Portrait of a Nihonjin: 中村拓 さん

I met 中村拓 さん by chance earlier today as I was crossing the bridge on my way to Hirakata station. I have crossed the bridge many times over the semester but have never really paid attention to who was selling goods from the small moped stand before because I'm usually always in a hurry.

 

 However, today as I stopped to snap a picture of the river from the bridge I noticed 中村拓 さん's friendly and lighthearted demeanor. Even though it was cold and windy, and there were not many potential customers coming up the bridge at the time, 中村拓 さん was always smiling cheerfully. I also noticed that he was young, around my age, so I was wondering what kinds of good he was selling in the covered moped. I hoped that because he was just waiting and not too busy at the time, meant that he was more approachable as a photo subject.

It took a while (I shuffled around some benches pretending to take pictures of the scenery as I waited for him to finish with a group of obaasan customers) but I finally got up the courage to go up and talk to him. First I introduced myself and explained that I was doing this anthropology photo blog project for class. It was my first time trying to hold a conversation with a complete stranger in japanese so I was a little nervous, but he listened very patiently. He was very interested to hear that I was a Gaidaisei and we talked a little about where I was from and what classes I was taking.

When I asked to take some portraits of him, he immediately agreed, saying I should take as many as I wanted. Unfortunately, my camera batteries cut out at this point, so I was only able to squeeze a few shots in. Afterwards I asked him to kindly write down his name in Kanji so I could put it with this  blog and to show me what he was selling. To my surprise it was pastries (and not seafood as I had previously thought). I learned that this was just 中村拓 さん's part time job.

To be polite I selected a Dragonball Z cookie to buy, but 中村拓 さん promptly offered me a discount off of the written price.

It was only later that I realized how much more about 中村拓 さん I should found out, such as his age, hometown, how long he had been doing this job, etc. I think a combination of the camera battery problems and speaking to a stranger in japanese made me pretty flustered and I forgot most of my questions. However this was definitely a good first time experience with approaching unknown subjects directly and I learned a lot from my mistakes. If I ever see 中村拓 さん again on the bridge I'll be sure to say hi and make up the missing information here~

Hirakata Play Spaces

Continuing my trend of examining sterotypes of this "well labled society"....


Overseas Japan is often portrayed as "an aging society" in the news and media. Even a quick search of 'Japan' on major news websites like BBC will probably turn up many articles, both old and recent, on the subject of age imbalance in the Japanese population. Somehow the mental image left behind of Japanese communities by this sort of media focus is that of a staggering pyramid of pruny old men and women being supported by the rare few karaoke-loving, manga-totting youngsters still lucky enough to be born.


In actuality, living here in the residential neighborhood of Hirakata 枚方市 allows you to see both sides of the coin, so to speak. As expected, the elderly population around the neighborhood is truly abundant in a Japanese way, and they make their presence known by leading incredibly active lives. On any given day, Katahoko Park is bound to be filled with springy grannies speed-walking and grandpas walking their akitas. On the other hand, while the data certainly supports the evidence of major declines in birth rates in Japan, children are also far from being absent in the community.


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”ねこのつもり”

Everywhere scattered around the neighborhood are parks and small playgrounds ready to be used by supposedly disappearing local youth population....And they are quite well used play areas, as I discovered when I visited one such park near the river and Seminar House IV.

Older and younger kids mingle and play.

   

  Perhaps it was the weather but the park was bustling with children of all ages and both genders, eagerly engaged in games of soccer, tag, or just hanging around like one of the “cool” kids. The area was noisy, like a proper playground. Kids yelled, pushed, and climbed trees or just sat and chatted with friends. One brick wall is filled with scribbled graffiti and cute cartoons. It seems like the play spaces is it's own area where kids can feel safe and free to express themselves outside of strict societal rules. 

Moreover, apart from an old man walking his dog and an attentive mother watching her toddler, adults were entirely absent from the space. In no way could you feel the stagnant and tired society that Japan is often portrayed as.

The energy of youth.

Whether at the park, or down unexpected staircases to the river, the play spaces of Hirakata add a touch of liveliness to this gray, compact neighborhood area.

Kids and a dog walker explore the river bed.

Young and independent...the future of Japan.