Japan...land of anime, geisha and Godzilla!
It is also one of the most populated countries in the world, with apartments so small that a four-bedroom apartment is as big as a living room in a four-bedroom American home. And yet, it's still very comfortable.
Tokyo, the capital, is one of the most beautiful and colorful cities in the Far East. As a matter of fact, the colorful lights brighten the streets so brilliantly that it's a wonder that anybody can get to sleep. But, one look at the inside of your hotel room and you can see how easy it is to sleep amidst all the chaos outside. Windows are heavily tinted to dull the bright lights and insulated with the walls to offer unrequited silence so the weary traveler can easily fall asleep.
There are many sights worth visiting in Japan that the common traveler cannot take it all in in one or two weeks. It would take months! For instance, west of Tokyo (and yet visible from the rooftops of hotels) stands Mt. Fuji, its summit crowned with snow all year round. South of this majestic mountain are the cities of Kyoto and Yokohama, both equally as bustling and beautiful as Tokyo.
On the northern island of Hokkaido is the city of Sapporo, one of the most beautiful cities outside of the bustling cities on the island of Kyushu.
Far to the west on the island of Kyushu is the new city of Hiroshima, sight of the most powerful explosion to rock the 20th century. Yes, the city has been completely rebuilt except for the area directly around Ground Zero. There, one building stands as an eternal monument to atomic power. At its base are the names of the 80,000 victims of the first atomic bomb ever to be detonated.
Seventy miles west-southwest is a similar monument, listing the names of the 75,000 victims of the second atomic bomb in the city of Nagasaki. It is said that the blast was so powerful that it was able to be seen in mainland China. British author J. G. Ballard, author of the autobiographical novel "Empire of the Sun", told that he thought the flash was an angel who came to retrieve the soul of a woman who he sat with as she died. Even though the bomb exploded over three hundred miles away, Ballard said he had to shield his eyes from the sun-like brightness.
Today, the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki harbor no ill feelings to the Americans. Many believe the bombings were deserved for politicians eagerness to start a war with "a sleeping giant".
Arthur Golden wrote in his most famous novel, Memoirs of a Geisha..."A story like mine has never been told...for my world is as forbidden as it is fragile. Without its secrets, it cannot survive".
The world of the beautiful geisha is one solely of women. It is comprised of women and one woman...the okasan, or mother...runs the entire okiya (geisha house). Her sole job is to raise young girls to become the most desirable women in the hanamachi (district). The girl starts out her life in the okiya as a worker...a servant. She cleans the clothing of her okei-san (big sister) as well as her room. She also cleans the okiya and, if the okasan believes her to be ready, sends her to a school whose sole purpose is to teach her to dance,
play the shamisen (a Japanese stringed instrument, not unlike the guitar, which is played with a stiff brush instead of the fingers),
and to entertain in a teahouse and be a hostess to a certain man who may someday become her danna, or patron. If she is lucky...and is chosen by a very wealthy man...she can be set for the rest of her life. If he is single, she may eventually become his wife. However, if he is already married, he remains married...yet she remains his mistress and may one day be chosen to become the next okasan of the okiya, a position no less beautiful and no less honorable. Fact: the geisha is not a prostitute. She is an paid escort and, as her title's translation speaks for itself, an artist. All the money she earns goes into the funds of the okiya, to be inherited by whichever geisha is adopted by the okasan as her daughter.
Today, Japan remains just as mysterious as it had been for the past 10,000 years...and its mysteries are there for one and all to solve.
No comments:
Post a Comment