kaytay's New Writeups

Landlords in Japan (idea)

2007-03-25T03:57:07Z

Cheer up, guys.

Sure there are no enforced, cut and dry laws against racism in Japan. But with foreign nationals totaling well under 2% of the entire population, discrimination laws have an incredibly low priority in the legislative process. しょうがない for the time being. But have patience, and Japan will eventually cave to pressure from the UN to get its act together in regards to discrimination and racism. Globalization is inevitable, for better or worse.

Anyway, this is a fact of the culture one should be ready to face and deal with on a daily basis. As a human being making a conscious decision to reside in a land full of a different history operating under different values, it's your responsibility to go with the flow. Yes, it's infuriating and yes, it goes against the way you were probably raised, and yes, blatant xenophobia isn't exactly a pleasant experience to encounter. But you learn to work with it instead of letting it…

Getting a working visa in Japan (thing)

2007-03-24T19:31:34Z

I have never had the dubious pleasure of getting a working visa in any other country, and therefore I am not qualified to compare the efficiency of the Japanese system to a norm of any sort. However, I do not hesitate to say it's an overly bureaucratic process ensconced in gratuitous amounts of red tape, much like everything else in this glorious land. Observe:

Step one: Sponsorship
This step is applicable to most types of visas in Japan to some degree, but with a working visa, the sponsor will almost invariably be the company for which you will be working. All paperwork will usually go through the HR department, and immigration usually prefers to work with them instead of with you. This is both good and bad; less hassle for you, technically, but also a mild slap-in-the-face welcome to life as a foreigner in Japan. It's not so bad, really, once you get used to it.

Step two: Paperwork galore
You'll need to fill out several documents, which should be supplied by…

Above the Clouds (review)

2007-03-23T14:36:33Z

Above the Clouds: Status Culture of the Modern Japanese Nobility
By Takie Sugiyana Lebra
Berkeley University of California Press, 1993.

Cultural anthropology has a long history of studying the societies of so-called "common" people, while the mysterious world of nobility has been left mostly unexplored. Despite this historical trend, Lebra dedicated many years to the understanding of the inner workings of Japan's former and modern nobility, and has compiled her research into a book that investigates the oppositional relationship between nature and culture as it is found in almost every aspect of life for the elites of Japan: gender roles, heredity and the continuance of a family name, and the nobility's relations to other members of society.

Lebra's methodology is very sound. As a graduate from Gakushuin, an extremely prestigious school known for its imperial…

March 15, 2007 (idea)

2007-03-16T13:13:11Z

A gathering of long-absent dinosaurs who flock together as sheep (thanks shaogo).

I haven't written any form of day log since 2003 or thereabouts. I still have nothing of note to say beyond the fact that e2 will never be other than that which it was (and is), regardless of the evolution of policies and personal philosophies.

Numbers are irrelevant. I'm nigh 100% certain I used to be a few levels higher (or lower?) than I am at present, despite years of nearly complete inactivity. The logic of this isn't important; the policies governing the logic are even less important. e2 will forever be the place that taught me others value the written word as I do, that relative strangers can drive across countries (and get speeding tickets in both countries across which they traversed, mind you) to meet each other face to face, only to write notes to pass to one another in a fancy restaurant - writing is just that fabulous.

Show some love.

Imagined Communities (idea)

2006-11-18T07:34:04Z

Analysis of Benedict Anderson's Imagined Communities
by kaytay

The origins of national consciousness are various and interconnected, as was demonstrated by an impressive range of examples in Imagined Communities. The most extensive theory proposed by Anderson involves a strong link between language, print-capitalism, and nationalism. In addition to addressing several important historical developments that made this link possible, in the following pages I will attempt to clarify the exact role and definition of "capitalism" as it applies to the spread of nationalism in a variety of contexts.

According to Anderson, "the esotericization of Latin, the Reformation, and the haphazard development of administrative vernaculars" (42) lead to the widespread and accepted use of languages other than Latin in print. Prior to this diversification, only those who were able to read Latin were capable of sharing any sort of…

Lafcadio Hearn: The Dramatically Poetic Japan Enthusiast (idea)

2004-05-14T11:06:24Z

Lafcadio Hearn: The Dramatically Poetic Japan Enthusiast
A Comparison Between Hearn, Bird, and Chamberlain

Writing about foreign countries is hardly a novel idea, so an interested reader has a vast selection of literature to choose form. One can afford to be fastidious in selecting an author to suit one's personal tastes, but there appear to be several characteristics that draw more people to Lafcadio Hearn than any other commentator on Japan. Perhaps due to his usage of the English language, attention to descriptive detail, and childish glee in describing seemingly fantastic peculiarities in an endearing fashion, he can attract a larger audience than any of his fellow nineteenth century contemporaries.

Lafcadio Hearn is a man of many words; not just any words, but oftentimes a most elaborate conglomeration of esoteric expressions. He revels in utilizing the English language to its utmost…