Final remarks...

As promised, to you and also myself, I would still come back to the subject of Japanese people and their general way of behaving. In the two and a half weeks that have come to pass, after first having tried to give a rough description of my thoughts regarding this subject, many of my first impressions have come to change for the bad and luckily mostly for the good.

There are basically two statements I must partially retract, the first one being the one in which I state that the English speaking population is rather small, this is not entirely the case as I’ve come to know that most Japanese people get at least 9 years of English study at school. The reason I only partially retract the aforementioned remark, is that they mainly get lessons on how to read and write the English language, the speaking part is often omitted. So in the end this partially explains the awkward scenario described before. Once again being confronted by a partial explanation I was suggested by others to believe that most Japanese live with the burden of a rather extreme case of shyness. And after giving this idea some thought and also putting it to the test, I really have come to know that Japanese people are indeed plain and simple, very shy people.

Another point worth mentioning is that Japanese people, especially the ones of a younger age, do have a strong desire to practice this generally unspoken language.

The second point that needs revision is the one in which I state that there is a general disliking of other Asian peoples in Japan. Confronting many with the same question, I came to understand that young people luckily do approach the other people I speak of, under friendly conditions. The main conflict lies within the realm of politics, which in the end tend to have significant influence on the way both sides perceive the other.

Corrections set a side; let us see how my view of Japanese hospitality has changed in the course of the last period.

Having mostly been in parts of the city that tend to harbour the privileged of this society, one would expect general manners and kindness somehow to be higher, whether it be for honest motives or not, and I must fully agree with this idea, because after having been a guest at very lavish parties, congresses, bath houses, restaurants and bars, I have always been overwhelmed by the attention to detail these people posses. This of course is all done for the guest, and just when you thought you had seen it all, you are once again swept off of your feet, and simply kindly trying to refuse all the generous gifts that are being presented to you by both friend and stranger alike.

My experience in lower and middle class areas are also amazingly good, sure people sometimes bump into you in a crowded street and simply walk on without apologizing, but these can be considered a minor nuisance when compared to the all the consideration these people do show. As one can tell, I am desperately trying to balance things out, but simply find myself unable to.

So are the Japanese just friendly to me because of my origin and alien looks? Who knows, all I know is that I have indeed been treated in ways better than I would have ever imagined to be possible, let alone would have deserved. in the end I guess it’s like our host Professor Kawase said, it’s simply the way of the people, it’s a matter of honour that drives them. A sense of honour brought about by the samurai and thus finding it’s roots in the rich past of this great and unique nation.

Visual impressions 5

Land of contrasts

Right before leaving for Tokyo a friend of mine told me that Japan is truly a land of contrasts, never having been there, I obviously did not understand fully, and decided to check up on this myself.

I was already aware of some of the aspects that make up this statement; phenomena like the extremely violent media the japanese are known for producing are difficult to understand when looking at the creators themselves, people who seem to be like the vast majority of people in this country: very calm, shy and polite. Another interesting thing one could add to this, is the fact that crime rates in Tokyo are relatively very low, so I guess there's more to the breeding of dysfunctional members of society than just exposure to violent media content.

Contrasts of another nature can be seen in a city like Tokyo if one wanders into one of its many gardens and parks. These places truly convey the impression of timelessness, and they proudly make mention of the resemblance to the same place 300 years ago. The Contrast in this case comes from the surroundings of these gardens which are usually made up by very futuristic skyscrapers that seem to enclose the tranquility of these ancient places.

Another aspect that reflects this duality is the fact that in spite of being in the biggest city in the world, its very easy to find peace and quiet in this city. As mentioned before it really seems as if the order these people impose on themselves is actually capable of creating this feeling of calm. Its really impressive to step into a crowded subway train and realize the only sound you can hear is the recorded voice over the intercom announcing the next station. The contrast here come in the form that one would never expect a place so full of living beings to be so quiet, something that stands in straight contrast to the many big cities I've come to visit during my lifetime, where peace and tranquility are rare assets.

But the main reason for this train of thought finds its ground in the fact that these calm, shy and polite people, as mentioned before, generally have a love for violence. The people in this city genuinely love their fights, and by fights I mean events like sumo, boxing and mixed martial arts. It so happens that I too share this passion and this is what brought me to the biggest event of this kind in the world called Pride Fighting Championships. Here the best fighters from around the world engage in what many in the western world would describe as senseless grotesque violence. And its not that I disagree with these opinions, when looking at it from an objective standpoint its hard to find sense in it all, but in the end its all very exiting and even reminiscent of ages in which gladiators used to battle it out for mainly survival and off course not to forget...pride. Now these events are obviously not unique to this country but this being Japan, its again very impressive to see the order that is present at these events, only being interrupted by the crowds roaring once a champion is crowned.

Visual impressions 4

Kawase's Anatomy

The main reason for this trip is of course our scientific project, so it goes without saying that it all but deserves to be written about at least once. Let me begin by giving a small explanation of this project.

A year ago Dr. Delwel (neurosurgeon at the Erasmus medical University), Jorn and I started out on a collaboration that would shed more light on a complicated neurosurgical technique that sets its aim on reaching the base of the skull and the upper part of the brainstem. The indication for such an approach usually involves the removal of tumours or aneurysms (a potentially lethal widening of a blood vessel) local to the aforementioned area.

We decided to study the advantage of combining two already known approaches to these areas of the brain. And as the title of this segment already suggests, one of these approaches was pioneered by Professor Takeshi Kawase of the KEIO medical University. This great man is also the main reason we made it to this city, for we were invited to visit his hospital after just one e-mail asking for his advice concerning our research.

So after quickly having accepted the invitation, we now find ourselves visiting most of the neurosurgical operations that are being performed during our stay. These operations take place twice a week and usually comprise of a whole day, for these interventions can easily last for 8 hours and longer with ease.

The interesting aspect of it all is being able to see how thing are done here in Japan. Remarkably though, things are very similar when compared to the conditions under which the operations are performed in Rotterdam. We both tend to use the same equipment and the techniques are also the same. So in the end, aside from learning allot about the general aspects of neurosurgery, we get most of our relevant information from discussions with the Professor himself.

Other small details that bear mentioning are that, in spite of the greater similarities, there are also small differences like the gratitude and felicitations a surgeon receives from all those around him after having performed the surgery, and of course a surgeon also receives wishes of good luck before venturing towards the deep ends of the human brain. In the end, like in most parts of this city, we were made to feel very welcome. The entire neurosurgical staff even went through the trouble of holding a significant part of their conferences in English just so that two medical students would be able to follow the discussions regarding the operations to be held or those held in the previous week. Actions like these only further highlight the dedication and discipline with which the people here go about their daily business, be it working in a small restaurant, tending to a garden or operating on human brains.

The wonderful mind of a child...

Come and follow the green signs towads some truly wonderful experiences. For today we were among the few, very proud, visitors, and in the kind words of the creators, main protagonists of the Museo D’arte Ghibli. For those who are not familiar with Studio Ghibli and their creations, aside from full heartedly recommending it’s movies to you, I can elaborate a little on what it is they are so famous for. Compare them, if you will, to the Disney Studios, only this time around were talking Japanese animation combined with outer-worldly fairy tales filled with tons of adventure, cuteness and moral values. For anyone looking for a peek into a no so alternate universe, look no further.

It so happens that the incredibly creative minds that make up Ghibli Studios decided to build a museum, a place perhaps described best in the words of the creator Hayao Miyazaki himself as being:

“A place that stimulates a wealth of ideas, while avoiding worn out displays covered in dust”

“An interesting place but one capable of putting you at ease”
“A place where various things can be discovered”
“A place through which air and light can freely flow”
And above all…
“A place where children are treated as if they were adults”

Considering the last remark, I immediately felt right at home. And that is possibly the greatest power of the place: It makes one enjoy being a child again, truly filling you with dreams. For if you have seen one of their movies, you will amazingly feel as being part of those worlds, and this not only because of the accurate recreations of the most memorable moments of their movies in real size, but mainly because of the added touches like scent, light and music. Every corner is a joy to be admired let alone to be explored and touched. Fittingly this kind of behaviour is proudly encouraged. The latter comment being clearly enforced by actively encouraging every visitor to put away their cameras and video equipment, to turn of their mobile phones and to simply ease themselves through the many secret (and small) corridors and winding staircases found throughout this picturesque manor and its garden.

Another aim of this museum is to show the techniques that go into animating the movies themselves. This process is started by first giving you a quick visual lesson on the history of animation, later walking you through faithful recreations of the animators quarters and ending up in the cutting room where you are given various possibilities of editing short pieces of movie yourself.

Sadly (and obviously), I cannot ad many images, the few I made were from outside the building, and while seeing everything in person is priceless, the trip towards this country is not, so if you have the time and means (and cannot wait before ever going yourself), I will gladly show you the books I bought, showing all the rooms of this fascinating place. In the end the nicest experience of all was one granted by a small Japanese boy who, contrary to most of his age, confidently sat down next to me to admire and explain the various names of the characters at a colourful display, this mix of English and Japanese combined with the right atmosphere really made me feel of a similar age, allowing me once again to successfully feel truly innocent and worriless again.

Visual impressions 3