One big difference between Pearl Harbor/WWII and 9/11

[J D]

I think PBS had a really great documentary on that kind of stuff; well, it was a part of a larger documentary series, and I don't know if it was PBS per se, or just Annenberg.  I'm sure you've probably seen it: "Inside Japan, Inc."?  A little dated, but still relevant, I think.

That I do. My professor actually played it in my Making of Modern Japan class. Definitely still relevant. Part of what influenced me for my thesis.

The reaction in my class was...interesting, from what I heard (I had to go out of town, so I saw he video early).  There were people in my class who, when they saw the assassination of the Socialist party leader, cluelessly asked, "That was a re-enactment, right?" 

And I just love how the footage of the Miike miners' strike serves to absolutlely destroy the stereotype of the docile and obedient Japanese worker, slaving away at his job and smiling placidly no matter what, all for the sake of Neo-Confucian harmony and and conformity.  Yeah, right. 

[makotosan]

The reaction in my class was...interesting, from what I heard (I had to go out of town, so I saw he video early).  There were people in my class who, when they saw the assassination of the Socialist party leader, cluelessly asked, "That was a re-enactment, right?" 

And I just love how the footage of the Miike miners' strike serves to absolutlely destroy the stereotype of the docile and obedient Japanese worker, slaving away at his job and smiling placidly no matter what, all for the sake of Neo-Confucian harmony and and conformity.  Yeah, right. 

At least they reacted. Half of my class went to bed once the lights went out, and since my Prof was a bit more interested in mentioning how she doesn't remember much of her undergrad at Harvard because she was stoned all the time, she didn't exactly notice.    I'll grant you it's not the most thrilling piece if you aren't into the topic, but it wasn't *that* bad. I found it especially interesting as a contrast to a movie she showed us first, which for the life of me I can't remember the name of... some really terribly cliche 80's/early 90's piece with Jane Seymour that concentrated more on the dedicated worker/inferior female dicotemy than on any of the actual events or progress in the Japanese work force. The class was apathetic, at best, except for the one guy whose wife was Japanese; he had a genuine interest in the material.

At least the modern Japanese post-work release mechanism works. Get drunk and never mention it again. Over here they always try to put you in those programs for drinking every day. 

[J D]

Yeah, but the way in which you get drunk (after work, with coworkers, staying out really late, all of it being an unwritten requirement of the kaisho culture) has tended to put some strain on one's family life, no?  Remember, this is the country where karoshi became a serious concern during the 1980s.

And these are among the many reasons why I found the Tokugawa period more fun. 

[makotosan]

Yeah, but the way in which you get drunk (after work, with coworkers, staying out really late, all of it being an unwritten requirement of the kaisho culture) has tended to put some strain on one's family life, no?  Remember, this is the country where karoshi became a serious concern during the 1980s.

And these are among the many reasons why I found the Tokugawa period more fun. 

Oh, absolutely. And it still is a concern, undoubtably. It never ceases to amaze me how varied the world's various cultures are when it comes to work. From France with the less than 40 work week, the US with the guideline 40 that has rapidly become more, to Japan, where work is life for many people.

The Tokugawa period is *very* fun to study, particularly compared to the Meiji era, but I even prefer going farther back into the Heian period. I loved reading the Tale of Genji.

[J D]

Yeah, but the way in which you get drunk (after work, with coworkers, staying out really late, all of it being an unwritten requirement of the kaisho culture) has tended to put some strain on one's family life, no?  Remember, this is the country where karoshi became a serious concern during the 1980s.

And these are among the many reasons why I found the Tokugawa period more fun. 

Oh, absolutely. And it still is a concern, undoubtably. It never ceases to amaze me how varied the world's various cultures are when it comes to work. From France with the less than 40 work week, the US with the guideline 40 that has rapidly become more, to Japan, where work is life for many people.

The Tokugawa period is *very* fun to study, particularly compared to the Meiji era, but I even prefer going farther back into the Heian period. I loved reading the Tale of Genji.

Heian is nice, too.  But even I get tired of cherry blossoms and blinds after a while.    I didn't have to read Genji (well, a short excerpt, maybe, but not all 54 chapters of the 10th century Japanese version of Days of Our Lives).  Instead, I had to read the Pillow Book of Sei Shoonagon.  Man, what a b!tch!  Interesting in many ways, but her attitude was really annoying.  The most comforting thought I had after reading it was that she's been dead for a thousand years.  Kamakura and Ashikaga are very interesting, too, I find, because of issues concerning the change in the status of women and in samurai culture and identity (themes that carry over into the Tokugawa period).  Meiji is interesting because of the east and west issues and the manipulation of historical memory.  I despise Taisho and Showa; it's nothing but misery, suffering, and bloodshed and tends to just piss me off.