TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Transnational and
Vernacular in Japan
By Jason Hart
While in Japan I traveled through Kobe and Hiroshima.
I don’t believe that either of these can be truly considered to be
global cities due to Tokyo’s dominance
as the international business center of Japan, however, a
transnational presence can be noticed in both of these cities and in
this brief reflection I will present and analyze my observations of
this apparent transnational character. Present, along with
transnational character, in these cities was an obvious vernacular,
which maintains the local character and heritage of the people in their
locations. This too will be assessed herein:
Kobe: Of all the cities I visited, Kobe is the
largest, and evidently the most transnational. Traveling in Kobe is not
particularly hard for westerners due to the presence of the English
language, along with Japanese, on nearly all roadmaps and signs.
Evidently, more Westerners visit and work in Kobe compared to other cities, so
such annotations are present to facilitate the needs of these
foreigners. Kobe
is also what appears to be a fashion capital, filled with young and hip
people. They dress in Western style clothes, however, the fashions are
not identical to those of ours in the USA. Instead, they seem
exaggerated and intensified versions of pop culture. For example, the
hairdos of the young hip youth are very unique. The males cut and dye
their hair in layers, and often times have different lengths in the
front back and sides of their heads. Their big belt buckles, cowboy
style boots and ripped jeans are reminiscent of 80s metal style. I
often thought that they were dressing up like Axl Rose, and soon
noticed several people wearing Guns n Roses or Motley Cru T-Shirts.
Apparently, the style based on glam rock is not unintentional but a
conscious replication of a style that, although, present, is less
mainstream in America.
Hiroshima: The main “tourist” attraction in Hiroshima is the
peace memorial, dedicated to the memory of the atomic bomb dropped
there, which ended World War II. I noticed many Japanese students
walking around on what appeared to be field trips to the memorials, as
well as many westerners. For this reason there is much English text on
signs and maps. Unlike other Japanese cities I noticed no smoking signs
virtually everywhere. I have two theories as to why Hiroshima is a
smoke free city. One is that since the bombing, many citizens have
developed cancer. This epidemic has possibly inspired awareness to the
dangers of smoking, as they contribute to cancer. The second
possibility is that of the presence of Americans who have no problem
smoking anywhere outside has irritated the locals.
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