Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

Hey good one Gishin,

Maybe they're playing "monkey see, monkey do" to try to please some of the Western governments in their equally futile, random and ineffective "War on Terrorism" methods.

Is it racism or nationalism? I suppose in the case of Japan they are both the same thing. They certainly can be racists to such an extreme that they don't even realize that it's racism. A friend of mine wanted to buy a shakuhachi recently and the owner said, "It is for sale but I do not want to sell it to a gaijin". Without any sense of embarrassment and as if it was a normal statement. Imagine that in America! "Sorry sir, I will not sell this Fender Stratocaster to a Negro." LOL.

Gishin check your email I sent you a question.

Chris Moran wrote:

Tairaku wrote:

...  Imagine that in America! "Sorry sir, I will not sell this Fender Stratocaster to a Negro." LOL.

Oh god, we may never have heard Buddy Guy.

That would be terrible.

On the other hand if we never heard Buddy Guy then we would not have heard Clapton and that's.......OK I'll shut up and stick to shakuhachi.

For the whole antiques thing in Japan it would be nice if someone with the knowledge would share a bit of light on the situation.

As far as I know for any cultural stuff unless the item is owned by a temple museum or is on a list of cultural assets then when getting out of the country they don’t check for papers license of export etc. Unless it’s a sword.


Since I use to collect and trade in antique Japanese swords and armors for a while it seems that only swords require you to have a export paper that proves the sword is not a super special cultural property when you take it out of the country. If other have more info about other items than swords it would be nice to know.

Tairaku wrote:

Musical instruments are not antiques, they are instruments and they want to be loved and played, preferably well. They do not think about race or geography.

Yo Yo Ma's Stradivarius cello is much happier where it is than in the hands of an Italian who can't play it.

Up until now I had taken into account the desire of gaijin to play antique shakuhachi, and the worries Japanese might have over their national treasures being lured beyond their borders - but, yes, I neglected to take into account the desire of the shakuhachi itself to get itself into the best hands it can!   And all joking aside, that is a pretty serious consideration - any creative tool should be in the hands of the person who can make the most of it.   

I would argue, however, that shakuhachi, with the sad exception of the yuu, are not just musical instruments, they are peices of art as well.  Arguably, they are even peices of VISUAL art.  I have seen many that left me mesmerized simply by their appearance.     I hear that nowadays in Japan the price of a shakuhachi may actually be more dependant on its physical appearance than on its musical ability.

Gishin wrote:

As far as I know there is no Shakuhachi that have been declared national treasures except the stuff in the Shosoin in Nara.

Sorry...I didn't mean National Treasures in the official Japanese sense but rather national treasures in the way people casually use the term to refer to precious objects that are generally seen as part of their cultural heritage.

(Side question: does any other nation on earth have the practice of declaring Living National Treasures?)

Seth wrote:

Side question: does any other nation on earth have the practice of declaring Living National Treasures?)

Yes.  The government of Brazil declared Pelé a national treasure during his career peak so he couldn't be snatched up by European teams.  Strange but true.  Not sure what Pelé had to say about this.

-Darren.

Tairaku wrote:

He wanted to but the rest of the family wanted to hold onto it as a souvenir. Then it cracked to smithereens.

OK - powerful point.   Consider me a convert.

In fact, I now state that shakuhachi loving gaijin everywhere have a moral obligation to get as many antique shakuhachi out of the hands of underserving sloths - Japanese or otherwise- who are not going to actually play the instruments in their possession!

The sound of the shakuhachi sure does have an affect on the people who hear it.  When I first heard the shakuhachi I was floored by the simple, honest, penetrating beauty of the sound.  It was like a stream of clear, sparkling, pure water.  Refreshing and cool.  From that moment on I decided that I would one day make poems of sound with this instrument and use it as a way of expressing (and learning about) myself. 

And yes, I agree with the points made above.  The instrument desires to be played, and approached with a respectful sense of humility.  I have been sick as a dog for last week and a half and I chose not to play my bamboo jinashi shakuhachi.  For some reason it felt wrong to breathe infected air into the bamboo.  I know, it may be silly of me.  But I honestly worried for the health of the instrument.  I did not take the same attitude toward my plastic Yuu (which regularly gets taken into the bathtub).  Many times during the last week or so I have looked at the flute and felt bad for neglecting it, but now I am better.  Okay, silly anecdote over. 

Back to something approaching a point (sorry I ramble).  I agree that shakuhachi should be in the best hands, and I would add that they should be bonded with those who seek them as companions, and not end up as showpieces or mere possessions. 

I think also that if a flute is with someone who really appreciates the instrument and approaches it with a respectful attitude (as one would approach a teacher), then that's okay too.  I am not the best.  In fact, I am still a beginner with just under one year of self-taught experience, but I feel very appreciative of the flutes that I have and the one which I will have soon (a big, wide 2.8 taimu).  I totally don't deserve this flute, as it is way above and beyond my playing ability.  Probably it is not in the best hands (certainly it could be in better hands than mine), but I will strive to learn from it, and be humble.  The bamboo is a teacher as well as a friend.

Last edited by Lorka (2007-12-06 17:10:42)

Well back to the main topic I guess.

Here is a link to a video about the whole thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5Uah07zSNQ

New York Times article
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/world … ref=slogin

Great Video blog from Youtbe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXs7C9u9k0U


Also a very informative video on what REAL issues Japan has with immigration and NOT terrorism as they claim or maybe immigration for them IS terrorism

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VIRIVN9KXM


My outtake on this would be to NOT GO TO JAPAN AT ALL!

Also when we meet Japanese teachers coming to visit or any other Japanese individuals we should make them feel exactly what is wrong with their little island country.

If Japan wants to really protect itself from terrorists then there are much better measures than this one or if they want to use the fingerprinting method they should erase our files after we cleared and not keep them in their database. Why keep the files of a non criminal on their Database? For them to make mistakes and make you pay for it in the future?

Japanese on many points are hypocrites! As I said earlier it is not about terrorism! Hell the only real terrorism they had was by the Sarin gas attack which was done by all 100% Japanese natives.

The issue mostly is about illegal immigration and to prevent people that have been deported from reentering the country. But even this is quite futile since most illegal immigrants in Japan now are Chinese and will come illegally by Ship from Either Mainland China or Taiwan.

So what could they do to prevent this?
Humm maybe having a proper immigration law instead of the Crap they have now. Not center their immigration on what they call entertainment (Sex trade).

When successfully received as an immigrant or worker to make sure the immigration law IS APPLIED compared to not being respected as seen so many times where people have been refused an apartment or other services because they are non Japanese.

Also have more strict laws applied to people who have been deported some Jail time etc.. to be more dissuasive and MOSTLY jail time for ANY Japanese hiring helping or working with etc. any illegal worker. NO Japanese has really been convicted or jailed for that YET. But again who brings and who needs and gives jobs to illegal immigrants Japanese themselves.

Japan needs to wake up and open in the right fashion because THEY DO HAVE A PROBLEM. They have an aging population and will need immigration to fill that gap.

Now do I really have any issue with Japan. Actually NO I love the place and its people. Did I ever have any troubles in Japan YES but nothing to really make a fuss with. But I do know people that were not under a teacher or temple really have a hard time and also spoke with some legal Chinese workers in Kyoto and they also said that they are having a hard time trying to make a living there and dealing with many of their bullshit.

So to resume all this Japan is indeed one of the most biased and racist country in the world but the issue with this is that 90% of visitors or people involved in traditional stuff will not see it because on the front Japanese are polite and well mannered so it is very hard to see that stuff. But I was feeling that this was

Last edited by Gishin (2007-12-15 03:25:58)

Gishin wrote:

Very Very Very intersitng article full of facts.

Very informative article, thanks.  Though I admit my eyes glaze over a bit when they discuss finer points of Japanese parties, politicians, and their leanings.  I'm ignorant to those things and it would take me much back-research to really understand where some agendas are coming from.

Gishin wrote:

It does seem that the Japan I love is really falling back into racism and stupidity ...

Part of me hopes this is more "stupidity" than "racism".  Perhaps because I also love Japan and all the people I know there so much and recently returned from another great month there without issue.

So do you think it's racism?  Or merely fear/protection against foreign influence?  (For some reason, I like to believe the latter is less offensive and more "hopeful" -- not sure why, though.)

A reasonable test for this would be both the official (government and border policy) as well as on-the-street (average citizens') attitudes towards people of 100% Japanese genetic heritage, but who have been a generation or two removed from Japanese citizenship and residence. 

e.g. a Canadian, born in Canada, to Canadian parents, but who is 100% "Japanese" from a genetic and appearance perspective...  would this person have any more privilege in Japanese society or border crossing than, say, me?  If they don't, then I'm inclined to say that the attitude isn't actually racism.

-Darren.

I could be wrong, but I think the point Darren was trying to make is that in light of your comments, perhaps 'overly-nationalistic' would be a better term than 'racist' -- you also mentioned that people who were ethnically Japanese but not raised within their borders were also treated like outsiders. Strong nationalism can indeed be a tough thing to deal with (esp. when that 'us versus them' attitude comes to the fore).

Though the situation here in Taiwan is quite different, generally speaking, foreigners who make an effort to learn the language & culture fare much better than those who don't -- I think it's a measure of mutual respect. Is this somewhat true in Japan, as well?

Zak

Here is a very clean and clear rundown of the situation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_issues_in_Japan

Also in the same department here is an article about human rights in Japan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Japan

So my point here is to show what kind if dark stuff the Japanese have been hding in their closet for years and that most foreigner visiting or into Japanese culture did not really know. By doing this and encouraging other to denounce stuff like this I hope it will help to make them understand that stuff like this cannot go on anymore and that its about time for them to wake up smell the coffee and learn they are not alone in this world and start building proper policies like for example Canada or Australia (Still not perfect but way better than Japan).


Quote from the article on Human rights in Japan: Article 14 of the Constitution of Japan states that all people (English version) or citizens (Japanese version) are equal under the law, and they cannot be discriminated against politically, economically, or socially on the basis of race, belief, sex, or social or other background. However, Japan does not have human rights legislation which enforces or penalizes discriminatory activities committed by citizens, businesses, or non-governmental organizations. The country does not have specific hate crime laws and so racism and hate-motivated offenses such as assault, vandalism, and robbery are prosecuted as regular crimes.

Attempts have been made in the Diet to enact human rights legislation.In 2002, a draft was submitted to the House of Representatives, but did not reach a vote.Had the law passed, it would have set up a Human Rights Commission to investigate, name and shame, or financially penalize discriminatory practices as well as hate speech committed by private citizens or establishments.Though the anti-discrimination clause raised little objection, the anti-hate speech clause received very hostile reception from Japanese media. In 2005, the ruling coalition government attempted to resubmit a revised version of the draft which somewhat limited the application of hate speech clause, but it still failed to reach a consensus within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

Quote from the article on crime statistics (323 crimes commited by foreigners and this triggers their lets protect the emperor policy hahaha): Within these statistics, Japanese committed 6,925 violent crimes, of which 2,531 were arson or rape, while foreigners committed 323 violent crimes, but only 42 cases are classified as arson or rape.[citation needed] Foreigners, however, were more likely to commit crimes in groups. About 61.5% of crimes committed by foreigners had one or more accomplice, while only 18.6% of crimes committed by Japanese were in groups.

However, the former head of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Emergency Public Safety Task Force, Hiroshi Kubo, published a book disputing foreign crime statistics, suggesting that such statistics were being manipulated by politicians for political gain.He suggested, for example, that including visa violations in crime statistics is misleading. He also said that the crime rate in Tokyo is based on reported rather than actual crimes.

Last edited by Gishin (2007-12-18 08:25:33)