Japanese Life – Japan Episode 5

By C.I. Sivasubramanian
Aged 96, Retired Director, Ministry of Commerce, New Delhi

Introduction by Venkat
It is great to be back with the next episode on Japan. In this one, Mr. C. I. Sivasubramanian covers Japanese cultural aspects and important landmarks in Tokyo. It is nice to note the various interesting places for recreation in the city. Going by the writing and picturesque descriptions, one feels like being a witness to them along with the author! Across all the episodes so far, the Japanese respect for culture, tradition and nature stands out as the hallmark of Japan. It is so lovely to read these and as always looking forward to the next one. Those who have missed reading the previous episodes and the past contributions from Mr. Sivasubramanian, can refer to the links at the end of this article.

Japanese Life – Japan Episode 5

Japan is typically an Asian country borne out by its customs, manners and traditions, temples and shrines. Temples and shrines abound in Tokyo .– I am sure it is elsewhere too. Shows they have ‘bhakti’ cult as Indians. Indians worship gods and goddesses by installing their statues. The Japanese worship mountains, rivers and the like. I was told that when they refer to Mt. Fuji they always add ‘San’ to it – ‘san’ refers to respect like ‘ji’ in Hindi.

Their temples also resemble ours. There is a big courtyard where there are shops and entertainment for children. The parents take the small kids on their shoulders much as we do. In the front yard there is a pot with fresh water to clean the hands before entering the temple premises. There is a ladle from which water is taken by one hand and poured to the other to clean it. Water is not touched by hand. In front of the temple, there is a hundi like box where the devotees pour coins and then clap their hands. I did find however some rustling going on in the backyard protected by a screen, may be some rituals were being performed. But most of the devotees get back after pouring the coins and clapping their hands.

In the temple premises we also saw lots of prayers and requests written on a piece of paper and hung on trees. There is a pencil and paper ready to write on. I’m told that people make various kinds of demands (?) and requests to God such as, ‘Get my sick child well soon’, ‘Help my son get his promotion’, etc. etc.

Similarly there are shrines around where important functions like marriages are held. In one shrine I saw a bride was getting ready for marriage and a helper dressing her in their traditional kimono. It was a tough job as kimono is not easy to prepare and put on. We waited for the actual ceremony to take place but the authorities told us politely that the ceremony was private and no outsiders were allowed.

Recreation

Much as the Japanese are workaholics, they also enjoy leisure and relaxation. In the midst of the crowded city, there are a number of recreation parks, all neatly laid out. There is an entrance charge for most of them. The money is perhaps used to maintain the parks. The Japanese go to these parks along with their families during holidays and enjoy picnicking. Let me take you to one of the parks not far from our home.

Gyoen National park

Shinjuku Gyoen national park is in Shinjuku ward and close to where my daughter and son in law lived. We visited it at a time when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. It was a huge park stretching over a kilometre in length.. There were tropical plants and trees in specially built glass houses. There were hundreds of families enjoying their picnic lunch and playing with their children.

Ueno Park

There were two important museums showing the old (edo) period and shrines and a zoo in the park. As we had taken the children along they were all for visiting the zoo, leaving us no time to visit the museums or shrines, except that on the way we passed by a statue of Takamori Saigo, one of the heroes of that day fighting for the restoration of the Imperial power. Also we saw a replica of Kiyomizudo temple which was a copy of the famous temple in Kyoto. But before entering the park, we saw a statue with a felt hat, head to foot in brick-red colour, and people around it wondering whose statue it was. We joined in when we found that the statue was moving his head and fingers and actually shook hands with a person who dropped some coins in the upturned hat before it! Imagine a man standing there as a statue-like – exactly like one – and earning money out of his masquerade!

National theatre

The Japanese love theatre better than films, although films have become popular especially in the TV. They dub almost all-American films into Japanese and show a film every day. We had an opportunity to visit the National Theatre. The tickets are expensive but we were lucky to receive complimentary tickets. My family members liked it immensely not only because the show was good but also because they got themselves introduced to, and photographed with, the leading artists! I think the attraction was that they were gorgeously dressed and elegant and stood out in the Japanese crowd. The photographs may appear in the National Theatre journal – may be even in the press and the TV!

National Theatre – gotokyo.org

National Stadium

Close to the Shibuya station was the Yoyogi Park where the national stadium had been built, especially for the Olympics of l964. This was the area used by the occupied forces after the war and later by the Japanese army. After the army had been disbanded, and the American occupation forces had left, this place was utilized to build a stadium for the Olympics and a shopping centre. The shopping centre in fact came up even earlier to cater to the occupation forces and has now been developed to meet the needs of the high fashion society of Tokyo. Omenatosando dori, along which the shopping complex has been built, is a well-known centre for the noveau riche of Japan and especially popular with the ‘punk’ crowd.

There is a church on this street for the small Christian community in Tokyo, which is a popular landmark. Kidd land, Oriental bazaar, and some famous restaurants, including an Indian restaurant, line the Omotesando dori.(Dori means street). Around the stadium there was a small place where you can practice tennis against a wall. The children go to play tennis in that complex almost every day. There are no charges and what you need is just a racquet and tennis balls and you can practice for any number of hours; the wall opposite you bounces the ball back at you. My grand-daughter and I enjoyed playing tennis there almost daily. I went to the swimming pool once and got into the pool, when one of the guards spotted my poonal (Yagyopaveeth) and asked me to remove it as it might pollute the water! I couldn’t and so left the pool.

Yoyogi National Stadium – en,japantravel.com

Nihon bashi

Nihonbashi – gotokyo.org

Close to the Tokyo Railway Station is the Nihon-bashi an old bridge built in early l7th century from where all distances in Japan are measured – ‘Tokyo Zero’ . In the Japanese language, Nihon is Japan and bashi, bridge. This was where the travelers began their journey towards the legendary roadway that linked the Edo (Tokyo’s old name) with Kyoto, the Emperor’s seat. In those days the Emperor was the titular head and the ‘shoguns’ ruled the country from Edo. It was only in the Meiji era that the Emperor was vested with the powers of governance and the headquarters of the Imperial family shifted to Edo, the present Tokyo. Nihon-bashi is one of the important landmarks in Tokyo.

To be continued…

By C.I. Sivasubramanian
Aged 96, Retired Director, Ministry of Commerce, New Delhi

Mr. Sivasubramanian hails from Coimbatore. He has been living in Delhi throughout life. He was employed with the Government of India, Ministry of Commerce and retired as Director in 1986.

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