The Client State

Japan always follows the United States. At the U.N. Security Council meetings before the outbreak of Gulf War II, France openly opposed a second resolution authorizing the the U.S. to disarm Iraq by force. Japan, in contrast, suported the new resolution, which meant that Japan was backing the United States. This attitude, however, did not reflect public opinion in Japan. Without any convincing explanation to the citizens in the Diet debates, the Japanese government simply adopted the U.S. position.

The Japanese government gave its support to the U.S. intervention in Iraq against the background of concern about North Korea. The Communist country, which abducted several Japanese citizens, withdrew from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and is threatening to build a nuclear arsenal. In case of a Korean nuclear attack, Japan must rely on the U.S. for its defense. Thus, the Japanese government could not discuss the Iraq issue without taking Kim Jong Il into account. This point considered, the government may have acted rationally and served the national interest.

Japan’s Constitution, however, makes it difficult to wage war. The constitution adopted after World War II embraces pacifism: article 9 states that “the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation” and “land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained.” Despite these principles, Japan has formed Self-Defense Forces and devotes large amounts of money to their maintenance. Then, faced with the Iraq issue, Japan chose to rationalize the use of U.S. force rather than to appeal for a peaceful solution of the crisis and continued inspections for weapons of mass destruction. Where on earth has the idea of pacifism gone?

The Japanese have lived in peace for more than 50 years but they have come to disregard the significance of the pacifist constitution. Article 9 has become no more than a name. The Japanese assume to be pacifists under the American nuclear umbrella. The country on which the U.S. dropped their bombs in the past is practically under their control now. Yet, as the only country ever to experience the devastations of the atomic bomb, Japan can testify before the world to the brutality of war. Is the nation going to abandon its stance against warfare and let the horror of war return?

It is vital that Japan should define its standpoint and make its presence felt in international affairs. Now, however, Japan is merely riding on the boat steered by the U.S., which is evident in the recent amendments of emergency bills as well. The discussion of the bills served only to accede to American requests. In essence, the bills enlist not only the Self-Defense Forces but the whole nation in U.S. warfare. As long as Japan is infirm of purpose before the U.S., it will not be recognized as a real partner.

Soft Tennis with Five Guys

I played soft tennis on May 18th with the Noro brothers (Kazuya and Kyota), Shingo (50th), Hidetaka (51st) and Oka-chan (54th). We are all English Department students except Kyota, but he is taking courses at the department.

It was a sunny day. We played on the artificial turf courts at Mie University. Kyota (the younger Noro) and Oka-chan have some experience because they played the game when they were junior high students. Kazuya (the elder Noro) and Shingo once belonged to the soft tennis club at Mie university. Hidetaka is a beginner.

I was surprised that they were all very good at playing it; Kazuya plays carefully and never misses a ball. Shingo has good control. Oka-chan hits a ball as best he can. Kyota is very good at lobbing: to lob is to hit a ball in a throw high curve. I have to run from side to side. Hidetaka is a beginner, but he understands quickly. He was practicing strokes against a wall rather than actually playing the game. If he continues to practice, he will become a very good player!

I enjoyed playing very much. I would like to play more with English Department students. Does anyone want to?

Hidetaka-san and other guys, please post if you have any comment.

Lost our way again...

Today I went to nabana-no-sato, a flower garden in Kuwana city, with my father, mother and grandmother Tama-chan. I drove to that garden and it took us more than three hours to get there! At first we couldn't find the park and asked some people where it was. We went up and down, crossing the Kiso River, the Ibi River and the Nagara River several times. It was exhausting but at the same time it was really a good driving practice for me, in a way...

We never get to a destination without losing our way at least once. That's because we don't consult the route carefully on the map beforehand. Usually my father knows the route more or less, and we follow his directions. What we learned from our experience is that memory is unreliable. I will consult the route very, very carefully when we go for a drive next time!

Have you ever lost your way? If so, how did you get out of that situation then?

Dreams

Some young people express their interests or dreams to the world. It is very good to have a dream and take some steps towards it, I think, because having a dream gives us the power to make it come true.

I wanted to be a pilot when I was little kid because I wanted to fly in the sky, free like a bird. It was going to be cool and fun. I did not like math but I tried my best in elementary school.

Next I wanted to become a teacher because of a teacher I had in my junior high school days. He was a social studies teacher. Usually we used the textbook in the class but he didn’t use it so much. He often said, “Imagine how these people thought. Why did they make this?” or “What do you think is their true purpose?” His class expanded our imagination. I wasn’t very good at history but I enjoyed it very much.

When I entered this university and began to study education, I was very much interested in psychology because that is such an exciting field of study. But at the same time, I realized that education plays a very important role in our development, and that if I learn about psychology in which I am interested, I can contribute to education, as well as to a great many other things.

So now I think that this dream is growing. As in my case, we first want to be something that feels cool or nice, but next we come to have dreams that establish a relation with the people around us. And we will probably reach a dream which shows us how we can make a difference in other people's lives.

In Japan, many young people say that they don’t have particular dreams. But I am convinced it is good to find and have a lot of dreams. As Walt Disney once said, “If you can dream it, you can do it.” If we hold on to our dreams, they will guide us.

Fireworks

The other day, I bought fireworks for this summer at the supermarket. Was it too early? I like fireworks very much, because they are very beautiful and enjoyable. In summer we often have fireworks displayed in many places. I sometimes watch them in the garden of my house, which tells me that summer has truly come. I like both watching and using them.

Especially, I love the sparkling fireworks which are very small and look like they are trying to sparkle hard by themselves. Last summer I played with these sparkling sticks with my friends and we competed with each other to see who could make them sparkle the longest. Since those things are very thin and light, they are easily put out by the wind, which makes this game very exciting.

In my hometown, we have a peculiar performance called tezutu-fireworks, which is made and displayed by men. They make it every year by stuffing some gunpowder in a bamboo tube, plugging it with newspapers, and then displaying it in their hands in front of everyone. It is a very dangerous display but an essential traditional event in my town. My father likes to participate because it makes him feel brave and daring.

Anyway, fireworks are normally displayed in the night sky in summer. Is it because it is too cold to see firework outdoors in winter?

Mario!

Mario is popular with everyone, especially young children, because he is one of the characters made by Nintendo, the famous video game company. He has a moustache and a big nose, and always wears overalls and a red cap.

I have a lot of Mario video games. I sometimes play them with my younger brother who really likes them. We usually enjoy a role-playing game; it is very attractive, and once we play it, we continue for almost an hour.

Super Mario World is one of my favorites. In this game, Mario goes to the Kuppa castle to save Princess Peach, who was kidnapped by Kuppa. On the way there, Mario meets many enemies who are Kuppa's followers. But Mario defeats all of them by stepping on their heads (he is good at jumping). And finally, he fights Kuppa and saves Princess Peach.

Welcome back

Owing not entirely but mainly to my own stupidity, Tawawa has been offline for almost a full day.

While trying to bounce incoming traffic from the silly green splash page directly to this weblog, I accidentally – and without first noticing it – transferred the domain name Tawawa.org from the web host's domain name server back to to the registrar's. That was bad: visitors ended up being redirected to an error message that said the site didn't exist.

Well, it didn't really cease to exist. The little baby just ran off and hid in the tool shed for a couple of hours.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Tama-chan

I love my grandparents, though my grandfather has been dead for about 14 years and I don't remember him very well.

My grandmother, whose name is Tamae and who is called Tama-chan by her friends, always complains that she has aches everywhere in her body, but she is doing well. Tama-chan is very talkative and she wants to know everything about me, my campus life, my friends and so on. She even asks me about my boyfriend! Sometimes I'm too embarrassed to answer her questions.

How about your grandparents? Do they ask questions like my grandmother does?

Interview with Dan Clark

Music is one of the greatest loves of my life. In particular, I have a taste for pop and rock bands. After I got into Mie University, I played the the guitar at the university's Band Club for two years. In spring 2002, I left the club and went from guitar to bass guitar. I'm learning how to play the bass now.

A short while ago, I was lucky to make contact with Dan, the guitarist of Rattbelly, and I conducted an interview with him via e-mail. Here's the transcript.

1. When did you start playing the guitar?

I started when I was 11 years old, although I first started music lessons on piano when I was 5. My mother was a promising young classical pianist and my father was a jazz trumpet player, so I was destined to make music.

2. Have you ever played other instruments except for the
guitar in your band?

In Rattbelly I'm also the lead singer. I've never done anything in bands except sing and play guitar, but I've played lots of different instruments in other ensembles and in the recording studio: trombone, piano, cello, sax, drums, percussion, and others.

3. How long has Rattbelly been together?

Five years. We started out as a metal band but switched to punk.

4. What is the first song that you ever played on the guitar?

That's a really good question; I honestly don't remember. It was probably a folk song or a hymnal, something simple. I didn't start playing rock and metal until after I had been playing for a year or two. I was lucky and got a great teacher who showed me how to improvise and solo, so I got to solo with jazz bands and picked up rock songs pretty quickly. I was always playing in bands with older guys because there weren't enough guys my age who were as good as me.

5. Who are your favorite musicians?

Living or dead? I'll assume either.

Beethoven, Bach, Penderecki, Saint-Sens, Mahler, Chopin, Tori Amos, Hatebreed, Atmosphere, The Roots, Jimmy Eat World, Weezer, Rainer Maria, and pretty much any punk band on Fat Wreck Chords, which is a great punk label in San Francisco. My list would be too big, so I think that's enough for now.

6. Have you ever been abroad?

Unfortunately, no. I really really want to travel and see lots of places: Canada, Australia, Japan and Scotland are at the top of my list.

7. What are your favorite foods?

I love everything. I'm not picky at all.

8. How do you make songs? (I have never made any original songs myself)

To be honest, it just sort of happens. It usually starts when I hear a melody in my head, and start singing it to myself, then I begin to write the chord changes and rhythms around it -- all in my head. I will compose while I'm walking, eating, driving, or whenever my brain is free. It never stops.

I usually have a song mostly done by the time I get to the guitar to double-check everything. What's interesting is that I can write a great song, but if my band members aren't behind it, it won't work. Punk rock must be played with absolute conviction, or it fails, and so I've written lots and lots of songs that never made it into our setlist because they didn't quite make the grade. I've probably thrown away more songs than some people have written; Rattbelly is very choosy about what gets put in the setlist. I can also force myself to come up with something if we need new material, but that's usually not as much fun as letting inspiration strike on its own.

Mostly writing songs is like anything else; it takes lots and lots of practice. I've been writing my own songs for over twenty years, and I got my degree in Music Composition.

If you want to try writing your own songs, I'd start by copying a musician you like. Listen to one of your favorite songs and try to figure out how they did what they did, and try to write something similar. Also, if you find yourself singing something that you've never heard before; remember it! It's probably original! Try to write chords around it and see what you can come up with.

9. What are Rattbelly major strengths?

Conviction, great melodies, and an interesting blend of punk and metal.

10. Please give me a tip on how to manage a band successfully.

The main thing is to have fun doing it, and do it because you love it. Don't be in a band for the money, because musicians do not get paid very well at all. Always be honest and upfront with your band members; talk to each other, don't hide things or let things get out of hand.

Practice a lot! Rattbelly practices three hours a night for three nights a week, and it used to be more. Go to lots of other people's shows, make friends, be known on the scene as a nice guy who's fun to play shows with and party with; this will get you lots of gigs and you'll have more fun! Try to give away as many free demo CDs as you possibly can to friends, radio stations, promoters, everybody! If you're good, people will come to your shows, and then you can get them to buy stuff like t-shirts and albums and things.

Above all, have conviction and make sure all your band members have conviction. Being a musician is a lifestyle, not a lottery for losers trying to get rich and famous.

Have Fun!

A dog, swallows and us

In our house there is a dog whose name is Puppy. Of course I call her "Puppy!" when she doesn't follow me. She has lived with us for six years. She doesn't do what I say but stays where she is or lifts her paw to my hand. She barks every time she wants to go for a walk that usually takes around thirty minutes. She eats many different kinds of food, not only dog food but things such as sea bream and fish sausage. And when my father comes home, she runs to him and jumps at him wagging her tail. But she doesn't do this when I come home. She knows who is the most important person and regards me as a 3rd-ranked person even though I take her for a walk every morning.

Above our house entrance there is a nest of swallows. They are not usually there during daytime but fly around looking for insects, especially dragonflies, to feed their offspring. Swallows make their nest on pillars, in the corner of ceilings, beneath eaves, or wherever people live nearby. That is because swallows try to protect themselves from their natural enemies such as crows, snakes and so forth, so that those cannot attack their nests. Making nests around houses doesn't mean that swallows love human beings but that they try to protect themselves. My father told me that last year.

In fact, swallows did make their nest last year in the same place my picture shows. But my mother removed it after they left last year. Then, this year, they came back but there were no nest, so they made another one in which they live today. My mother says that she will not break it again.

Among the Japanese it is said that the house on which swallows make their nest will be happy because swallows feed and raise their offspring very earnestly. So swallows are a symbol of "earnest parents." It is believed that married couples or families who live in a house with a swallow's nest will have lots of children in the future.

Self-deceit

I am studying every day for an examination in July to be a junior high school teacher. But I am sure to fail the exam if I just expand my knowledge about education, for not only is one’s knowledge examined but one’s personality is tested as well. The Board of Education in Mie Prefecture is eager to emphasize the importance of one’s personality, which means that I have to improve my competence in expressing my thoughts. To be an eloquent speaker is indispensable to anyone who aims to pass the exam.

However, I am inept at self-expression and I dislike reshaping myself into a character that conforms to the authorities’ expectations. Yet I am forced to disguise my introversion with a fake outgoing nature before examiners. Whoever has a withdrawn nature is confronted with this difficulty when going out into society. Gregarious people, on the other hand, can easily blend in with society. The tide is against introverts.

At length, I have come to realize that one has to draw a distinction between personality and sociability, for introverts like me will not be hired as school teachers if they show their personality in job interviews. They all have to feign sociability against their character and exhibit it, which threatens to kill their personality. Interviewers had better own up plainly that they set a high value not on one’s personality but one's sociability.

Want to join?

Last December, I walked about 30 kilometers from Matsusaka station to Ise Shrine with other students of the English Department: Yukiko, Masami, Hiroko, Chie, Daijirou, Kuniyuki and Hidetaka. The purpose of this trip was to buy tsuitachi-mochi, a kind of manju which is sold on the first day of each month at a particular place, and to eat rice porridge which we can eat only on the first day of each month.

We left Matsusaka station at around 10 o’clock in the evening and arrived at our destination at around 7 o’clock in the morning. It was a long trip! Yukiko and I suggested this plan, because neither of us belonged to any club and we wanted to do something special. At first, we worried about how many people would join us, because it was dangerous for two girls to walk in the middle of the night, and we would have had to call off our plan unless other people joined up. But many (?) kind and strange people joined us, so we could carry out our plan!

It was a really long trip and I got tired because of the sudden rain and the cold. I was dead on my feet and felt the road would never end. But thanks to my friends I made it through, and after the long trip the rice porridge warmed my exhausted body. I cannot express the feeling of achievement! So Yukiko and I are going to do it again! Anybody want to join?

Dental Clinics

Recently I have been going to the dentist once a week. Three weeks ago, I felt my teeth aching but he said that it was only hyperesthesia. However, I was also told that I had some decayed teeth and that they needed to be fixed. So I came to visit the clinic regularly. The experience taught me two things about dental clinics.

First, I think the atmosphere of the clinic should be more cheerful and familiar. I wonder why it is so uncomfortable, on the whole. Most of the patients may feel scared or irritated by hearing the squeaking sound of the machines, and they may get somber by the smell of medicines.

Second, people have to go to the dentist too many times! I have to attend the clinic again and again to complete the treatment. I think it should be reduced and I hope they make more treatments per one consultation to bring down the number of times you have to go there.

Do you have any happy or bitter experiences about dental clinics? What do you think about them? Next Friday, I will have to go to the dentist again...

A cappella

The word "a cappella" means singing without any musical instruments. Originally, a cappella began among Christians. Recently, however, a new style of a cappella has appeared, which is called "contemporary a cappella." In this style, present-day pop music is performed only with the human voice, that is to say, even the sound of bass, drums and percussion is done only with the human voice!

I often listen to a cappella music and go to a cappella concerts because listening to such songs makes me happy and relaxed. I think the human voice has the power to heal. I recommend a cappella music to anyone who's feeling tired.

There are many a cappella groups, of course. One of the most famous will come to Japan in June. The group's name is Rockappella. I will go to their concert with my friends, and I'm looking forward to listening to their songs.

Winnie the Pooh

As you may know, I like Winnie the Pooh, the famous Disney character. He and his friends are very cute and many kinds of items are sold in shops all over Japan. But I think the majority of Japanese people like Pooh only as a mascot character. I mean, I wonder if they know the Winnie the Pooh books. Even if they do know them, they might not have read them.

These stories were written by A.A. Milne for his son, Christopher Robin, who is one of the characters in the Winnie the Pooh books. This site will show you more about Pooh and 100 acre wood, where Pooh and his friends live. If you click each of character in 100 acre wood, you can see the introduction of them and hear their voice.

Since I read the books, I like Winnie the Pooh better than before, because I came to know the funny and rustic characters better, which cannot really be known without reading the books. The books may be too easy and boring for adults to read, for they were written for children. But when I am reading them, I feel as if I were in 100 acre wood with Pooh and his friends like a child (maybe I am a child?). Therefore Winnie the Pooh is, I think, very attractive not only for children but also adults.

Anyway, I wish that I could keep the mind of a child even after I grow up!

Soft Tennis

I have played soft tennis since I was a junior high school student; now I belong to the soft tennis club at Mie University. I play it on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. There are matches in Mie prefecture at least once a month; four matches take place in May.

There is a difference between tennis and soft tennis. In tennis, the balls used by the players are yellow and very hard. In soft tennis, by contrast, the players use balls which are white and made of rubber. While tennis is spread all over the world, especially America and Europe, Soft tennis is played only in Asia, especially Japan and Taiwan.

Since what I play is soft tennis, I hope that many more people will play it.

Playing sports has at least three advantages. First, of course, moderate exercise is good for one's health. Second, it is interesting to see improvement of one's skills. I always confine my efforts to a limited purpose, for example, "I want to win the next match." When I achieve the goal, I am very happy. Finally, people who play sports can have many friends in many places. They can talk about sports or other common hobbies with each other.

I really like soft tennis. Unipyon, which is similar to tennis but easier, is also OK!

Japanese Culture: Recommendations

Matt Kimmich, a creative maverick, theatre director, teacher and PhD student at the Unversity of Bern, Switzerland, sent me an e-mail yesterday, which reads in part:

Seeing that you've been living in Japan for a while, I guess you might know some of the Studio Ghibli/Miyazaki anime. Do you know any of their films? I recently saw Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi), which I thought was an amazing piece of work. Can you recommend any Japanese culture (pop or not) that a gaijin like me could get into? (Would make a nice change from most of the solidly Anglosaxon stuff I'm surrounded with here...)

Miyazaki is a genius, which took me a while understand, though. A long time ago, Hayase-sensei lent me a copy of My Neighbor Totoro. I watched the first few bits of the video and was rather underwhelmed: the backdrops were lovingly made but the kids were just too cloyingly cute, the mum was too cloyingly cute, and the dad was too good to be true. I switched it off before any of the Totoros ever appeared. As time went on, the video was beginning to give me a guilt trip because I wanted to return it. I figured I first had to sit through the whole piece before doing that, however, so eventually I got around to popping it in the video again.

And it pulled my socks off. Once Totoro appears, the video really gets magic, and I even got to like the plucky little brat.

I don't usually care much for the Academy Awards: movie stars, yeah, so what? But I was really glad when Miyazaki got the Oscar for Spirited Away: that's one great piece of anime. Last term I was reading Lewis Carroll's Alice books with a group of students, and I asked them to compare and contrast the novels with that particular work of Myazaki's. Yukiko-san wrote that she liked Spirited Away better than Alice in Wonderland because it had a strong environmental message in contrast with which Alice looked like a gratuitous romp. Fair enough, maybe...

The environmental concern is more pronounced Princess Mononoke, a darker work by far. It had a rather mixed reception in the U.S., I understand, because many parents were expecting a kiddie's movie like Totoro only to find that there were beheadings and dismemberments in it. But the violence fits with the theme and it's a very powerful movie.

Castle in the Sky (Tenku no shiro Laputa) is a classical instance of misprision. In Gulliver's Travels, the story of the floating island Laputa is a reactionary curmudgeon's (and whacking great writer's) scathing satire on science. In Miyazaki's take on the island, it appears as an ecological utopia tended by ultra-powerful robots with hearts of gold: that sort of makes you picture Swift tearing off his periwig in a fit of choleric rage. Maybe Miyazaki was taking revenge for Swift's unflattering portait of Japan in Gulliver's Travel's. Myazaki's father, by the way, was an aviation engineer, and the love of flying results in a few great scenes in that work.

But on to the more general point: Japanese culture that deserves a world audience. Does anyone have any recommendations?