Archive for June, 2011

No More Sayuki – Western Geisha Pressured Into Quitting?

In 2007, Australian anthropologist Fiona Graham began a new career as “Sayuki the geisha“:

Graham formally debuted as a geisha in the Asakusa District of Tokyo, after completing the normal preparation of around one year. She claims to be the first western geisha in Japanese history (American Liza Dalby is credited as the first Western-born geisha). Graham is taking lessons in several arts, but her main art is yokobue (Japanese bamboo flute).

Her achievement of geisha status was praised in the Western media. She was even featured on Oprah.

Now, only a few years later, her geisha career has come to an end. An article in in the Telegraph says that Graham has left the Asakusa Geisha Association – either because she quit or because she was kicked out.

Graham apparently did not follow the rules of the Association. She thought her single year of training was enough, despite being told by her elders that she needed to continue taking lessons. The situation got so bad that they stopped considering her a geisha and requested that she quit:

according to the strict rules of the geisha world, a newcomer must get the permission of her elders to perform in front of customers, usually in tea houses and restaurants. Those that are not sufficiently accomplished are not allowed to perform.

“She says she is a flute player but she does not go to lessons and said she was already good enough,” said the fellow geisha. “But to perform in front of guests is very important. You have to be good enough and you need to have permission.

“No-one would give her permission because she was not good enough – so she became hysterical, yelling at everyone. That is not our style. We have a traditional way of thinking and we have to obey our older ‘sisters’.”

Keiji Chiba, a spokesman for the Asakusa Geisha Association, declined to comment on whether Ms Graham was fired from the association, although another official did not deny that she had been “asked to leave.”

The article also mentions how Graham gave performances outside of the geisha district:

One geisha noted that because the association would not permit Ms Graham to perform in front of customers, she began arranging her own events outside the geisha district.

“She organised these parties, but most of the other geisha didn’t go because we don’t think that she is a geisha,” she said, adding that as Ms Graham had no-one to accompany her flute playing, she used backing music from a portable music player.

“She played like that in front of the guests – we would not dare do that,” the geisha said. “It’s embarrassing, but she just does not understand that.”

She seems to have refused the Telegraph’s request for an interview, so aside from a claim that she had been bullied, her side of the story is not presented in the article. Graham’s official website contains no information about how she has given up on being a geisha.

Update: The Australian has interviewed Graham. She alleges that she was kicked out solely because she was a foreigner:

Ms Graham, who has taken the name Sayuki, told The Australian the Asakusa Geisha Association had rejected her request to operate independently after the “mother” of her geisha house fell ill and was unable to continue operations. “I asked the geisha association, given the circumstances of my mother, if they would allow me to become independent in December,” she said.

“I was told very directly that the reason I couldn’t have tenure was because I was a foreigner.

“Being the first white geisha was the hardest thing I have had to do.

“I have worked very, very hard, so it’s a very hard thing when the geisha association would not allow me to become independent solely because I am a foreigner.”

She said despite the refusal she would continue to operate as a geisha. “It’s possible that I might have to move to another geisha district. But there are geisha districts who are willing to allow me in,” she said.

While the Telegraph tried to write a balanced story, the Australian seems to have based its article entirely on Graham’s version of what happened. Her refusal to follow the Association’s rules is not mentioned.

[hat tip to FG]

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Rampage Jackson Teaches English to Japanese Fans

A newly viral video clip shows how MMA fighter Quinton “Rampage” Jackson gets cheap laughs by tricking Japanese fans into saying insulting things about themselves in English (“I am a fag“/”I suck dick“/”I have big tits“):

A few comments from YouTube users who watched the video:

“How immature can you be to be entertained by doing this in another country. Rampage is a douchebag.” – ilmostro696

“I first saw this video on an MMA (mixed martial arts) and believe me, I’m not the only one who thinks this is disrespectful. How would you feel if a Japanese MMA star got you to say “I suck dick” in their language and you had no idea what you’re saying… I’m sure you woldn’t find it funny. I have a sense of humor, but this is f-cked up man!” – mmafanatic90

“funny at the time Mr. Jackson. But guarantee you lost a sh-tload of Japanese fans.” – jpmorgan187

Seems like just a matter of time before some Japanese netizens discover this and create a Japanese subtitled version of the video. Say goodbye to your fans in Japan, Rampage.

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Sumo Wrestling Resumes After Scandal (Taiwanese Animation)

Taiwan’s NMA.TV delivers yet another wacky computer animation about the news, this time about sumo competition resuming after a match-fixing scandal caused the cancellation of the spring tournament:

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Naoto Kan’s Resignation Announcement: A Huge Scam?

Yesterday morning, Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced his resignation. Although he didn’t specify the exact date on which the resignation would take place, it was widely believed that he’d be leaving within a few months. The resignation announcement was apparently a compromise between Kan and his opponents within the DPJ. After saying he was going to quit, the anti-Kan group within the DPJ decided to vote against yesterday’s no-confidence motion. Kan “survived” the no-confidence vote by telling everyone he was going to be quitting soon.

Yesterday evening, Kan made an announcement saying that he would not be resigning this year. If he were to resign, he would be doing so sometime next year, after the Fukushima nuclear reactors were completely cooled down. Some who had decided to drop their support for the no-confidence motion were very surprised:

Former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who brokered the deal, said that Kan had agreed to go by the end of June, while Kan said at a press conference late Thursday that the work required him to stay at least through the end of the year.

Hatoyama shot back Friday morning, saying that Kan was a “con artist” if he tried to stay on.

“Right before the no-confidence vote, he says he will resign, and then once it’s voted down, he says he won’t. The prime minister should not be behaving like a con artist…If he is such a person, I should have supported the no-confidence vote,” Hatoyama told reporters Friday morning.

You can read 2channel netizen reactions to Kan’s un-announcement of resignation at Itai News. A lot of the comments brand Kan a liar, but others seem happy that he’s not giving up.

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JR Yamanote Line Gets New Seats

Starting this month, some trains on JR’s Yamanote line are going to have a trial run of a new style of seats:

The new seats are shaped in a way that is supposed to encourage people to sit in a manner that is less annoying to other passengers. It should be harder to spread out one’s legs or sit in the middle of two seats. They’re also supposed to be more comfortable than the old blue seats.

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Is Ramen Racist?

Over at the Huffington Post, Anneli Rufus writes that ramen is racist because it was once called shina soba (“It’s not racist in substance but in context — if you go back far enough.“):

As Japan’s most popular Chinese dish, shina soba symbolized the expanding Japanese empire, according to Katarzyna Joanna Cwiertka, author of Modern Japanese Cuisine: Food, Power, and National Identity. By the early 20th century, this empire included Korea, Taiwan, Manchuria, eastern Siberia, parts of China, and many South Pacific islands. Giddy totalitarianism spawned “a China boom” in Japan, Cwiertka asserts:

“Chinese-style decorations, costumes, and products were eagerly consumed by the Japanese public as they translated colonialism into a concrete experience. By physically interacting with China through the ingestion of Chinese food and drink, the Japanese masses were brought closer to the idea of empire.”

In other words, to eat shina soba in those years was to symbolically gobble up China itself. As China represented the empire’s biggest prize, a bowl of shina soba represented nothing less than world domination.

After Japan lost its empire in World War II, the word shina came under fire. Deplored by many as a symbol of imperialist aggression and Japanese wartime atrocities in China and beyond, shina was now seen as a horrific ethnic slur, embodying imperialist xenophobia: in other words, racist. Shina soba was briefly renamed chuka soba; chuka is a less politically incorrect Japanese term for “Chinese-style.” But in 1958, Nissin Foods introduced the first-ever packaged instant version of the dish. As its broth was chicken-flavored, the product was called Chikin Ramen.

As you can see from the photos at the top of this post, there are still quite a few ramen restaurants that use the term “shina soba” in their names or advertisements, and nobody seems to be lining up with protest signs to condemn them. Google Blog Search also shows plenty of blog posts about people who have enjoyed a bowl of shina soba. While it is true that using shina to refer to China or Chinese people has a pretty negative connotation in today’s Japan, it seems like a stretch to say that ramen’s old name is racist.

[hat tip to Steve]

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