic paradigm of globalization.”(Kato, p.145)

 This film was produced in 1973 by Hollywood in order to indicate the different positions between the West and Orient under imperialism. For instance, Han is portrayed as a bad person in the film as he is producing heroin secretly and control women including White women. This film still includes such a stereotypical oriental images. There are racial discriminations not only in this film, but also at its backstage.

“Nonetheless, Lee and the rest of the Hong Kong workers now found a vehicle for externalizing their feelings of defiance and discontent accumulated throughout the production in a ‘legitimate’ and constructive manner in the very process of production.”(Kato, p.122)

 Lee was fighting against both enemies in the film and racial discriminations by American. I was moved that he did not give up acting to represent real Kung Fu in spite of the bad process of production. He also represented new admirable Oriental image.

I like this film so much. It has so many messages to us.

Firstly, it’s unique to describe the main character(Khan) as both Asperger Syndrome and Muslim at that time. When he is child, he is bullied due to difference with other kids. Also, he is minority in USA.

Secondly, It makes me feel the importance of religions. When Rizvan told his brother that he is going to get married with Hindu, his brother opposes that because those two have lots of conflicts… Mandira and Rizvan’s praying in deferent ways in the same house is impressive too.

Thirdly, I really like the relationship between Rizvan and mama jenny. Even though they have different religions, they respect and help each other. In addition, it is interesting that there are only black people in the church, and they have a warm personality.

Fourthly,although there are a lot of discriminations after 9/11, this film also portray that there are still many Americans who don’t judge Muslim. Also, discriminated people are starting to resist from discriminations at the end of the film.

I remembered that Chico had told us the connections between experiences of Japanese American after attack on Pearl Harbor and the Sikh, Muslim, Arab-American or South-Asian communities after 9/11.  They are discriminated because of races, appearances, religions… I believe that understanding other culture leads acceptance and peace.

I found interesting article while I was looking for news connecting between Asia and USA. It may be not cultural connection between them, but I thought this is important to think about political relationship between Japan and USA. There is an article below from CNN.(http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/15/world/asia/navy-japan-carriers/)

Ronald Reagan will replace George Washington in Japan — or specifically the naval namesakes of the 40th and first presidents.

The U.S. Navy announced Tuesday that the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan will be replacing the USS George Washington at Yokosuka Naval Base near Tokyo. When the move takes place — the specific timelines are yet to be announced — the Washington will head to Virginia for overhaul and refueling, and the Reagan will leave its current home port in San Diego.

“The security environment in the Indo-Asia-Pacific requires that the U.S. Navy station the most capable ships forward. This posture allows the most rapid response times possible for maritime and joint forces, and brings our most capable ships with the greatest amount of striking power and operational capability to bear in the timeliest manner,” the Navy said in a news release announcing the move.

The Reagan has a history in Japan, having participated in relief efforts after the March 2011 tsunami that damaged the Fukushima nuclear plant. In December 2012, a group of eight sailors from the Reagan sued the Tokyo Electric Power Company, alleging that exposure to radiation that escaped from the plant sickened them.

In 2008, the Washington became the first American nuclear-powered carrier to be based in Japan when it replaced the USS Kitty Hawk. The Reagan is also nuclear-powered.

Although Japan has “the three nonnuclear principles”, in fact, the Nimitz class of aircraft carriers is located in Japan. USA says that it is for the security environment in the Indo-Asia-Pacific. However, USA also wants to emphasize its presence on the pacific Ocean. In my opinion, because Japan has tragic histories by nuclear weapons in the past such as an atomic bomb and radioactive contamination by Tsunami, having nuclear needs to be thought more carefully and strictly.