Hot Picks in Japan and the Bay Area (July 2019 Issue)

Konnichiwa everybody,

As my students know, I have been traveling a lot for work lately and haven’t been able to update my newsletter. So I am more than happy to return to the Bay Area and finally find some time to write it! Last month I was in Tokyo and although it rained almost every day ( a record of lack of sunlight since 1988!) I had a lot of fun. One of my favorite activities to do there is to check out places for my clients as a part of my Tokyo travel curation services. More and more restaurants and cafes are becoming smoke free in Tokyo–finally!–in preparation for the 2020 Olympics, so this is a great news for people who prefer to be away from cigarette smoke.

One Tokyo gem that I was happy to discover is a small eight seat sushi restaurant in a trendy quiet residential area. It’s the perfect place to get delicious and authentic sushi with professional service. The two chefs make it all in front of your eyes with great precision and delicacy. What I particularly loved was that despite the classy and delicate ambiance, it was equally cozy and felt comfortable–that’s why lots of locals go there. Don’t hesitate to ask me about this place if you want to know more about it!

TATTOO IN UKIYOE　／　入れ墨

Although tattoos　(入れ墨 – irezumi) are taboo now in Japan because of their association with yakuza or organized crime, they used to be popular until the Japanese government prohibited them in the early Meiji period (19th century). Since then, while being feared in Japan, Japanese tattoo traditions have a big following of passionate fans around the world. The art show “Tattoos in Japanese Prints” at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco shows more than 60 prints by ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川國芳), among other artists. The woodblock prints illustrate real tattoos of the 19th century and have inspired tattoo artists worldwide. Check out this video of San Jose-based Japanese tattoo artist Kitamura Takahiro, talking about the exhibition in English:

POLITICS ／政治

The Upper House election (参院選 – san’insen) was just held on July 22 and Prime Minister Abe’s coalition won a majority of seats. However he needs a two-thirds majority to be able to revise the pacifist Constitution of 1947, which he has been planning to do. The number of voters was exceptionally low, with 48.8% participation, the second lowest since WWII. Despite this seeming lack of interest in politics, a little whirlwind happened: Reiwa Shinsengumi (令和新撰組), a new anti-establishment party formed only three months ago, won two seats. The party won 4.55% of the voter turnout, surpassing the 2% needed to become an official political party and therefore is now eligible for government subsidies. The founder and leader Yamamoto Taro (山本太郎) is a former actor who ended his successful acting career in 2011 after Fukushima to become an anti-nuclear activist. He made a lot of street orations before the election, and his powerful words and charisma made him a sensation, attracting huge passionate crowds–in fact, my Japanese aunt went to most of them!

The two other candidates from his party who won seats have severe disabilities, which also is a huge change in the political landscape. Yamamoto wants for student loans and consumer taxes to be abolished and to raise the minimum hourly wage to 1500 yen (about $14)–which might remind us of Bernie Sanders. In Japan, there’s no culture of private donations in politics, but Yamamoto gathered his political funds by crowdfunding, reaching almost four million dollars, which is also revolutionary. He calls himself the “stray dog of the National Diet” (国会の野良犬　– Kokkai no norainu). He and his party still need to prove themselves, but he will definitely be the center of attention for a while.

SCANDAL 　／　波紋

Comedy is a big part of Japanese culture and tradition, with renowned schools in Osaka and Tokyo. Last month, a huge scandal involving Japan’s largest and most influential comedy production company, Yoshimoto Kogyo (吉本興業), came to light and that’s all people are talking about. It started when an article revealed that 13 comedians from Yoshimoto, including the high-profile comedians Miyasako Hiroyuki (宮迫博之) and Tamura Ryo (田村亮) performed five years ago at a private party held by a criminal organization (反社会的勢力 – hanshakai seiryoku). The comedians received their compensation directly, without going through their production company–which is normally not allowed in most Japanese production companies. The comedians lied at first about receiving a fee, but confessed a few weeks later. Being tied to a yakuza group is taken very seriously in Japan, and Yoshimoto is in a precarious position because they work with the government. In fact, 8 years ago, well known veteran comedian Shimada Shinsuke (島田伸介) had to retire when his relationship with the yakuza was revealed and he hasn’t appeared in public since then. The 13 comedians in the current scandal received disciplinary measures and have been keeping very low profiles due to public criticism about their lies.

However after more than a month of silence, Miyasako and Tamura did a live press conference on July 20, without the company’s approval. They spoke for 2 and a half hours, apologizing and frankly explaining their whole story. They revealed for example that once they confessed their falsehood and intention to publicly apologize, Yoshimoto’s president Okamoto Akihiko (岡本昭彦) pressured them to keep quiet. The company tried to cover up and threatened them to fire all 13 comedians if they said anything.

The comedians revealed some of the raw content of their conversations, implying that Yoshimoto had been sponsored by the same yakuza who held the party they performed at. This agitated the internet for a while. A few days later, President Okamoto held a press conference himself, but his remarks left people unconvinced by his unclear and evasive explanations. Now people are criticizing the company’s power harassment and outdated system of business, for example, never making written contracts with their talents. At this point, a lot of comedians and big names have jumped in the debate, defending publicly the comedians or the board members against each others, resulting in what we call in Japan oie soudou (お家騒動), a family quarrel.

There’s so much more I want to talk about, including why it is such a problem in Japan for people to have yakuza connections, or the possible split happening within Yoshimoto between clans …but it would take pages! So if you are interested, let’s talk about it in our lessons!

That’s all for today—thank you for reading. Looking forward to seeing you soon at our next lesson!

最後まで読んでいただき、どうもありがとうございます。皆さまにまたお会いできるのを楽しみにしています。よろしくお願いいたします！

★ If you have topics you would like me to feature in future newsletters, don’t hesitate to let me know! Please feel free to reply to this email.

★MY PREVIOUS NEWSLETTER CAN BE SEEN HERE

★SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA CALENDAR

■Aug 1 / Screening of Anime “Dragon Ball Super: Broly” in Oakland

■ Aug 3 & 4 / Nihonmachi Street Fair in SF

■ Aug 3 & 4 / Obon & Japanese Cultural Festival in Oakland

■ Aug 16 & 17 / Screening of Anime “Vampire Hunter D” in SF

■ ~ Aug 18 / Tattoos in Japanese Prints in SF

■ Aug 25 / Origami Contest in SF

■ ~ Aug 31 / Art Show “Bonsai | Microcosms Macrocosms” in SF