Presenting: Rwanda 1994

One of the areas I felt I improved over the first semester studying at Waseda is presenting. In War and Peace, a major component of the class was the case studies, and every week a different group of four students would present a case study. We were assigned our groups and case at the beginning of the semester, and I was to present the 1994 Rwanda genocide from a humanitarian perspective, assessing whether it was a successful intervention or not based on the framework identified by Nicholas Wheeler.

Nicholas Wheeler, Saving Strangers

It was a really interesting project for two reasons. One of them was working with a diverse group to put together a presentation that would be informative as well as interesting, and the other was the opportunity to understand in detail what happened in Rwanda in 1994 and analyse the intervention using the language I had gained from this class.

Between us, my group represented the UK, Thailand, Sweden and Japan. I think I was very lucky as everyone was willing to get involved, and although we were given guidance with how to proceed with the group work, it was interesting to see how we could quickly work out each other’s strengths and assign tasks. For example, we found that one member of our group didn’t think he was a strong presenter, so we made sure to practise and help him feel at ease.

As the main objective of the class was to assess whether or not there is an emerging norm of humanitarian intervention and how this affects sovereignty, we had this question in mind when we were thinking about what to talk about in the presentation. My particular role was to talk about the action taken by the international community and the key tipping points with regard to the humanitarian intervention. Using the UN Resolutions, and some historical context, as well as the Wheeler text, I agreed with a lot of the literature written about the Rwanda genocide that the action taken by the international community did not suffice, and that there could have been a lot more done to prevent such a terrible massacre from occurring. A point that particularly stood out to me was Operation Turquoise (the French humanitarian mission in June 1994), and the controversy surrounding it, as it really enforced the point that no matter how humanitarian the motives for an intervention seem, it is impossible not to have subjectivity.

Presenting in front of 150 people was tough but I enjoyed being able to take part in the discussion at the end having done a fair bit of research and being able to answer the questions of my peers. 

Life in Japan: 10 Images

This is perhaps one of the broadest titles I could have come up with for a blog post... In order to try and narrow down what could potentially become the longest, most incoherent post, I have decided to pick ten photos and talk about what is going on and why it means something to me on my year abroad. 

1:  

Ryogoku Kokugikan, 22/09/14 

Something I absolutely had to do when in Japan - see a sumo wrestling match! My friend and I woke up at 06:00 to get there for 08:00, in order to see as much as we could, and both of us had a very vague idea of what sumo wrestling entailed.. But as the day progressed, we gradually got more and more into the sport, and I learnt a lot about the sport, as well as having fun predicting who would win the next bout based on the stats of the previous days of the tournament. 

2: 

Mount Mitake, 15/11/14

Autumn leaves: along with the Sakura (cherry blossom) which bloom in Spring, the autumn reds and golds are one of Japan's natural highlights. A day trip away from Tokyo, Mount Mitake provided a wonderful escape from the city and seeing the sprawling city from above and just how far the urban landscape stretched was fascinating. 

3: 

Soukeisen, 02/11/14 

A baseball game: a sport which really doesn't exist in the UK, apart from in the form of primary school rounders. In the style of a varsity match, Waseda play Keio twice a year at baseball, and this is a big event which takes place in the Meiji Jingu stadium, one of the largest in Tokyo. This photo was taken at the end when the players are bowing to the fans to thank them for their support. 

4: 

 Okuma Garden and Tower, 18/11/14

This photo was taken from the brand new building number 3 on Waseda campus from a very high floor, and depicts the green oasis that the Okuma garden is, along with the iconic tower that features on almost all pictures of Waseda University. The autumn leaves still leave an impression.

5:

Omotesando, 02/02/15

I've noticed that the Japanese love queuing almost as much as the Brits. This is a queue which can be seen in many different places along Omotesando, and it is a queue for nothing less than a popcorn shop. The queues are almost always for some sort of food, however, and these trends come and go as quickly as the seasons change. For some reason, gourmet popcorn seems to be popular at the moment, and I particularly like how patiently everyone waits for almost an hour in some cases for a bucket of popcorn. 

6: 

Food, every day (18/02/15)

If there's something I won't ever tire of, it's the food. This meal was at a restaurant called Nabezou, which is a type of hotpot. A relatively normal custom in Japan is to have "tabehodai", which is all you can eat for a set price within a set time frame. More surprising, this exists in the form of "nomihodai" as well, which is the same concept but with alcohol. There are places with self-service nomihodai, an unimaginable phenomenon if directly transposed into London. 

7: 

Kiyomizudera, Kyoto (09/03/15)

The spring break in Japan lasted two months, as the year begins from April and so technically what we have as a summer holiday is over February and March. One of the highlights of this break was a spontaneous trip to the Kansai region and Shikoku, and Kiyomizudera illuminated at night in the rain is something that will stay with me for a while. 

8: 

Kawagoe, 18/04/15

Cherry blossom in Japan, one of the most anticipated periods of the year. Hanami (flower viewing) is a huge deal, with the Japanese turning it into an excuse to sit outside in the newly balmy weather and sit under cherry blossom and drink. This particular flower is called the Yaezakura, and is one of the latest blooming flowers. It is particularly fluffy and has many layers, hence its name (Yaezakura can be translated as eight-layered cherry blossom). 

9: 

Yamanashi-ken, (05/05/15) 

May 5th is Children's Day in Japan, and part of Golden Week, one of the only times in the year when Japanese get a few days of consecutive holiday. This picture is of Koinobori, the fish which are hoisted to celebrate children, boys in particular. 

10: 

Niji no Kai, 2014-2015

Finally, an incredibly important part of this experience has undoubtedly been the people I have met and grown close to. In particular, the international society Niji no Kai has been warm and welcoming, and I have appreciated this immensely. 

Urban & Regional Planning Field Trip: 'Harajuku - Aoyama - Shibuya: Fashion, Art and Gentrification'

In my second semester, I’m taking a course called Urban and Regional Planning, taught by Professor Christian Dimmer. As part of the course, there was a field trip to Harajuku, Aoyama and Shibuya, a central part of Tokyo. Taking advantage of Waseda’s location in one of the world’s most global cities, we were able to spend an afternoon wandering around the streets in the Omotesando and Harajuku areas. One of the things I particularly enjoyed learning about was how the area came to be how it is today, and the trends that places experience contributing to the gentrification of an area. Harajuku, and Takeshita-dori in particular, are popular among teenagers and are iconic when imagining ‘cool Tokyo’.

As a side note, here is a video about 'Cool Japan', and while the emphasis in this video portraying Tokyo is on sport (it being an Olympic bid promotional video), I think that the images and contrasts within the scenes portrayed are interesting from an urban studies perspective.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJQrzx1kT5i 

Omotesando is known for being the place where the first modern high rise buildings were built following the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake which flattened much of Tokyo, but these have now been replaced by Omotesando Hills, a large shopping mall with an interesting design but nevertheless covering up most of what remains of the single apartment block which was left as a sort of momentum.

Until 15-20 years ago, governments provided infrastructural investments to get industry to locate in certain areas, and to invest and improve parts of cities, but recently there has been a shift towards cultural production. As Professor Dimmer pointed out, Harajuku is a really interesting place where you can see how cultural production has occurred quite naturally. Areas like Harajuku were and are being promoted for nation branding, as ‘cool Japan’, through the image of creativity, art, and design. Creative events, interesting buildings, and new brands helped change the atmosphere and create a centre of gravity, causing ‘trendy’ people and businesses to cluster in the area, many hoping to capitalise on this perception of trendiness. 

Map of Harajuku area, 29/04/15

This map was pointed out by Professor Dimmer, and shows how quickly the area is changing, because it is a normal map which can be found all over the city, but the white stickers indicate the shops and are stuck on top, as the shops are changing so quickly that the ward can't keep creating a whole new map. 

This positive urban dynamic, allows an area to flourish. Another example where this has taken place is Bilbao, with the Guggenheim museum (Guggenheim Museum Bilbao). One of the buildings that struck me the most on the excursion was the Prada building in Aoyama, built by the Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron in 2003. 

Prada Building, Aoyama, 29/04/15

Prof. Dimmer referred to it as a ‘challenge shop’, partly because it was built in a former mostly residential area which in turn changed dramatically due to the placement of the fashion flagship store.

Lastly, we had an interesting discussion about public space and how it is used. There is a park called Miyashita-koen, one of the only remaining public spaces in the busy ward of Shibuya, and has come to be well known for its importance in being the starting point for rallies and demonstrations. One of the first instances of social media being used in a peaceful protest was here, when the district government tried to phase out the 150 homeless people living in the park. Large futsal courts were built in the early 2000s, and the rhetoric surrounding these courts was to encourage people to do sports and provide these facilities in a public space, but it could be argued that local politicians also had in mind a way to design out homeless people. After these courts were constructed, only 60 homeless people remained, and there is still a negative perception surrounding the people living here.

Public space and its uses should be about balancing the different claims of different groups of people, for example when we visited on a Wednesday afternoon there were young children being taught a dance routine, people actively using the futsal courts, a group of students practicing their instruments, a few young families and couples, and a few homeless people resting. These claims of different user groups manifest themselves in public spaces like this and cause conflict. Another area of the park was turned into a skate park in order to provide a space for skaters away from the streets where they could be a nuisance to other pedestrians, but this facility also requires you to pay an entrance fee. This seems like a win-win for the park developers and the local government, as the skaters are off the streets and there is also an income coming from them.

The conflict came to a head in 2008 when a deal was made with Nike Japan to build these new sports facilities in exchange for the naming rights to the park, which many people opposed as the idea of a public space with a branded name could be seen not to make any sense. Many artists and demonstrators ‘occupied’ the area and there was a large media presence on this movement. Is there such thing as an urban commons? It seems that there is no simple truth when it comes to public space, as the sports facilities allowed new users to enjoy the park but led to the exclusion of others.

The latest development of the park is that a very similar language is being used to the previous construction of the sports facilities to develop it again in time for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.  Michael Penn and Jasper Tolma’s article in the Japan Times discusses the current situation of Miyashita Park, and concludes that ‘the ward’s goal for developing the park in time for 2020 is looking increasingly ambitious’, given the huge divide in residents opinions and other legal obstacles.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2015/04/01/issues/battle-shibuya-park-heats-tokyo-olympics-loom/#.VVKV6I6qqko

Niji no Kai Shinkan Gashuku

One thing I have enjoyed and appreciated immensely is the chance to befriend and get to know the Japanese students at Waseda and other universities in Tokyo through the international society called Niji no Kai. The various events they put on showcase aspects of Japanese culture and university life that no amount of classes could ever compare to. ‘Shinkan Gashuku’, the freshmen welcome trip, was one of the highlights of my year so far studying at Waseda, because I finally understand enough Japanese to be able to keep up with what’s going on without having to get someone to explain everything to me again separately. It was organised by 9 leaders, and the effort they put in to make sure that all 150 people who attended were looked after and enjoyed themselves was quite amazing, and something I can really appreciate having spent a bit of time helping out and behind the scenes. It really is the definition of ‘organised fun’, something I would never have thought I would enjoy, but I’ve discovered that the location of your travels is hardly important when you’re with people you love and can laugh with. I also surprised myself by taking part in a comedic sketch, totally in Japanese, and being thankful that everyone laughed, whether at me or with me I’ll never know, but it was enjoyable all the same. A friend of mine wrote the sketch, and it was performed entirely by exchange students, including the current trending skit in Japan which is stuck in everyone’s heads… 

Lassen Gorelai: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4Z46GxZtd4

Book Review: Kisses in the Nederends, Epeli Hau'ofa

This book was one of the main texts for the class ‘Pacific Rim and the 21^st Century World’. It is an entertaining satirical novel written by the acclaimed writer Epeli Hau’ofa, a Pacific Islander commenting on many of the issues facing the people of the Pacific Islands today.

To explain the plot briefly, a man named Oilei Bomboki wakes up one day with a terrible pain in his backside, and he spends the majority of the rest of the novel searching for a cure to this pain. The tales of his unsuccessful treatments and the characters he meets along the way amuse the reader but also allow us to empathise with him.

When I read it for the first time, it was clear that it wasn’t just an amusing story, but had many underlying themes that Hau’ofa was exploring. Discussing the book in class helped clarify these thoughts, and these are some of the thoughts that came out of the discussion.

It could be said that Hau’ofa is simplistically, but humorously likening the world to a human body, with the Pacific Islands as the backside, which is where the pain is coming from, and is a place that no-one wants to think about, talk about – a taboo of sorts. There is anger and fury in the book, at best about how the world ignores the Pacific, worse still about how colonialism had such a terrible lasting effect on many islands and neo-colonialism and militarism still has a hold on the region. The journey Hau’ofa takes us on through Oilei’s pain culminates in a ridiculous scene where he undergoes an anus transplant, and the doctor attempts to give him a white woman’s anus, which his body dramatically rejects. This could be seen as the prescriptive attitude of the West when it comes to solving issues in the Pacific, and could be translated all over the developing world- trying to solve issues which can be associated with colonialism according to a narrow western worldview without taking into account the different needs and desires of other people.

A quote from the foreword written by Vilsoni Hereniko particularly stuck with me:

‘Given Hau’ofa’s reputation as a satirist and comic writer, as well as an intellectual and visionary, we stand to benefit by empathising with Oilei Bomboki as he sets out to search for a cure to his pain. Our pain.’

This book explored many issues we had previously discussed in the course, and particularly the use of humour to critique power relations and social hierarchy was a strong theme throughout the course that was present in ‘Kisses in the Nederends’. I would recommend the book wholeheartedly whether or not the reader has an interest or prior knowledge of the Pacific Islands and the issues they face in the 21^st century. 

What's in a name? On cultural identities

One of the things I have absolutely loved about being here is that people can pronounce my name.

Studying at the School of International Liberal Studies at Waseda, unless you are business level fluent in Japanese, it is a requirement to take a number of Japanese language credits. This semester, I was familiar with the unnecessarily complex registration system and had some knowledge about which classes would be interesting or difficult. This was a huge relief as I remember the stress from last semester, and was able to settle in much more quickly. In the first week, everyone goes through their ‘jikoshoukai’, or self-introductions; and the teachers desperately try to learn everyone’s names by asking us to create name plates and putting them on the desks in front of us. As I was sitting in another orientation class waiting for my name to be called in the register, I realised something- the names before my own were all much harder for the teacher to pronounce than mine: something I had never before experienced in my school life in the UK. As with many of my friends here who are half-Japanese, I use my Japanese surname and my first name while here, and because I was given a Japanese sounding first name, I have had an easy ride when it comes to self-introduction.

This led me to think about my own cultural identity, as I often get asked what my ‘real name’ is, not the Japanese one that many people who I first meet think I have given myself in order to sound more Japanese. I am also often asked what it’s like being a half-Japanese person in Japan, or anywhere for that matter. As it happens, I am very appreciative of the fact that I am unique, and can’t think of any other way I would like to be. I worried for a while that no matter how hard I tried, I wouldn’t be able to fit in in Japan because I look ‘foreign’, but I’ve found that I can use this to my advantage, and the closer I get to my friends here the more I realise that if they accept me then that’s all that matters. 

Queering Oceania

Queering Oceania: reflections on gender and sexuality

One of the topics that we spent quite a while discussing in my Pacific Rim class was gender and sexuality. I found these lectures interesting for a number of reasons. One of these is that I am appreciating the way it opens up the idea that both of these things are social constructs that thoroughly depend on time and place for them to have meaning. Sometimes, these meanings that belong to one culture or generation are imposed upon others, which can have negative effects. However, I don’t think that it is necessarily wrong to have certain ideas and preconceptions about gender or sexuality, but it is important to understand that they are merely ideas and preconceptions, and can be discussed and debated – not ‘facts’ in and of themselves. I was fortunate enough to grow up in a very liberal household, in London, one of the most multicultural cities on the planet. I thought before this class that I had a very open mind towards sexuality and gender, and while this is true, there are some things that I sort of accepted as being that way without considering that they were actually just norms that I picked up from my environment and cultural surroundings.

The Dvorak essay ‘Gender on the Edge’ (University of Hawaii Press: 2014) was particularly interesting I found, because I hadn’t really ever considered that there could be such an incredible variety of gender and sexual orientation, if it can even be defined in that way. As this is totally new for me, it was a conscious effort to make sense of the essay, not in terms of the language but trying to imagine what life might be like in the Marshall Islands without a strict binary of ‘man v woman’.  The culture I grew up with in the UK is seemingly quite a binary one, in that ‘men’ and ‘women’ are supposed to act and behave in a certain way and there are huge amounts of gender-related intricacies which we enact perhaps without even thinking about it. For example, just the way we stand, sit and carry ourselves is very much affected by our gender and it is immediately obvious if someone behaves slightly differently to the way we consider ‘normal’. I would like to think that it doesn’t matter at all but I cannot be sure that people are not discriminated against or not treated differently for acting a certain way. The concept of ‘jera’ was interesting for me, not because of the idea of close relations between men, but because of the fact that you there are these relationships with specific attributes which have their own category. However, I do think that while the specific attributes and the way the relationships are perceived may differ from culture to culture, I think that strong bonds between humans, regardless of their gender or sexuality exist in all generations and cultures, which can only be a positive thing. We need to be more aware that this is the case and obviously accept and understand other cultures.

It seems to me that the reason we have so many norms that steer our lives is because it is through norms that power is created. Colonialism reinforced this notion because it was through ‘othering’ that they could take over lands and people without it seeming like a bad thing to the public in colonial countries, and religion also creates norms in this way. Challenging and contradicting, as well as merely acknowledging the fact that the way we view sexuality and gender is a ‘norm’ is something I got out of our discussions over the past two weeks and the essay from Gender on the Edge. I think it would be naïve to think we can live in a world similar to today without norms of some kind, but if everyone could see that they are just ‘norms’ that we have created then I think the world could be a better place, with it being easier to understand and accept other cultures.

Judith Butler is someone whose work I have studied in the past, and am intrigued by what she says in terms of how our understandings of biology and nature are saturated by our cultural context which happens to divide gender into two strict categories. This led me to recall an article I had read about parents who had decided to raise their child without a specific gender, and it made me wonder whether this was enlightening and the way forward or a sort of experiment. At the time, I remember reading it and thinking ‘poor kid’, because I think there are enough struggles and difficulties with trying to fit in as a child without your parents adding an extra thing which makes you an outsider of the social norm. However, now that I think about it, as long as the parents were able to explain themselves to the child and support it through potentially difficult times, I think this is no different to my own parents who are from different countries raising me in a third country, causing us to be outsiders in a sense wherever we go. They managed to make me feel proud of being able to understand and call ‘home’ many different places and cultures, and so I think it is possible to do so with gender and deconstruct the boundary between male and female, starting with the way you raise a child.