Interculturism

Rochester Institute of Technology

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4-18-1991

Interculturism

Shigeki Ito

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Recommended Citation

UNTEIRCUJlLTnUlRHSMI

by

SHIGEKI

ITO

A Thesis Report

Submittedin Partial FulfillmentoftheRequirements forthe

MasterofFineArts Degree

MFA

Imaging

Arts Program

SchoolofPhotographicArtsandSciences

CollegeofGraphicArtsand

Photography

Thesis Board Members

Jeff Weiss, Chair

Associate Professor

School of Photographic Arts and Sciences

Martha Leinroth

Assistant Professor

School of Photographic Arts and Sciences

Ken White

Associate Professor

Title ofthesis JMITIEIECIULirUIRIISM

I,

Shigeki

Ito,

prefer to becontactedeach time a requestforreproductionis made.

Icanbereached atthe

following

address.

2-3

Heigaki,

Fuji

City,

Shizuoka,416 JAPAN

Table of

Contents

Purpose _i

Introduction ₄

Interculturismand

Multiculturalism

inVisualArt 6

ExplanationofThe Work ₈

#004 Ethnocentrism- American Generals

Defeat Sushi 9

#005 YellowPeril 11

#012 I OwnaPieceofManhattan 14

#007 Invisible Red Thread 16

#008 Tou-Zai-Nan-Boku

(East-West-South-North)

17

#009 Jesus Christs 18

#010 White HareofInaba 20

#011 Staple 21

Conclusion 23

Endnotes 25

Appendix i

MANEKI-NEKO i

INVISIBLE RED THREAD ii

Purpose

I have observed the priorities and values that people hold _today through _my

experience in two different cultures, Japanese and American. The work in this

exhibition will

display

and address some aspects ofthese values. I intend to ask

myselfand_my audience questions such as what is the significance of

happiness,

technology, religion, money, andthemedia to the world? I am not in search of

definite answers.

My

intention is to provoke people to think about _why these

questions are asked.

Asanintroduction Iwouldliketopresenttheartist statementfrom mythesis show

ofSeptemberof 1990.

Being

inthis_countryas aforeignerforcedmetoevaluate _mynatural enculturation

as a Japanese. The customs, morals,

beliefs,

and values that I carried were

suddenly exposed to a different superstructure.

My

Japanese way of

doing

and

understanding weren't appropriate to communicate, my attempt _{continually fell}

short of_{my intent. I had}toforcemyselftoadjust someaspectsof_myvalue system

tofunction in theUnited States. Thisexperience compelledmetocreate art about

existing between two cultures. I want to point out how things are seen or

understood

differently

within the cultural context.

My

objective alsois to create

works of art that helps the viewer to see cross cultural boundaries and address

questions ofprejudice,misunderstanding, greediness,anddiscrimination.

-Icame to theUnited Statesto_{study in} the fallof1987. When Iarrivedhere I had

to _{study English in} order to begin a masters program in photography. As I

proceededwith_mystudiesI beganto noticethat words conveysdifferentconcepts

according to its cultural derivation. For

instance,

the word

"love",

here in the

United

States,

is usedinthe

following

ways.

Ilovethismovie.

I _{love my friend.}

Theobject of"love"canbematerial,

human,

orabstract. Andaproblemhappened

when I attempted to do a direct translation from Japanese to English. This is

because theword"love" in Japanesealways referstoaperson;more specifically,it

is onlyusedfortheperson whoismostloved.

Anotherexample, thatindicates this

difference,

which laterprovokedme to deal

withculturaldifferences in

depth,

is theword

"emptiness" .

Atthewinterof

1987,

1attended a class called "OfftheWall" taught

by

Judy

Levy.

Fora class assignmentImadean experimentalbook with Phil

Harris,

_comparing

theJapaneseandAmericanconcept of"emptiness".

After a

discussion,

we listed connotations next to general definitions. This

discussion revealed that different cultures have different concepts and social

applicationsforaword.

The distinctive differences are that English definitions show _only negative

connotations such as "the _quality or state of

lacking,

being

devoid of _contents,

uninhabited, unfrequented, or _containing no human

beings;

lack of _something

necessary to spiritual growth or sustenance; void _space;

vacuity"

*,

on the other

1

Philip

Babcock Gove (Chief Editor), Webster's Third New International

hand;

in Japanesealotof wordshavepositive connotationsinassociation with the

Buddhistconcept

"emptiness",

such as "a higheststageof spiritualrealization".

Much later I experienced that these cultural differences are more obvious in

communication_rules,socialcustoms,

beliefs,

and values.

One who encounters unfamiliar social _customs,

beliefs,

and values, has two

choices,eitheracceptanceorrejection.Theacceptancedemandsenormous effortfor

acculturation. Andtherejection oftenresultsinantagonismto theforeignculture.

Becauseoftechnological advanceswhich have increased thespeed andextent of

communication,wehavemore opportunities areforcedtointeractwithpeoplefrom

different cultures. And this _{is something} that we all will be

dealing

with more

often. So I started to be concerned with how we are _going to deal with these

culturaldifferences.

-Introduction

My

work utilzes various symbols from two cultures, Japanese and American.

These symbols have developed

historically

and exist within their own cultural

context.

I first had to understand the origin and accepted _meaning of symbols in each

society. This took me a great amount of research and _time, not _only to _study

AmericansymbolsbutalsotoreexamineJapanesesymbols.

Living

in this_country

provided meexcellent opportunitiesto understandAmerican symbols withintheir

ownculturalcontext.

Thesecond _{step in}

developing

_mywork wastoappropriate _necessarysymbolsinto

myartwork. Appropriationisone ofthedistinguishable techniquesor methods of

Postmodernism. RobertAtkins has defined

appropriation-"

To appropriateis to borrow. Appropriation is the practice of_creatinga

newwork

by

taking

a_{pre-existing image from}anothercontext

-art

history,

advertising, the media and_combining thatappropriated image withnew

ones. Or, awell-knownartwork

by

someone elsemay bepresented asthe

appropriator's own."2

Evenafterthis activity, these symbolscan still_canythecodesof originalmeaning.

2 _Robert

ATKINS,

_{ART SPEAK} :A Guide to Contemporary Ideas. Movements, and

Buzzwords, p.42.

-Another importantpartof_myworkis humor. Humorhasafunctionofenabling us

to laugh at serious situations

thereby

_providing a cathartic response to social

problems. I use humor as a _way of_seducing the viewer to look atthe work and

Intercnlturism and Multiculturalism in Visual Art

In both Europe and the United States since the end of 1980's there has been a

widespreadinterest inartofnon-white cultures. Atkins suggest thisisaresult of

"The instanttransmission ofinformation andideas across national borders made

possible

by

_contemporary

technology

"3

Multiculturalismin art acknowledges the_validity ofdifferent cultural traditions.

Although an art work is made within a specific tradition, works from different

traditions_{may be displayed}together.

"Multiculturalismrejectsthevestiges of colonialismembodiedintendencies

to regard art from other cultures either as

"primitive"

or as the exotic

products ofcultural OTHERS. It demands that works of artfrom

non-European culturesbe considered ontheirown terms. TheCentre Georges

Pompidou in Parismountedthecontroversial exhibitionLes Magiciens de la

terre in 1989. Its coupling of works

by

well-known Western artist and

works

by

third-world artist unknown to the art world

frequently

revealed

radically different ideasabout nature of art

itself."

4 (underlineadded)

Iwould liketointroduce theideaofInterculturism which offers afusionoftwo

or more different cultural experiences and a newperspective on them in one art

3

Ibid.,

p.104.

4

Ibid.,

_p.104.

-work. In this case, the artist is the witness and the bridge of diverse cultural

orientations.

Explanation of The Work

When I started_working with this

idea, Interculturism,

I decidedto record _my

ideasabout each workin_mysketch book. Thenumbers on each piece indicate the

chronologicaldevelopmentofideas. Later I decidedtousethesenumbers as titles

fortheindividualworks.

Because some Japanese elements _{in my} work are not familiar to American

audiences,Ifoundthat Ihadtoprovide moreinformationthanwas apparentin the

work,for

instance,

#010- White Hare_ofInaba.

Although,

thewhite rabbitin this

work is basedon Japanese mythology, there are _many similar rabbit symbols in

Americanculture: The White Rabbit in Alice in Wonder Land.Brer

Rabbit,

Peter

Rabbit,

Bugs

Bunny

andRoger Rabbit.

Therefore,

itwasimportantto

identify

and

explaintheJapanesesymbol.

-#004 Ethnocentrism - American

Generals

Defeat Sushi

Media: Translucentphotographic

display

material

(Duratrans),

_wood,grass,gold

enamel_paint, acrylic_paint, synthetic_shrimp sushi.

Dimensions: 120" x 45" x 32" overall.

The first official relation oftheU.S. andJapan started

during

Japan's period of

isolation,

theEdoperiod(1603-1867).

Culturally,

becauseofJapan's

isolationism,

theEdoperiod was a raptureofpureJapanesestyle. Oneoftheimportantelements

in thiswork, sushi, was invented

during

thisperiod. In

1853,

the American

Navy

Commodore Matthew C.

Perry

arrived at Uraga sea port. His steam powered

Navy

ship amazedthe Japanese.

Realizing

their technological

inferiority,

Japan

open the _country to foreign trade and diplomatic relations. This was one ofthe

factorsthatled Japantoadramaticrevolution: theRestorationoftheImperial Rule

in 1867. After

1867,

a nationwidetrendofwesternizationflourished in Japan.

At the same _time, the United States was _acquiring new

territory

in the West.

Simultaneously,

conflicts betweenstatesbecameserious.

By

1861 theU. S. Civil

Warhadstarted.

During

these years,both JapanandtheUnitedStateswerefocusedon_{consolidating}

their own nations.

They

had no interest in

learning

about the other culture.

Although more than one hundredyears havepast since our firstencounter, how

much do we know about each other? In this work, I wanted to raise questions

about ignorance of other cultures. I hope we all abandon ethnocentric and

The unusualjuxtaposition ofAmerican Civil War generals

facing

_shrimp sushi,

presents a

disturbing

mismatch. The old photographs of serious and dignified

generals represent _obstinacy of people. I

intentionally

selected photographs in

which the generals are not

looking

straight ahead and _refusing to look at sushi.

Plastic sushi is a mass produced article made possible

by

modern technology. I

forcedthe generalstositinfrontof plastic sushi. Ithink thisis asituation that we

are

facing

now. Cultural differencesarepresent,yet we are

ignoring

and_refusing

toknow these differences. Justas theCivil Wargeneralsrefuse to look at_sushi,

peopledon'twanttorecognize andunderstand other people.

-#005 Yellow Peril

Media: Gelatin

-silver_prints,clear acrylic _{sheet, plaster,}acrylic_paint,shellac.

Dimensions: 441/2" x

401/2"

x4" each panel

The

legacy

ofWorld War II isnot over yet.

Many

Americansarethreatened

by

the

growingeconomic power of

Japan,

a_country

they

defeated in World War EL

They

were shockedwhenthe_{Japanese Mitsubishi Real Estate Co. recently}purchased a

majorinterestin The Rockefeller Group.

I began this work afterI heard this news. At

first,

my concern wasthereaction of

American media. I foundthatmostofthemedia'streatmentwas either negative or

confused.

They

expressedthis news _using war_metaphors, as ifthe U.S. were in

the midst of a cold warwithJapan.

"The roll call of all-American icons

falling

into

foreigners'

hands added a new name

yesterday,"

Newsday

"Japanese

buy

heart of N.Y.," The Dallas Times Herald

"Japanese invasion of industrial

fields."

The Los Angeles Times

If ithadnotbeenaJapanese_companywhich boughtRockefellerCenterandRadio

City,

themedia mighthave treated this_{very differently. How}would

they

respond

-if,

for

instance,

Canadianshadbought Rockefeller Center? In

fact,

Canadiansown

moreAmerican real estatethanthe Japanesedo: 26percent ofallforeign owned

U.S. real estate is owned

by

Canadians,

compared with 15 _percent, and _{only 2}

percentofAmericancommercial_property,owned

by

theJapanese. In

1989,

new

Japanese investment inreal estate_{actually declined}

by

11 percent.

So,

what wasbehindthis treatment

by

Americanmedia? Cultural ignorance? Lack

of information about the Japanese? Xenophobia caused

by

differences in

appearance? Simpleracism? DotheJapanesehavethesamefeelingsortreatment

offoreigners? MaybetheJapaneseshouldbe more sensitivetoAmericans. When

one _group overpowers the other,

they

usually neglect the other's

feelings,

never

consideringtheother'spoint ofview.

Tocreate this piece,IjuxtaposedaJapanese andanAmerican symbol. Oneofthe

elements, the

happy

woman mask

-Otafuku,

is from "Noh," Japanese traditional

theater.The basisofNohhasexisted sincetheeighth century, and wasformed and

developedatthe end of thirteenth_{century (Muromachi}period)

by

Kanami andhis

son, Zeami. There arehundreds ofdifferentmasks which relate to specific roles

and characters. Otafukuis one ofthemostpopular.

I made a mold from an old Otafuku mask, which I found in an antique store in

Kyoto

during

_{my last}

trip

to

Japan,

and cast threeoftheseinplaster. Eachmask

was hardened with shellac and colored with acrylic paint. Although theoriginal

mask is white, I

intentionally

painted the new masks yellow to _signify Asian

stereotypesfromtheWesterner'scliched pointofview.

Themasks wereplaced on aphotograph Imade ofthePrometheus statue, created

by

the sculptorPaul

Manship,

in The Sunken Garden atRockefeller Plaza in New

York City. In Greek mythology, Prometheus is "a trickster and a god offire.

In common belief he developed into a master _craftsman, and in this

connection he was associated with fire and creation of

man."

5 This is _why

Manship

wasaskedtousePrometheustorepresent anAmericanindustrialmight.

During

the winter of

1989,

I went to New York

City

and photographed this

sculpturewith35mm

Ektachrome;

later Icopiedthisinthreesections on4x5 black

and whitenegatives, and madethreemuralsized photographs.

In this work, thesephotographs are not a substitute

for,

norawindowonto, areal

object.

Instead,

I'm using them as a metaphor ofAmericanness. The physical

break-up

ofthisphotograph servesas ametaphorfortheperceivedJapanese break

up of the _{American economy} created

by

_purchasing a part ofThe Rockefeller

Group. Themasks,realthree-dimensional_objects,haveapowerfulpresencewhen

comparedtothetwo-dimensional_realityofthephotographic mural.

5 _{Britannica MICROPAEDIA #9. Encyclopedia Brianica,} Inc. Fifteenth Edition

1989, "Prometheus," p.727.

-#012 I Own a Piece of Manhattan

Media: Apiece of_pavingmaterial(from Wall

St.,

_NewYork

City),

wood,

Japanesepaper,Japanesepaper_{strings, stamp,}Chinesered _stamp

ink,

22-carat gold

leaf,

transparentphoto copy.

Dimensions: map: 20"x

24",

piece ofManhattan: 10"

x

35"

Thispiece isabout a same issue as "#005 YellowPeril" and was alsoinspired

by

theactive economic relation between JapanandtheU.S.. As Japanesecompanies

wantto

buy

Americanreal_estate,Iwantedhave myown pieceofNew York.

This workconsistsoftwoparts: anobject and a map. Theobjectis an actualpiece

ofasphalt,_mysouvenirwhichI brought back from New York

City

inthe _springof

1990. First I made a _map ofNew York on wood. I wanted

bring

a sense of

Japanese craft to both the _map and the object. After a couple of thesis board

meetings,all members agreed that the_{map had}to bechanged. Later I decidedto

make a material referenceto historical presentation of Japanese art and current

photographicpresentation. GoldleafandJapanese paperare traditional Japanese

elements.

Photo-copy

onclear_acetate, whichI placed on_top ofthe gold

leaf,

is a

current photographic medium. The asphalt is wrapped with a sheet of Japanese

paper andtiedwithJapanesepaper strings. To indicatethat thispiece ofManhattan

is in the possession of aJapanese

individual,

I used the traditional name stamp,

which we use as a signaturein Japan.

Inthe thesis show Iplacedthe_map onthewall andtheasphaltpiece on the

floor,

butthedistance betweenthem wastoogreat. Theviewercouldnot_easilyassociate

-theparts as onework.Tocorrect_{this, I later}placedtheasphaltonapedestal which

made the physical distance between the two parts closer. Now the two separate

parts appeartobeone work.

-#007 Invisible Red Thread

Media:

Ceramic,

thread

Dimensions: 9"x 6"x 5"

each cat.

In this work I wanted to visualize the complex bond between different races in

modern society. In ordertodo so, Iused the _storyof redthread to connectthree

differentcolored ceramic cats

(gold, black,

_white) whichrepresent three different

races.

Thetwoelementsin this workareboth Japanese. Although thecats andthe _story

oftheredthreadarewell-known_amongthemass of

Japanese,

these are notknown

to most Americans.

Consequently,

I needed to introduce some background

informationto theaudience. Informationsheets were made whichtold the original

storyabouttheelements. Inordertoleave some roomforthe audienceto thinkin

theirown_way,I

intentionally

avoided_{giving my interpretation}ofthe work. This

was a good_opportunityto introduceanaspectofJapanese culture and proved_very

challengingtoAmericanaudiences.

-#008 Tou-Zai-Nan-Boku

(East-West-South-North)

Media: Gelatin

-silver_{prints, polyurethane,} plate_{glass, wire, wood,}

brass,

ash.

Dimensions: 8' x 8' x 5'

Thefirst ideawasbasedonthemandala, a symbolicrepresentation oftheuniverse

in Buddhist art, which originated from Tibetan Buddhism. The Sanskrit word

mandala means 'circle." I was astonished

by

the mandala's complex visual

presentation.

Utilizing

this

form,

I wanted to express issues _concerning racial

segregationandintegration. The Buddhistconcept aboutuniverseandthespiritual

world,whichis usuallyrepresented as aworld after

death,

becametheimpetus for

this. I believe that death purifies the spirit. After death individual

identity

in a

societynolonger_matters,as webecomeequaland nothing.

A ritualistic appearance was _{necessary for} this installation because of the idea

behindit. Threeportraitsofmajor races serve as ametaphorfor death. Portraits

of 280 Japanses

businessmen,

which are placed as a

background,

indicate no

individual differences. I

intentionally

printed these portraits out of focus to

obliterate

distinguishing

details. Ashesonthedish intheforegroundrepresentthe

material remains of human

beings.

Four glass plates are suspended from the

ceiling, each with a Chinese character etched upon it. The characters designate

directionsof_{north, south, east,} and west. InJapanese

Buddhism,

northrepresents

theworld afterdeath.

#009 Jesus Christs

Media:

Ceramic,

acrylic paint.

Dimensions: 25 1/2" x 10

1/2"

x6"each.

Ihavealwaysbeenfascinated

by

Christianreligiousicons. Inmodem materialistic

society even religious icons have become a commodity. In stores, cheap

mass-produced plastic

Jesuses,

ceramic VirginMaries andJesuspaintingsonvelvet are

placed next to lamps in the shape ofElvis Presley's

head,

fake gold

jewelry,

and

pink _{piggy banks. I} wanted to use thesekitsch objectsto question thevalues

by

whichwelive.

Christianity

wasdeveloped

by

white society; in mostChristian art

holy

people are

white. In a store called

Crazy

Kurt's,

which sold kitschobjects, I foundceramic

Jesuseswithblackskincolor. A blackChristexhibitsthefeelingsof racial

identity,

whichmoves peopletowanttheirsupreme

being

tomatchtheirowncomplexion.

Most minority artists whodeal with racial

issues,

andclaim to be multicultural

artists, have the same problem.

They

are

looking

at _{everything in} termsofrace.

And their emphasis is on racial _{uprising based} on emotional reaction to past

discrimination. It is important to considerhistorical facts in a social or political

context, butthese artists could notseparate their

identity

fromtheirancestry. It is

not productiveifartists arebound

by

theexperiencesof previous generations which

are _mainly negative and to which

they

respond too emotionally. And

they

often

practice a reverseracisminwhichtheirownracehastobe betterthanothers. _{In my}

belief,

arthas tooffer a new approachorvisual_philosophy toaddress these issues

without

falling

into old patterns or reverse racism. In this work, #009 Jesus

Christs,

my intentionwastoprovoke questions aboutthe_mentalityof racism.

#010 White Hare of Inaba

Media:

Plaster,

acrylic _{paint, wood,}aluminumbaseball

bat,

_grass,enamel paint.

Dimensions: 59 1/2"x

21"

x 30"

Twocultural elements are presentedinthis work: aJapanesewhite rabbit

holding

an American baseball bat. Therabbit, thewhitehareof

Inaba,

is fromone ofthe

most popular Shintocreation myths. This rabbitis worshipedas a matchmaker,

aswell as a servantto the son of

God,

and a trickster. Sincewesternandamerican

traditions also have rabbit _stories, an association to their own culturalfigures

by

Americanaudienceswasexpected. Inordertopreventconfusion,I hadtoindicate

the rabbit's identity. The title is one of these

indications;

a text of the original

Japanesetalewasmade availabletoviewers.

An oppositional element to therabbitis a baseball bat. As we allknow baseball

was invented in theUnited States.

Now,

baseball is very popularand important

part of culturein Japan.

I wanted to present a bizarre combination to provoke questions _concerning

multiculturalenvironments,not_{only in U.S. but} alsothroughout the world. Some

of the issues that I hope people will question are: a fear of loss of _tradition,

cherishingofaninternationalizedsociety, a_mergingofdifferentcultures, abirthof

new socioculturalvalues, and a newinterculturalmythology. Idon'texpect each

viewertocome_up withalltheseissues. Idoexpect viewersfromdifferentcultural

backgroundsto thinkofthedifferentissuesthrough_mywork.

-#011 Staple

Media:

C-print,

gel_{medium, wood, marble,}acrylic_{paint, chopsticks,} chopstick

holder,

silverware,cloth.

Dimensions: 38"

x 60"x 8

1/2"

each.

In this work there are two important

dietary

elements ofthe two cultures: acow

(U.S.)

and a whale (Japan).

Using

these elements, I hope to provoke questions about

judging

other culturesfromone's own standard.

Japanis an isolatedislandsurrounded

by

sea. Japanese_{have been securing foods}

as much as possible from theirlimitedenvironment.

They

even _worship the sea.

Theseaistheirmother nature.

Eating

whaleisnot awesternhabit. This natural developmentoftheJapanese diet is seen

by

Westerners as an unsophisticated and barbaric act. Some Americans reactto thison a_veryemotionallevel.

Similarly,

during

theEdoperiodJapanese

thought Europeans werebarbarians when

they

introduced eatingof animal_meat,

such as beefand_pork,to theJapanese. Caucasians withred

hair,

full

beards,

pale

skin,and weird costumeslooked extremely barbaric toJapanesepeople, too. And

theyare

dissecting

animalstoeat?Yecch!

Well,

probably, some _{very intelligent} people will

bring

_up the issue of _saving a speciesfrom extinction.

Organizations,

such asGreen

Peace,

have been

trying

to

prevent the

hunting

of whales which would _completely eliminate a part of the

Japanese diet.

They

are notevenconcerned about_preservingthisimportantaspect

ofJapanese culture. It is importantto savethe whale from_extinction, but at the

expense of animportantaspectofJapaneseculture? Canwe saveboth?

Conclusion

Avirtue of capitalismisthatitconnectsdifferentcountries throughfreeenterprise.

Internationalcompanies have establishedfactories and offices all overthe world.

Interactions among countries have been enhanced

by

a _growing economies and

expanding use of technology. This phenomenon results in forced interaction of

ethnic _{groups, races,religions and cultures on a globallevel.}

Capitalism,

however,

does not always concern itself with norrespect the values of other cultures. I

question if the nature of these _{fusions is different} from the imperialism or the

colonialism people experienced atthe

beginning

ofthiscentury.

The UnitedStates_{is normally}characterized

by

culturalpluralism.

But,

thesituation

of pluralism was_{actually like domestic}colonialism: white-dominatedcultureeither

assimilatingor_excludingother cultures. Minorities were nevertreated as equals.

They

had tofight for

jobs,

recognition, and,

finally,

legal equality. In

1964,

the

Civil Rights Actassertedlegal equality toall ethnic groups.Because ofthis

history,

I personallybelieve more opportunities existfortheUnitedStates to be a

leading

country in addressingtheseinterculturalexperiencesintheworld.

On theother

hand,

Japan isa_countryofisolated islandsandbecauseofit'sunique

geography,

historically

has had extremely limited interactionswith other cultures.

Thenotion ofInternationalismis_relativelynewfortheJapanese. Recent Japanese

economical growth has broughtexpansion ofbusinesses all overthe world. As a

result,

they

now have toface culturaldifferences more often. Their mentality is

somehow still _{ethnocentric,} it is not so different fromAmericans. For

instance,

most_{Japanese have}

blindly

negativefeelingstowardsotherAsians.

They

_carryon

this attitudefromthepre-_{World War IIperiod. I stronglythink}thisprejudicehasto

-be overcomesoon.

Unfortunately,

Japan's isolatedgeographicposition slowsthe

process of_acceptingotherpeoples and cultures.

In futureprojects, Iwouldliketoaddress moreto a coreof

humanity

aspect_using

theseexperiencethatIhadfromthis thesisproject.

Endnotes

1.

Philip

Babcock Gove (Chief

Editor),

Webster's Third New International Dictionary.

Merrian-_Webster

Inc., 1986,

p.744.

2. Robert

Atkins,

Art Speak: A Guide to

Contemporary

Ideas. Movements, and

Buzzwords.Abbeville

Press,

1990,

p.42.

3.

Ibid.,

p.104.

4.

Ibid.,

p.104.

5. Britannica MICROPAEDIA #9. Encyclopedia

Brianica,

Inc. Fifteenth Edition

1989,

"Prometheus,"

p.727.

-Appendix

The

following

writings are the

background

information given to the audiences

during

the thesisshow.

MANEKI-NEKO

The origin ofthis "good fortune" symbol is basedon an actual incident. Around

1800,

thereexisted outside thegate oftheEkoh-in Temple in

Ryogoku,

two similar

tea shops. Businesswas neither good norbadbutthe

rivalry

ofthetwo shops was

stillintense. Toattract_customers,bothshopshadporcelain statuesofa

beckoning

cat made foroutside their_entry ways. One was goldenhued andtheother silver.

Suchanunusual featurewerethese twocatsthat

they

attractedmuch attentionand

were often mentionedin localpublications.

The owner ofthe one _{shop (fronted}

by

the golden _cat) was a layabout given to

wasting bothtime and money. Were itnot forthe abilitiesof_{his charming wife,}

business would

long

before have faded to nothing.

Needing

_money to _{pay her}

husband's debts forced this

lady

to borrow from an _{admiring clothing} merchant.

Butthe_moneythemerchant_{eventually lent her}was nothisand

by

_{giving it away}

thus, he broughtruin onhistrustedfriend.

Toatoneforhismistake,heresolvedto throwhimselfinto theSumidaRiver from

Ryogoku-bashi. As herested againstthe_{bridge railing summoning up}thecourage,

who happens along but his_{vainly loved lady. He}reproachedher for

bringing

him

to this situation. On

hearing

thefull tale,sheresolvedtojoin himin shinju(double

suicide)andjoin her loveronhis

journey

intotheotherworld. Overthebridge

they

-went andtheensuingsensationcaused

by

theirdramaticdeath broughtmuchfame

to the _shopofthegolden cat andinturneconomicruintoits rivalneighbor.

The fortune"beckoning" abilities ofthecat were soon picked_up

by

local hucksters

apparently incollusionwithtempleauthorities. _{It quickly became important}to

buy

asmall_copyofthiscat onthefirst dragon

day

ofeachmonth. Asetof48collected

overafour-yearperiod was requiredfor future financialsuccess. The hitch inthis

scheme (and scheme it was

indeed)

was that _{if any} misfortune such as a death

occured,the collected cats mustbe disposedof and anew collectionbegun. Ever

try to go through even a single year without some _mishap that could well be

construedas "misfortune"?

Thegolden_coloringtogetherwithmultiple_{collecting have been dropped in favor}of

singleimages in morenatural shades

-primarilyablackspotted white. Next you

see one of these come hither

felines,

reflect on _why after 200 years it's still

drawing

crowds andyoujust mayunlock the economic secret ofthis

fascinating

land.

Taken from Retail

Shop

Brochure, Toronto,

Canada.

INVISIBLE RED THREAD

The mythoftheinvisibleredthreadoriginatedinancientChina. Itwas adopted

by

theJapaneseandis_{widely known}there today. TheJapanese believe that,at

birth,

eachpersonisconnectedto theirdestinedmatch

by

aninvisibleredthreadattached

to their_pinkyfingers. When

it

happensthat thesepairsmeet, they sensethatthey

-have met the person at "the other end of the thread,"

verifying their love and

blessing

therestoftheirlivestogether.

WHITE HARE OF INABA

This is the oldest animal _{story in}

Japan,

which is told in connection with the

adventures of

Oh-kuni-nushi,

theherooftheIzumotribe.

Oncetherelived intheislandofOkia whitehare. Hewishedtocrossthewaterand

toreachthemainland.

Accordingly,

heaskeda crocodile whetherhe hadas_many

kinsfolk as

he,

the

hare, had,

and pretended to believe that the crocodile had

overstatedthesize ofhis family. Hetold thecrocodiletocall_everyone ofhistribe

andmakethemlieonthesurfaceoftheseaina

long

row. "Icanthen_stepover you

and counthow manycrocodiles thereareinthe

world,"

saidthehare.

Thecrocodiles agreed to the proposalandformedone

long

row from Oki to the

mainland;sothehare jumpedoverthemuntilitcameto thelastonewhich

lay

close

to theshore. Proudofthesuccessofhis trick,theimpudent hare began tolaughat

the ease with which the stupid crocodiles had been duped. But he boasted too

soon; the lastcrocodile seized

him,

plucked out all his fur and sank beneath the

water. Sotheunfortunateharewasleft

lying

onthebeachnaked and shivering.

Nowtherewas a

family

of_{many brothers in}Izumo.

Every

one ofthemwishedto

wintheloveofthecertain princess wholived in Inaba.

They

allset outfor Inabato

lay

siegeto thelady's

heart,

buttheolderbrotherswere cruelto the youngest,

far behindtheothers. As

they

walk_alongthebeachtheelderbrothers sawthe

hare,

and insteadof

sympathizing

with the poor animal's _{pain, they} deceived him into

thinking

thathecould relieveit

by

_{plunging into}the seawaterandthen_{exposing his}

body

to thewind andsunlight.

Whenthehare followedtheir mischievousadvice,his skin cracked openand

bled,

andhe suffered

intolerably

fromthepain. Then Oh-kuni-nushicame_up,pitiedthe

suffering animal,andtoldhimto washin freshwaterandcoverhis

body

with the

softpollenofthecat-tail. Theharewas_verygratefulto the_youngman andsaidto

him: "Noneofyourcruelbrothersshall_marrythe

lady

of

Inaba,

butyou alone shall

winthelady'sheart." The hare'swords werefulfilled. Oh-kuni-nushimarriedthe

lady

and becamethe rulerof

Izumo,

and when aftertheirdeath memorial shrines

werebuilt for himandhiswife, theWhite HareofInabashared theirhonors with

them.

Taken from:

Fergason,

John. The

Mythology

ofAll Races

(Chinese,

Japanese).

New York: 1964

SH16EK1 ITS

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