Notes From Memory I: Why the Foreign?

[Ideally, all of my notes about being a foreigner in Japan, including discussions with other "outside people", would be written the day they happened. Unfortunately, it didn't occur to me to begin writing them down until a year after my arrival in Tokyo. I will have to rely on my memory. "Notes From Memory" contains those strong impressions of my experience that are difficult to forget. They are the painful and the humorous, not exactly scientific but instructive non-the-less as a reflection on the consciousness of a reflective foreigner. These notes are produced with this fact in mind: That "foreigner" is the only role that can be fully played by a participant observer.]

When I came to Tokyo I had a desire to learn about Japanese culture. After a year in the city, I am even more confused. As I have learned, cultures are not discrete. Japan in general, and Tokyo specifically, is full of gaijin (outside people). This presents something of a problem for Japanese social consciousness because it violates the most fundamental division of the universe-- Japanese vs. foreign. It is also a problem for the anthropologically minded that wants to know about "Japanese culture." Perhaps this is why anthropologists prefer rural settings that are less likely to be contaminated by other cultures-- or reality. The jazz bar where I work part-time is a good example. At times, up to half of the employees are immigrants, mostly from China or Korea. For these reasons, Foreignness itself seems like an appropriate candidate for observation, reflection and writing.