Japanese Horror Films

I’ve never been a big fan of horror films.  May be that’s because I classify all the good horror movies as “psychological dramas,” so all that’s left in the horror category are revolting slasher movies and B-grade films whose paltry attempts at frightening you just seem laughable.  

Putting my personal classification system aside, horror movies are popular in Japan.  The horror movie section at my local DVD rental store is certainly well-stocked with both Japanese and Western titles, and quite a few people I know consider horror to be their favourite genre.

Toshio from Ju-On.  If you see the film, you'll get to know this little kid well.

Worldwide, the two most famous Japanese horror movies would be Ju-On and Ringu.  This is because they were both remade into Hollywood hits.  Ju-On was remade as The Grudge, even though ju-on translates more accurately as “the curse” (or so I’m told), while Ringu was simply remade as The Ring.   I’ve seen both of the original Japanese versions.  Ju-On was quite spooky while Ringu was a little too implausible to have any  effect on me.  (What? An implausible horror film?  That’s a first.) 

After seeing these two famous Japanese horror films, I decided I should expose one of my Japanese friends to two of the scariest Western horror films, just to see how they react.  I chose The Exorcist  and a more recent film which I think is far more unnerving, The Exorcism of Emily Rose.  So what was their reaction?  Well, they weren’t scared by these films at all.  I wondered why this might be.  I now think I know why:  the Japanese aren’t raised in a culture that conditions them to be frightened by such films.

The Exorcist. Not scary.

Japan is largely an atheist country.  The most prevalent religion is Shinto, but that’s not a religion in the sense that Christians understand the concept.  Therefore, the Japanese have not grown up being told that there are demons, hell, a god judging your deeds, a devil who’s keen to claim you as his own, etc.  Being exposed to this sort of dogma, as most Western children are to varying degrees, is essential to finding films such as The Exorcist scary.  I think the only reason why we find The Exorcist scary is because it triggers a little voice in the back of our head, which was implanted there when we were a child, to say, “Perhaps this sort of thing actually happens.  Perhaps it could happen to you!”  If we never had that little voice implanted to begin with, we see films such as The Exorcist as complete nonsense, as we rightfully should.

Ju-On, however, is a different matter.  According to what I have read about Shinto, which admittedly isn't much, Shinto teaches that if a person dies a horrible death their spirit may live on bearing a grudge.  This is precisely the premise of the film Ju-On and perhaps why it is considered scary in Japan.  

Thank you for reading and take care.

Our Man in Japan

Japanese Valentine’s Day

Sunset from the top of the Mori Tower.

I’ve always been rather cynical about Valentine’s Day.  In Australia, I saw 14 February as a phoney holiday created by retailers to fill the void between Christmas seasons.  (Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are much the same, if you ask me.)  If I traced the history of Valentine’s Day back, I’m sure I would discover that it was created by a small group of jewellers, florists and chocolatiers who were anxious one year to keep the liquidator from the door … and if I’m wrong, I’ll amend the Wikipedia article to say it was that way!

Valentine’s Day in Japan, however, is a decidedly less commercial affair.  It works as follows.  On February 14, girls are supposed to give a chocolate to any boy they like.  If the girl is particularly diligent she will make the chocolate herself.  ‘Like’ does not have to mean love in a grand Biblical sense.  Fond of or grateful towards is fine.  Then, on 14 March, which is known as ‘White Day’ (for reasons unknown), a boy must give a chocolate to any girl who gave him a chocolate on 14 February.  Hence, it’s all fair and no-one has to spend a lot of money.

On 13 February, I was thinking about how many chocolates I might receive and how I would react to receiving a certain number of chocolates.  How many chocolates would make me happy?  How many would make me feel under-appreciated?  This is what I concluded.

Zero Chocolates:  Distraught and inconsolable.

1-2 Chocolates:  Disappointed.

3-4 Chocolates:  Happy.

5+ Chocolates:  Very happy.

So what happened on 14 February?  Well, here is a rather smug photo of my inbox on Valentine’s Day. 

This translates as "13 chocolates.  Wow!"

                   

13 chocolates in total.  Not bad for my first Japanese Valentine’s Day, if I may say so myself!

Take care and thank you for reading.

Our Man in Japan.

Dolphin Hunting in Japan

Recently I watched the famous documentary, The Cove, which is about the mistreatment of dolphins, particularly the hunting of dolphins by fisherman in Taiji, Japan.

Taiji is a town in Wakayama Prefecture. I have never been to Wakayama, which is not surprising given it is quite secluded. Wakayama is famous for wilderness, mountains, beautiful coastlines and, due to The Cove, dolphin hunting. I was contemplating visiting Wakayama a few months ago to try dolphin meat, amongst other things. However, I was forewarned that it is not sold to Westerners as Japanese fish sellers now suspect that any Westerner wishing to purchase dolphin meat is a journalist.

The Cove is captivating and deals with some interesting issues, such as cruelty to animals, sustainability, differences of culture, public health and much more. For now, here are the main points of the documentary.

1. Having dolphins perform at amusement parks such as Sea World is cruel, bad for their health and should be stopped. However, it is unlikely to be stopped as a single performing dolphin can make millions of dollars for an amusement park each year.

2. The killing of dolphins by fisherman in Wakayama is cruel.

3. It is unnecessary to kill dolphins because there is little demand for dolphin meat in Japan. Dolphin meat is in fact sold under the guise of whale meat to unsuspecting Japanese consumers because there is no other way to sell it.

4. We should not kill dolphins because they are highly intelligent. 

5. Dolphin meat contains dangerously high levels of mercury due to the location of dolphins at the top of the food chain.

6. Japan only persists with whaling and dolphin hunting because it is the only trace of the Japanese Empire which still remains.

The government of Wakayama has responded to the points made in The Cove with a statement that is available on its website. Here is a link: http://www.pref.wakayama.lg.jp/prefg/071500/dolphin_fishery.html

 

I definitely think some of the above six points have merit. I agree with (1): training dolphins to jump through hoops and balance beach balls on their noses is no different to teaching a chimpanzee to ride a motorbike at a circus. Many people would disapprove of the latter. As pointed out in The Cove, a dolphin always appear to be “smiling” due to the natural shape of its mouth. Hence, we wrongly think that it enjoys performing at an amusement park.

I don’t particularly agree with (2). Killing dolphins is no crueller than killing most marine animals which we consume. The Cove certainly shows some gory footage, but I doubt it is any more confronting than what occurs in your average abattoir. 

I am unsure about (3). Eating dolphin is certainly rare in Japan. In Tokyo, I have never met anyone who has eaten it. A Japanese friend and myself tried to find a restaurant that sells dolphin meat in Tokyo. We found one that use to. The owner said that you cannot buy dolphin meat in Tokyo any more, not even in the enormous Tsukiji Fish Market. He attributed this to the impact of the The Cove. When I was in Okinawa, I was told by a couple of locals that dolphin can be eaten in some Okinawa towns, but it is still uncommon. The statement issued by the government of Wakayama says that eating dolphin has been popular there for centuries as a source of protein. There is little arable land in Wakayama due to the mountainous terrain. Hence, the sea is relied on heavily as a food source. 

I think the conspiracy about dolphin being sold disguised as whale meat is not convincingly proven in The Cove. I doubt that dolphins would be hunted in Wakayama unless there was demand for their meat. Funnily, the Japanese word for dolphin is iruka (海豚), which literally means “sea pig.” The fact it is called “pig” makes me think it has been consumed for some time. Still, I don't really know how much dolphin meat is consumed in Japan, but I would expect it to be very little. 

I am undecided about (4). I always wonder whether it is right to say that the life of an intelligent animal is more valuable than that of an unintelligent animal. I think we often conflate charisma with intelligence. Dolphins are charismatic. A pig, which is also intelligent, is not charismatic. For that reason, the poor old pig ends up on our dinner plate.

(5) certainly concerns me. However, the greater concern is high mercury levels in tuna. Tuna is eaten in monumental proportions in Japan despite the fact that it can be high in mercury. There are many people in Japan who eat tuna several times a week … for their entire life! 

(6) is an interesting point. I think there's some truth in it. Despite great opposition, Japan continues whaling even though almost no-one in Japan would care if whaling ended. Japanese whaling vessels go on excursions to distant parts of the globe where they clash with ships from other countries. Japan recruits poor island nations (most of which were former colonies) to support whaling at the International Whaling Commissions (IWC). Japan seems to adopt an "us versus the World" mentality at the IWC. It all sounds a little imperial to me.

To date, I haven’t eaten dolphin. I doubt I’ll get an opportunity to either. I have eaten whale on a few occasions. (If you would like to read about that, please see the post Getting One Back for Jonah: The Day I Ate Whale.) If you do get a chance to see The Cove, please do. It is quite interesting and will let you decide for yourself whether dolphin hunting is a great shame of Japan.

Thank you for reading and take care.

Our Man in Japan.