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.
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.
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