Anthropology of Baltimore

Here in lies the projects and research of Shul Sargent during her work with Anthropology By the Wire, 2013

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Magnificent Malformed Box concerts

Attempting to condense five concerts into a blog size post is very difficult.  So much happened on each day and so much of it are things that are specific to concerts of this genre of music that it’s hard to explain certain things without long explanations.  I will probably make separate posts to explain Visual Kei and its fans in detail later, but this blog post is about the concerts so there will just be an overview.

Visual Kei is a subculture of Japanese music that uses make-up, costumes and concepts along with a band’s chosen style of music.  There’s no restrictions of the genre of music the band chooses to use, it is the look that is most important.  The band the GazettE is a Visual Kei band formed in 2002, whose tour, THE MAGNIFICENT MALFORMED BOX, I attended while in Japan.  The band is made up of five members, pictured below from left to right Reita (bass), Uruha (guitar), Kai (drums), Aoi (guitar) and Ruki (vocals).

Image © PSCompany

I went to their tour dates in Osaka, Akita, Morioka and Sendai as well as the tour final, named CODA, in Yokohama. In October 2013, they released their new album BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY so the setlist for each tour date had a lot of the new songs on it.  The image below are the setlists for the first 4 tours I attended, the highlighted songs are from BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY.

As you can see, there’s generally a pattern of new songs played and old favorites that are played almost every time.  You’d think fans would get tired of hearing the same songs after going to multiple tour dates, but I personally didn’t get tired of any of them.

Fans travel from all over Japan to attend the tour, and some, like me, from all over the world.  While I was there, I met people from France, Germany, Finland, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and America along with Japanese fans.  Fans show their love for the band in various forms such as buying from the band’s merchandise label BLACKMORAL or cosplaying favorite band looks over the years.

The cosplay (コスプレ: shortened from ‘costume play’) of the band members are very impressive.  

There were a few that I was too shy to ask to take their photos because their cosplay was almost unnervingly close to looking like the real thing.

Though the concerts didn’t start until 6PM on most nights, fans arrived at the venue as early as 7AM to stand in line for merchandise and to hang out with friends and other fans.  It wasn’t uncommon to go into a restaurant near the venue and have it be completely full of fans and cosplayers hiding from the cold.

During visual kei concerts, it’s not uncommon to see 振り付け (furitsuke: choreography, often shortened to 'furi') of 手バン (te-ban: hand+ shortened form of banging. A play on 'head banging' to 'hand banging') that go along with songs.  It may seem strange to see hand movements along with headbanging at a rock concert, but it’s a lot of fun to do.  Some bands don’t like furi, while others help create certain gestures.  The movements are often so synchronized it’s hard to imagine that the movements are created during lives.  Though she has since deleted her blog, my friend Toki made posts about furi at the GazettE lives and can be found HERE and HERE.  I personally learned many of the movements from watching recordings of lives, but I learned a lot of new ones during the lives I attended.

It seems a little odd to write a blog about concerts and not talk much about the concert and the band itself, but one of the best things about going to a GazettE concert is the fans themselves.  I made quite a few new Japanese friends despite language barriers because of the concerts.

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Just posted over 100 pictures from the Shibuya 109 New Year’s fukubukuro sales & from shops around Shibuya.

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Posted 200 pics of Harajuku fukubukuro (luck bag) sales - including LaForet, Takeshita Dori, Cat Street, Urahara & more!

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I'm getting ready to go to my last concert in Japan tomorrow, but I wanted to share this interesting bit of information!

My next two reblog will be a series of photos from Tokyo Fashion about the 福袋 (fukubukuro or Lucky Bag) events that have been happening!  Since Japan doesn't celebrate Christmas like America does, they don't have a 'Black Friday' event.  The closest thing they have to Black Friday are huge sales on New Years including Lucky Bags.  Lucky Bags are shopping bags filled with unknown articles of merchandise from the store's previous season.  Peeking into the Lucky Bags to see what's inside is not allowed, but it's a good way to get items from your favorite store (usually a clothing store) for an extremely cheap price.  Many Lucky Bags can be preordered, but people line up very early on New Years day through most of January to buy Lucky Bags for anywhere from 5,000 yen ($50) and up.

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It's really interesting trying to compile a blog post regarding the concerts I've been attending.  To me, who has been listening to the music for almost 10 years now, it's very simple and natural, but when I try to write things out, I realize how much culture is attached to the music itself.  What started out as a simple concert report has turned into a several page long outline and a huge project because there's so much information and it's such a fun and creative culture I want to do it justice.

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The world is becoming more and more reliant on the internet.  I personally spend a lot of time on the internet, but at home I would never really say I was completely attached or addicted to it.  It has become painfully obvious that I am in a place where my phone plan doesn’t entirely cover my internet usage and wifi is not readily available.  It’s a little distressing to find myself reaching for my phone during a down time instead of enjoying the moment on my own.  The internet provides a means to share your experience and so it creates a feeling of a need to share.

Thankfully for people like me or directionally challenged people who require GPS, finding free wifi in Japan is not that difficult.  When I first came to Japan in 2010, my hotel only offered wired internet that plugs into a computer.  Now the same hotel offers wifi that can be connected via a laptop as well as a mobile phone.  When booking a hotel, check to see if your hotel has wifi, this is the first step.

Step two is Google ‘starbucks wifi japan’ and set up an account on the ‘at_STARBUCKS_Wi2’ page.  Don’t worry if you don’t speak Japanese!  The site is in English (or Japanese if you want to practice. Just click on ‘日本語’).  It’s important to do this when you arrive in your hotel because once you step into a Starbucks you will now connect automatically (it will ask for a sign in, but once you put in your log in and password you wont have to type it in again).  If you’re planning on spending time in Japan's major cities and like the internet, Starbucks will become your best friend regardless of whether or not you drank Starbucks back home.  Even if you don't drink Starbucks, it's worth giving it a try!  They have special drinks that aren't available in America.

Another place that has free wifi is the major platforms on the JR East line.  This wifi sign in information is also available in English, but is very slow to log in and doesn’t reach further than the platforms.  Its best use is for tucking yourself against the wall to double check on which train line to take.  It’s a good idea if you have a smartphone to take a screenshot of your trip (Google maps is an excellent tool), so you’re not tethered to wifi or tempted to turn on your data which can be expensive.

If your trip takes you away from a major city it becomes more and more difficult to find wifi.  Before leaving, it’s a good idea to note if there’s a Starbucks in the area you’re visiting.  If there is none, there are other options that are not free.  While I was in Akita, Morioka and Sendai, there was little to no free wifi, so I purchased a one day wifi sponsored by Softbank (SWS1DAY), a phone company in Japan.  I’ve read mixed reviews on this service because the company sends you a pin number to your email to register, but after that, I found very few problems with it except that in Sendai, the wifi range didn’t reach my hotel room.  The cost is 490 yen, which right now is about $4.70.

I wish I wasn’t as addicted to the internet as I apparently am, though having it in my pocket to upload pictures and posts to friends is extremely convenient.

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If you’re in Japan and planning on traveling to different areas and cities, the新幹線 (Shinkansen), or the Bullet Train, is a very convenient way to travel.  Most trains are divided into two sections, reserved and non-reserved.  Generally, the non-reserved seats are cheaper though do not guarantee a seat for you.  The trains run every ten minutes so if you miss one it’s simple to get on the next one.

This trip, I rode the Shinkansen several times.  Once was to go to Osaka and return to Tokyo, and then to travel to Sendai, Morioka and Akita.  The Shinkansen can be relatively expensive though, so for foreigners who want to travel to different cities it’s best to purchase a JR East pass that allows you to pass through the gate without purchasing an additional ticket.  The only Shinkansen that isn’t included in this all access ticket is the Nozomi line to Osaka.  This cost about $140-$150 US dollars for a one way ticket, but it takes you all the way to Osaka in less than three hours.

The Akita Shinkansen is slightly different than the Nozomi line.  This train requires a reservation, but if you have purchased the Jr East pass, reserving a seat on the Akita Shinkansen is free.  All you need do is go to the JR Ticket Office and show them your JR East Pass and tell the attendant where you wish to go.  They’ll give you a ticket which you can then show the attendant with your JR East Pass when passing through the ticket gate.  Your seat reservation will be uploaded to the train attendant’s machine, so the only reason you’ll ever need to show your ticket to them is if you purchased the ticket and boarded the train within five minutes.  As long as you’re sitting in your assigned seat, everything will be fine.  My friend and I made the mistake of getting on the Akita line without a reservation, but the attendant was nice enough to find us two empty seats that we could sit in, but asked us to reserve a seat next time.

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Akita Shinkansen 12/28/2013

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In America, the Christmas holiday is spend in many different ways.  There are those who ‘family-hop’, going from one side of the family to the other at different parts of the day.  There are those who celebrate by one large gathering, those who get up early in the morning then spend the rest of the day lounging, those who go to church and those who go to Chinese restaurants for their Christmas dinner.

This is my second Christmas spent in Japan, the first being in 2010.  That time, I had quite forgotten that it was Christmas until one of the shop staff asked if I was American and then said ‘Merry Christmas’ to me.  This year, though it truly doesn’t feel like it’s Christmas, it’s very easy to see the holiday’s approach and its effects on Japan.  Christmas in Japan is just as commercialized as it is in America, but without the guilt that comes with forgetting to purchase a gift for someone, or the stressful hassle of preparing your home for relatives.  However, as a country without much of a religious base, Christmas is less of a religious and family holiday and more of a day to spend with friends or dates.  It is very common in Japan to spend Christmas day out on a date and then going home to eat Christmas cake.  These cakes are very shortbread cakes and can cost anywhere from 400 yen ($4) at a convenience store to 15000 yen ($150) and up depending on the decorations and the more elaborate ones must be preordered as early as October.

I met up with an American friend living in Tokyo who said that she had wanted to do an ‘all out Japan Christmas’ this year.  When I asked what that entailed, she explained the cakes and added that fried chicken from KFC was also a must.  Why KFC?  Because Americans eat chicken on Christmas.  An American might laugh at that statement, but it is close to the truth.  Turkey is a meat that is difficult to come by in Japan, so foreigners began turning to the next best thing: chicken, particularly fried chicken from KFC.  The company saw people doing this and instantly turned it into a marketing campaign.  It has since been picked up by other companies such as the convenience stores Family Mart and 7/11, who advertise boxed fried chicken for your holiday meal.

What is Christmas like in Japan?  Essentially, it is just like America’s commercialization of the holiday, but without the feeling of a need to go bankrupt over pleasing friends and families with gifts and huge family meals.  There are Christmas or ‘winter’ sales going on in almost every store, many of the shop staff are at least wearing Santa hats if not full on Santa outfits, particularly the female shop staff.  It’s actually rather nice overall.

Photo's by Tokyo Fashion

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Namba, Osaka

I really love graffiti and Japanese graffiti is really interesting and always tucked away in less walked areas.  I spent a good 4-5 hours ducking into tiny alley like streets looking for more.

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Each day in Osaka, I ride the Midosuji subway train to another part of the city to sightsee and to eat.  I’ve noticed that each time I’ve gotten on the train at Namba Station, I’ve gotten on a car that is marked with signs saying “この車両は終日女性専用両です‘Women Only’.”  In English, the Japanese says “this car is woman-only all day”.  These cars are specifically reserved for woman to keep any perverted men away from them during busy rush hour times when it’s harder to notice something amiss.  The only time a man steps into the car is if he is passing to another.

The girl’s school uniform has remained relatively the same in Japan for decades and like many other countries, young, innocent girls are objectified into being something desirable.  On December 12th, TokyoReporter posted an article about a man arrested for taking digital photos up girl’s skirts while they waited for the train or were going up escalators.  These photos were then posted online to sites for people to view.  Women Only cars offer women a safe place to spend their commute to and from work or school.

Interestingly enough, the use of the cars and the disuse of men seem to run on good faith.  It is the rules so it is expected to be followed.  I asked a local girl riding the train with me if people complained about the reserved cars during rush hour when the non-reserved, mixed gender cars are packed.  After thinking about it for a moment she said the only thing men seem to complain about is that it might be embarrassing to accidentally enter the reserved car and be scolded.  They would have to be seriously not paying attention though, as much of the inside car is decorated with pink official signs and signs on the ground in front of the car doors.

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Monday was spent almost entirely on traveling.  I had purchased tickets from someone who attends International Christian University and had to go pick them up from her dorm room.  The way that these tickets work is they’re usually sent 10 days before the date of the concert.  Since the live is going to be on the 25th, I thought they might be there and could pick them up on the way to Osaka.  Unfortunately, they were not, but I now know how to get there easily, how to use Japanese buses and also that coin lockers are your friend.

After that I returned to Tokyo to catch the Shinkansen, or the Bullet Train, to Osaka!  Because it is a special train, a ticket must be purchased for it (meaning you can’t use your train pass to travel on it).  I got lost in the train station for a short while because I lost track of the signs, but I asked two women where it was and got directions, but after I thanked them and started walking, one woman got a firm grip on my arm and led me through the train station.  As we were walking she asked where I was going and I told her Osaka.  She got really excited and asked if I would eat the food there.  Of course, I told her and since my Japanese is so limited, I started naming types of food I wanted to eat.  She had a small moment over that.  Osaka is a major food capital of Japan.

“チケットは？” (tickets?)

“あの、買いたい。” (want to buy)

She led me to the ticket counter and I thanked her and she left.  I’m always extremely shocked and slightly overwhelmed when people drop what they’re doing to help me find places.  This has happened several times and the way is always way father than expected.  This woman took me nearly half the length of the entire station.

Getting on the Shinkansen required a bit of attention.  There are two types of tickets: Reserved and Non-reserved.  The reserved is a bit more expensive, so I got the non-reserved ticket.  Because it’s non-reserved, there are certain cars you’re not allowed to sit in.  This is where paying attention is key, and you should always give yourself plenty of time to look around and don’t rush.  I noticed a few of the cars said reserved, so I showed my ticket to the attendant and looked lost and confused.  Expressions can do a lot better job of explaining things than broken Japanese.  He held up three fingers and said ‘car 1-2-3’ which I took to being the cars I was allowed to sit in.  Annoyingly, I had to walk almost to the very end of the platform to get to them, but I got to watch people seeing friends off at the station.  An older woman was seeing off an older man and it was adorable because she was waving and filming it as if he was off to his first day of school.

I was a little worried about my bags because I had two and I had read that there is really only room for one bag on the train, but there was an overhead bin where one of my bags could fit and the other had plenty of space in front of me to stay.  There was only one other woman sitting in my row so it was a bit easier to lean on the arm rest and doze during the trip.  I meant to stay awake to see everything go by, but I definitely missed about 45 minutes of the ride.  Once I was awake though, it was really cool to see the different areas go by.

I realized when we were passing Nagoya that I had forgotten to eat before I had left Tokyo and was extremely hungry.  Arriving in Osaka was difficult because I really just wanted to go to my hotel right away, but the whole station smells like food.  I resisted because I was tired of dragging my bags around, so I got on the subway and took it to the next stop where my hotel was.  Somewhere in between leaving the station and getting to my hotel I lost my SUICA card, the train card for Tokyo which definitely sucks though I’m not sure how much money I had on the card.  Today I’m going to buy Osaka’s ICOCA card to use instead and just buy a new Suica when I get back to Tokyo.

After arriving in my hotel, I dumped my stuff and just fell into bed.  I’d been carrying around my two suitcases and my laptop for almost 8 hours and ended up crawling to the vending machine to get food rather than going out.  I did feel much better after that, and got dressed again to go look for my SUICA card and find real food.  No card, but I did find a tiny takoyaki stand in an alley.

Takoyaki are small balls of molten batter with octopus inside.  Tako = octopus yaki = grilled.  I’ve wanted to try them since I saw Anthony Bourdain try some in No Reservations.  The only time I’ve had them before was when I made them myself for Japanese class.  Let me tell you, they did not disappoint.

I had four different types and had ソースマヨ (sauce and mayo) for take out.  It’s the greatest thing on the planet, despite the fact that I burned my tongue every single bite.

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Nozomi Shinkansen to Osaka

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Trains and Bunny Ice Cream

When going to a foreign country, particularly where English isn’t a common language, getting around might be a large source of stress.  Japan is a very crowded city and the majority of its population uses it’s transit.  This has made their transportation very crowded at times, but also very efficient.  So efficient that it is one of the easiest transportation systems I’ve ever used.  Though knowing a little Japanese makes things easier, it is not necessary to be able to use the trains.

I arrived in Narita Airport with the firm idea that I would remember the way to my hotel.  It was the same hotel I stayed in during my 2010 trip and I can picture much of the way in my head.  I also remembered the way being relatively easy to navigate.  However, it occurred to me that while I knew which stop I had to get off at for my transfer, I did not know the details of how long it would take and which stop it was.  This didn’t matter because the voice on the speaker tells you, both in English and Japanese.  So if all you could remember is that you needed to take the JR Yamanote line, that’s okay because they tell you which stop to get off at.

The best advice I’d give to someone traveling in Tokyo for the first time is not to panic, listen closely and read the signs!  The signs are in Japanese and English both inside the station and inside the train.

I ate breakfast at Jonathan’s, a restaurant a few blocks away from my hotel.  I came to eat here once on my last day in 2010.  I remember sitting in the restaurant for a really long time cause I didn’t know how to order.  In America, the waitress has to guess on whether or not you’re ready to order, but in Jonathan’s there’s a button you press to let them know you’re ready.  I had the Japanese style breakfast option with salmon, egg, miso soup, rice and pickled vegetables.

Afterwards I decided to have dessert because why not, but the one dessert I wanted was only during certain times.  The waitress showed me which were available for breakfast and when I asked for a certain one (by pointing and saying onegaishimasu) I was confused at first because when she repeated it and walked away I thought she said バニーアイス (Bunny Ice Cream), but I realized after looking at the Japanese on the menu she said バニアイス (Vanilla Ice Cream).  Not going to lie, I'd try Bunny Ice Cream.

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I'm in Japan!  For the next few weeks I'll be blogging about various adventures for my Travels Study class as well as my Anthropology class!  I plan on doing a better introduction tomorrow, but for now I am just going to crawl in bed.

おやすみなさい (oyasumi nasai = good night!)

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When first presented with the topics of this summer's research project, it seemed as though they were completely unrelated to one another.  As we learned more, I discovered that they were all connected in some way.  Deindustrialization of cities brings more space for capitalism and gentrification like in Sharp-leadenhall.  Neighborhoods that suffer that sort of thing are more prone to things that lead to diseases such as HIV.

As we went to each site, I noticed a reoccuring theme with these people that had no relation to one another and possibly never met before.  I kept noticing it because it was something that always makes me uncomfortable.  It was the same thing I observed on the first day that made me feel left out of the group of people staying in my dorm.

That is family.

Every place we went, people talked about family.  The family of steelworkers that continues to look after one another.  The family of JACQUES who give each other support and hope.  The family of Ebenezer AME who love and care for one another.  It was very easy to see that theme when we sat down with Wide Angle to watch all the videos together.  When we arrived in the dorms, most had their family members helping them move in.  Throughout the summer, I kept getting constant reminders that I am someone who doesn't have a family to help me out when I want it, need it, or don't need it.  It was very difficult for me to reflect on the fieldwork we did where those things came up.

Today was our last day with all twelve of us together.  Twelve is an interesting number for me because it's the number of individuals in my immediate family as well.  As everyone said their good byes, I realized that the topic of family had entered our end of the program as well.  This is one of the first things I've done in several years that I've walked away from something with friends and meaningful hugs.

So... so long, and thanks for all the fish.

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The Five Roommates! Our Last Night In The Dorms