Christmastime in Japan

There is land called Procrastinationia and I am its Queen.

I have intended innumerable times to write for you all. I have dictated half a dozen entries in my head as I went about my day. But just as I am about to sit down and open Word to begin, I am distracted by a book… or a movie… or a beautiful day to take a walk… or even that exotic of all activities, cleaning.

Let’s not dwell on that though, shall we? I’m here, ready to tell you all about Japan during the holid- Oh, look! Something shiny…

As a joke, I was going to stop there and wait another day to post my real entry. Only I realized that because I have taken so long to update, you all have no doubt taken to only checking this blog once a month or so and the joke would be lost. My habit of procrastination ruins my joke about my habit of procrastination. Oh, the circle… it is vicious.

So, many of you have asked if Christmas is celebrated in Japan. The answer is… kinda. Christmas in Japan is celebrated much like St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in the U.S. - completely divorced from any original religious and cultural meaning, and used as an excuse to hang garish decorations, give little children candy and trinkets, and go out with friends and drink until you can’t remember your name.

My Christmas in Japan started the Saturday evening prior at my apartment building’s Christmas party. I had received a wonderful invitation – all photo-shopped with Christmas banners and Santa Claus graphics – to the annual party which this year would feature a classical guitar concert followed by a potluck dinner and BINGO. It wasn’t until a few days later that I realized the invitation was entirely in English and had been made specifically for me.

The concert was wonderful. The guitarist, Shiochi Ishibara, played a 12 string guitar mostly, and a regular 6 string for the occasional song. He was accompanied by another man playing just about every type of percussion you can think of. There was even a fairly small gong used at the end of one song. They played mostly classical music, but also John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ which was quite poignant.

It was a very special moment for me as I listened to the beautiful sounds of the guitar, my mind supplying Lennon’s lyrics about his dream of one world, and looking around the room to these people who despite my complete inability to converse with many of them, had welcomed me with such friendliness. Despite my slight irritation at the way the Japanese had seemingly stripped Christmas of all religious meaning; at that moment, I realized that the spirit of Christmas still remained. Joy to all and peace on Earth.

The concert ended with a sing along to ‘Silent Night,’ and my heart about stopped when after a few rounds of the song, Shiochi-san called out “Now, English.” Fortunately, a few of the other residents sang with me and we received a rousing round of applause before one final round in Japanese.

After the concert, tables were quickly assembled and the residents began returning from their apartments with dish after dish after tray of meats, vegetables, salads, and soups. My snickerdoodle cookies seemed to go over quite well. And after numerous toasts; many dedicated to a newly married couple that were seated near me and which contained several good natured jabs at the 20-year age difference and other risqué matters if I read the bride’s blushes and men’s’ laughter correctly; we played BINGO. Now, I may not speak Japanese fluently or even anywhere in the vicinity of fluency, but I do pride myself on knowing my numbers. Unfortunately, when the numbers are being announced by two pre-teen girls in what can kindly be called a brisk pace, I occasionally got a bit lost. I should perhaps not forget to mention the couple of glasses of beer and shochu I had had by this time that no doubt played a part. Luckily, the two very nice gentlemen sitting to either side of me made sure that I didn’t miss anything and I was calling out ‘BINGO!’ in no time.

One of the funnier moments of the evening occurred as I was talking with the aforementioned gentlemen about their work, architecture, which has occasionally taken them to the States. Both men spoke English fairly well and I had to laugh when after the younger gentlemen finished speaking, the older gentlemen turned to me and said half-jokingly, “I have some difficulty understanding your English, but I understand his English perfectly. You should work on your pronunciation.”

This was not the end of my party circuit, however, as a few nights later, I met with my co-workers from Shichijo Elementary School at a great little restaurant in Kumamoto for their annual ‘Christmas / Year End Party.’ I didn’t ask for fear of sounding egotistical, but I think the Christmas bit was added simply as a nice gesture for me. The food was delicious – we had a variety of dishes, but the centerpiece of the meal was a spicy Korean soup with all kinds of vegetables and pork – and company was very nice. I had a good time seeing my co-workers outside of school and getting to know them a bit better. However, this was certainly a ‘company holiday party’ and I was accordingly anxious about the whole thing for reasons wholly different than you think, though you would be correct to think they are alcohol related.

In my experience, in the States, company holiday parties are generally regarded as an opportunity to gather embarrassing information and stories about your co-workers when they’ve drank a bit too much and to use that information to shame and blackmail them throughout the rest of the year. Good times.

In Japan, there is no shame or embarrassment regarding things done or said when one is drunk. Not only that, but apparently the Japanese as a society practice something similar to collective amnesia when it comes to what others do or say while intoxicated. Tell a ribald and frankly insulting joke about the boss’s wife to a group that includes your boss? As long as you are drunk, no worries. The boss can’t get mad and the next day everyone will pretend it didn’t happen.

And not only is there no shame in getting drunk at the company holiday party, it’s actually a little insulting to your co-workers and especially to your boss if you don’t drink and keep up with the rest of them. Now, there were certainly a few of my co-workers that were driving and therefore didn’t drink and no one held that against them. But, by and large, when the boss asks if you would like a drink, you answer ‘Yes, please.’

So as an American, it’s razor’s edge to walk. I want to drink enough to be sociable and not insult my superiors, but I also cringe at the idea of getting drunk, especially in front of others, and especially in front of my co-workers. And just to make things a bit more difficult, it is the culture here not to fill your own glass, but to fill your neighbor’s and they will fill yours. So, it’s difficult to keep track of how much you’ve drank because your glass keeps getting refilled before you can finish it, and I was sitting across from my kocho-sensei - Principal – so he was the one to keep refilling my glass.

I ended up drinking a bit more than I’d wished, but not too much to do or say anything silly. A few of my co-workers, on the other hand… As I said, they were a lot of fun and I had a great time seeing a different side to these people that I work with. However, I occasionally pictured my own elementary school teachers in their place; and that is mental image that I find both amusing and slightly horrifying. Go ahead. Try it. You want to both laugh and scrub your brain out with bleach, right? Me, too.

Christmas Day was quiet. My family had all gathered for Christmas Eve back in Kansas and I was able to talk to them all on the phone and wish everyone a Happy Christmas. Afterwards, I took a nice walk along the bank of the Tsuboi River before coming home to spend the rest of the day cuddled up with a blanket, some homemade vegetable soup, and movies that my parents had sent. It was a nice day.

Album currently playing on my IPOD – Fleet Foxes 2008 self-titled album. Hands down, my favorite album of the year. Recalling the sounds of the Beach Boys and CSN&Y, these guys are amazing. Check out their official music video for ‘White Winter Hymnal’ on YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrQRS40OKNE

Also on my IPOD queue – She and Him’s 2008 album, Volume One. Like many others, when I hear that an actor is putting out an album, I roll my eyes and unfairly judge them before I even hear a note. That said, I can’t help but like this duo which features the singing and songwriting of Zooey Deschanel. I admit, her lyrics can be a bit amateurish and her voice while perfectly serviceable, is certainly not remarkable. And yet, this album is a lot of fun and even a bit addictive. It’s an odd recommendation I admit, but a recommendation nonetheless.

Current reading material – I just finished reading the 1986 graphic novel, Watchmen, written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons. I’ve never read a graphic novel before, and really only read this one at the urge of my Dad, but I’ve got to admit that I’m impressed. The illustrations are amazing, but more importantly to me, the story is constructed and told brilliantly. I’m now super excited to see the movie version when it comes out in a few months.

- Jenny