Geisha and Mixed-Gender Bathing
Section: Travelogue Added Time: December 7, 2010, 20:14:45 Source: admin Clicks: 52
I recently visited Japan and have a lot to share. I wrote a long article covering various aspects of Japan’s economy, politics, culture, and customs. However, my friends found it too lengthy and suggested that I distill the interesting parts. In today's fast-paced culture, I'll focus on the more engaging content (some chapters are excerpted from other sources) for your enjoyment. This will give you a glimpse into some aspects of Japanese society. While aiming for entertainment, I hope there's still some sophistication in this piece. If after reading, you find something thought-provoking, then this article won't have been written in vain.
Suicide Forest
At the base of Mount Fuji lies the dense and eerie Aokigahara forest, attracting dozens of special visitors each year. They come not to enjoy the forest scenery but to end their lives. The British newspaper The Independent sent a reporter to follow local police during their annual body retrieval operation and provided a detailed report.
Autumn is the season for retrieving bodies. The Aokigahara forest is a natural woodland filled with wild mushrooms growing in mossy holes, with the outline of Mount Fuji faintly visible above. On Friday, October 24th, the Japanese began their annual search for suicides as they have done for the past 30 years. Police officers, volunteers, and accompanying journalists all entered the forest.
The dark forest is mysterious and intimidating. Uniformed team members call out to each other as they proceed in single file. It is indeed a chilling jungle with densely packed trees, fallen branches, and decaying leaves covering the ground.
Compasses fail in the forest due to the magnetic effects of volcanic lava. Getting lost here is truly disorienting. Some remains have been trampled by wild animals into scattered pieces. Those who come here to die must know that committing suicide here makes it difficult for others to discover their remains.
The recovery team set off from the base of Mount Fuji towards the Forest of Death. Within just 20 minutes, they discovered the first body, a few meters away from a narrow path. It was an eternal dawn scene in the forest, with rain falling. He was kneeling on the ground, his face and arms pressed down in a posture of pain and pleading. His hair was short and slightly gray. His shirt was clean, with a long diagonal cut on the right side of his neck. His age was unclear. Soon after, police officers pushed through the crowd, taking photographs of the deceased and placing the body in a plastic bag, sealing it before loading it onto a metal cart to be transported to a nearby parking lot. Before the body could be loaded into an ambulance, another corpse was found deep in the dense forest.
As the number of suicides increases, so does the scope of the body searches. On the day of the search, 300 volunteer firefighters and 44 police officers gathered at the parking lot, most of them over 60 years old.
Boxes were nailed to trees in the forest containing notes left by the police, saying please wait a moment! Your life is a gift from your parents; don’t leave your troubles behind, seek consultation. The local police also have a patrol car specifically for use in the forest. According to police figures, 48 people who intended to commit suicide have been saved so far. We sometimes receive letters saying thank you for saving me; now I will try my best to live. said the head of the local police.
This large-scale annual search began in 1970. For the first few years, the number of recovered bodies remained steady at about 20. However, ten years ago, this number significantly increased. In 1994, 57 bodies were found, and by 1999, it reached a record high of over 70 bodies. This year alone, four bodies were found on just one Friday. Yosuke Koeda, leading this search, said that most of them are middle-aged. In previous years, couples often came into the forest together to commit suicide out of love, but this year there hasn't been a single such case, nor any teenage bodies found. I am somewhat relieved.
Taxis only run one way here. If you encounter a taxi driver here, they likely have stories to tell. They describe how passengers arrive at the forest like zombies or lost souls, never to return. They always make one-way trips, delivering those intent on death to the edge of the forest, never to pick anyone up again.
If you report on the beauty of walking, the mystery of the forest sea, and its varied landscapes, we would love the forest sea, says Koeda. Mountain climbers prefer to climb on the other side of Mount Fuji due to concerns about suddenly encountering a corpse. I've seen relatives of suicides come looking for fathers or sons, witnessing the immense pain and heavy blows suffered by people who lose loved ones. I want people to understand that suicide is futile and only creates sorrow.
Most people who successfully commit suicide here do so by hanging. A small portion take sleeping pills or poison, while in winter, some simply lie down in the snow to die.
Why do those who wish to commit suicide favor this place? Besides practical reasons for concealment, the answer can be traced back much further. In the 19th century, feudal Japan experienced severe famine, and Aokigahara was where poor families typically abandoned infants and elderly. Writer Matsumoto Seicho wrote a famous novel adapted into a film titled "Pagoda in the Waves," featuring a character who comes here to seek death.
Another notorious book that sold well a few years ago, "The Suicide Manual," recommended this location to readers.
Among all Asian countries, no nation seems to have as many people who enjoy suicide as Japan. In 1998, Japan's annual number of suicides exceeded the historical figure of 30,000, rising to 33,048 last year. Approximately 12,000 children each year lose one parent to suicide. Among suicides, 22,500 are men, mostly middle-aged. The image and timing of suicides correlate directly with Japan's economic crisis, which began in the early 1990s when some companies were severely impacted by restructuring, bankruptcy, or collapse.
To curb the trend of suicide, Tokyo subway stations have taken measures by placing mirrors along platforms, encouraging those contemplating suicide to reconsider upon seeing themselves. The Japanese Ministry of Labor and Welfare has requested over two billion yen specifically to combat suicide. However, everyone knows the only feasible way to reduce the suicide rate is to restore economic prosperity. Even in prosperous times, the number of Japanese choosing suicide remains significantly higher than in other countries.
Why do they choose to commit suicide? This requires an understanding of various aspects of Japanese society: their cultural traditions and religious beliefs, national character, and social environment.
First, let's discuss their cultural traditions and religious beliefs. The Japanese are a homogeneous ethnic group who believe in Shintoism. However, according to Shinto teachings, if you are unhappy in life, you can die and be reborn. Therefore, suicide is not considered newsworthy in Japan. Sociologist Koyoko Ueno of Tokushima University points out that Japan has long been known as the Land of Suicides. Social scientist Masahiro Yamada of Chuo University says: The Japanese do not consider suicide a crime but rather a virtue. Although this is the belief, Japanese people do not commit suicide at home. Instead, they go to beautiful places to die, most of which are tourist attractions. Consequently, at these scenic lakesides, many signs discourage suicide without explicitly stating so, using phrases like Isn't the view beautiful? Have you really reached the end? These are subtle messages.
Secondly, regarding their national character, the Japanese are extremely polite, bowing upon meeting and departing, constantly nodding and bowing during conversations. Statistics show that on average, a Japanese person bows over 200 times a day. The Japanese maintain proper decorum, bowing frequently, and rarely displaying emotions openly. Their speech is humble, restrained, and cautious. Even among family members, this formality persists: parents say Excuse me when visiting their children's homes, express gratitude for meals, and children treat their parents as guests. Such excessive politeness can be interpreted positively as courtesy, but negatively as hypocrisy. Due to this politeness, the Japanese rarely open up or communicate deeply with others, regardless of how close they may be, whether Japanese or foreign, husband and wife, parents and children, or siblings. As a result, the Japanese experience significant stress, leading to high suicide rates, affecting individuals from seventy-year-old men to seven-year-old children. In a country with a population exceeding 100 million, over 30,000 people commit suicide annually. One could say that suicide is a part of Japanese culture, prevalent both in ancient times and today. Japanese police statistics indicate nearly 34,000 Japanese committed suicide last year, the second-highest number in history.
Thirdly, prolonged economic stagnation has left many middle-aged and older individuals disheartened, while the emergence of suicide websites provides a sense of camaraderie among repressed and fragile young people.
A decade of sluggish economic growth and changes in Japan's lifelong employment system have resulted in unemployment and financial difficulties for many middle-aged and older individuals. Among Japanese suicides, nearly 71% are male, with those aged forty and above comprising over 73%, and over 57% being unemployed.
Masahiro Yamada says that for those who once belonged to the salaried class but now belong to the unemployed, suicide might be a rational decision. In Japan, if someone commits suicide, their beneficiaries can still collect life insurance proceeds. If the breadwinner dies, the insurance company pays off their housing loans regardless of the cause of death, including suicide. Masahiro Yamada: If he dies, his family will get money. If he continues living without finding work, his family will lose their home.
The internet allows depressed Japanese youth to obtain suicidal suggestions and companions for their journey to death. A few years ago, Japanese suicides began gathering online, driving cars to suburban areas, locking themselves in the rear compartments, and producing carbon monoxide gas by burning charcoal or coal balls to commit suicide. Juzo Tsuchino, a 43-year-old anti-suicide activist, says: They really want to communicate with others and walk together toward death.
Tsuchino, formerly an alcoholic and drug addict, attempted suicide ten times before turning thirty. He states that the current wave of suicides is scarier than ever before. Hydrogen sulfide gas poses significant risks even to those not intending to commit suicide. The gas can infiltrate nearby apartment buildings. In April, a 14-year-old Japanese girl used hydrogen sulfide gas to commit suicide in Kochi Prefecture in southern Japan, injuring 80 people in the building and forcing the evacuation of another 120. Authorities have urged internet service providers to block pro-suicide websites. This year, 517 Japanese have committed suicide using lethal gases made from common household chemicals, often harming bystanders.
Geisha
Geisha are representatives of Japanese culture, yet many misconceptions exist. Geisha are not prostitutes; they sell artistry, not their bodies. To become a respected geisha, one must possess true talent and charm through art. Training to become a geisha is not easy. Today's geisha are akin to inheritors of Peking Opera Mei-style singing or our giant pandas, rare historical legacies requiring preservation. Modern geishas are few, usually daughters following their mothers' professions. Becoming a geisha is arduous, starting from around age ten, learning tea ceremony, calligraphy, musical instruments, dance, etiquette, etc. They cannot wear ordinary clothes but must wear kimonos and wooden sandals, with specially styled hair that must be maintained for about a week without washing. When sleeping, they must use a narrow hard wooden support under their necks to prevent hair from touching the bed. They train for 12 hours daily. Beginners study at okiya (geisha houses), learning skills from playing taiko drums to shamisen, from modern to classical dances. Students often practice music outdoors in the cold until their fingers bleed and voices are hoarse. Additionally, they learn tea ceremonies, pouring sake, walking, sitting postures, and conversational etiquette. They typically have only two days off per month and often suffer from sleep deprivation due to late-night work. They are forbidden from calling friends or watching TV, constantly obeying elders with no personal time or privacy.
Initially, expenses are covered by the okiya's owner, including training fees and daily costs. Young girls simply submit bills to the okiya, fostering an otherworldly elegance detached from worldly affairs. Trainee maikos also serve geishas and okiya owners as maids. Since geishas are the main source of income for the okiya, the owner accommodates their whims, making trainees subject to geisha orders. All aspects of geisha life are managed by the okiya, with trainees serving trivial tasks. Through constant exposure to geishas, trainees learn expressions and manners and how to obediently serve others. Almost all trainees endure hardships from madams and bullying from senior geishas, a form of training itself.
At age 18, apprentice geishas undergo the erikae (collar-changing) ceremony, offering toasts to senior sisters, okiya owners, and dance teachers, drinking nine cups of rice wine, officially becoming full-fledged geishas.
After rigorous training, even if not exceptionally attractive, geishas win guests with their talents and charisma. A popular saying in the geisha world is: As long as three strings remain, there will always be food to eat.
After mastering their skills, geishas leave ochaya (tea houses) around 6 PM to meet pre-arranged guests by their managers. Geisha performances are charged by time. Traditionally, incense sticks measured sessions, with one stick representing one flower session. Nowadays, hourly rates apply, with geishas charging approximately 30,000 yen per hour (about 210 RMB). Geishas accompany guests in drinking and socializing.
Geishas primarily entertain political elites and celebrities but do not sell their bodies. Though surrounded by admirers, if multiple suitors emerge, bidding occurs. The madam sets a price, and whoever matches it can hold a ceremony with her, inviting her sisters and his friends or rivals for a feast. After the wedding night, they resume their separate lives. Each July, Japan selects the year's most famous geisha in a beauty pageant-like event, with posters displayed throughout the streets.
Mixed Gender Bathing
When discussing hot springs, mention must be made of mixed-gender bathing, a traditional Japanese practice where families bathe together regardless of age or gender. This tradition dates back centuries but was deemed primitive and uncivilized compared to Western practices in the early 20th century. Thus, in 1912, legislation banned mixed-gender bathing. However, the tradition persists in remote areas, some hotels allowing it at designated times, especially popular among the elderly. At home, daughters continue the custom of scrubbing their fathers' backs, irrespective of their age. In our hotel, both male and female baths had female cleaners, and tourists were advised not to panic or feel embarrassed if encountering them, as this reflects unique Japanese customs.
Japanese enjoy hot springs, eating fish, and drinking tea, habits contributing to their longevity. Men live an average of over 70 years, women over 80, with 25,000 centenarians, predominantly women.
Body Sushi
Originating over a thousand years ago in Japan, Body Sushi involves placing sushi and sashimi on the naked bodies of bathed beauties for guests to enjoy. Intended as a fusion of human and culinary arts rather than a sexual service, it nonetheless carries inherent erotic undertones. Essentially, it reduces women to mere vessels for food, combining dining with sensuality, showcasing a unique Japanese culture that degrades and disrespects women.
Preparation involves scientific placement of foods on the body. Cream cakes adorn the breasts, resembling beautiful bras. Foods are placed based on their properties: frogfish for strength near the heart, flagfish for digestion near the abdomen, eel for enhanced libido near the groin.
Body Sushi demands much from both the food and the models. Models must be virgins and remain motionless for extended periods, enduring any impropriety from guests. The principle is complete service, entertainment, and obedience to customers.
The existence of Body Sushi highlights the low status of women in Japanese society.
Native Comfort Women
Interestingly, reflecting Buddhist notions of karma and cycles of life and death, we often associate comfort women with Chinese and Korean women servicing Japanese soldiers. Yet, when Japan feared occupation after defeat, they organized a massive comfort women network to protect their own women from similar fates, ultimately sacrificing women regardless.
On August 15, 1945, Japan surrendered, and General MacArthur led the Allied forces to occupy Japan. The imminent arrival of tens of thousands of American soldiers terrified the Japanese. Surveys showed the primary concern was the potential violation of women, influenced by propaganda claiming defeated men would be castrated and women enslaved, compounded by Japanese atrocities in Asia.
In response, the Japanese cabinet discussed countermeasures, deciding to replicate the wartime comfort women system to provide facilities and sexual services to Allied soldiers, reducing assaults on civilian women. Budgeted at 50 million yen, a substantial sum for war-torn Japan, Treasury Minister Hayato Ikeda swiftly approved it, viewing it as a worthwhile trade-off to preserve Japanese women's chastity and lineage.
On August 18, the Japanese Home Ministry issued directives to local governments requesting police cooperation in establishing sex-service facilities for occupying forces. On August 26, the Recreation and Amusement Association (RAA) was formally established, specializing in providing sexual services to American occupiers, referred to as the national prostitution agency. The association claimed its role was to safeguard ethnic purity and future generations, acting as a bulwark against chaos and supporting post-war social order.
Under government leadership, a nationwide comfort system for American soldiers was established in Japan. The first facility opened in Komagome Garden outside Tokyo. Subsequently, other establishments like Goku-Lin, Ken-Jo, Hama-Kawa, and Otome followed, with the peak number of RAA women engaged in comfort services reaching 70,000.
Initially, the Japanese government masked its state-sponsored prostitution, requiring operators to act individually rather than represent the state, relying on public and private prostitutes. Recruitment faced unexpected challenges.
On August 21, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police summoned brothel owners to mobilize their workers for Allied soldier comfort services, resulting in awkward responses. Representative of the prominent Yoshiwara brothel, Minori Narukawa, replied that while coercive orders could be issued, acceptance by prostitutes was uncertain.
Please allow us to deliberate. Owners' concerns were valid; prostitutes reacted strongly to the unprecedented demand. Propaganda portraying foreigners as dangerous was one reason. Another was the myth that intercourse with Westerners could split a woman in half, making the task seem life-threatening.
With insufficient willing participants, the government resorted to newspaper advertisements recruiting virtuous women.
Foreign Affairs Club hiring female clerks, providing free meals, uniforms, high salaries, limited to women aged 18 to 25.
Published in major newspapers on September 20, 1945, it drew over 1,600 applicants that day, with 60,000 applying within three months.
Post-war Japan faced high unemployment, prioritizing men for jobs, leaving many widowed women on the brink of starvation. Consequently, applications were numerous. Statistics reveal less than 20% of applicants initially consented to sexual services, though most eventually succumbed to governmental and brothel owner pressures. In Etsuko Inoue's "Occupation Forces Comfort Facilities," she claims fewer than half volunteered willingly.
Ironically, the advertisement was issued by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police participating in the establishment of Special Comfort Facilities Association (RAA). Most applicants were unaware they'd be providing sexual services to American soldiers. Government-sanctioned advertisements reassured them, yet their destinies remain an unspoken chapter in Japanese history.
Tragically, these women faced horrific experiences. The initial Komagome Garden facility was scheduled to open on September 2, but on August 28, American soldiers stormed in, beating staff and raping all comfort women. Records indicate half were experiencing their first encounter with foreigners, describing their terror as akin to entering hell. Similar incidents occurred elsewhere. Yokohama's Gorocho planned to open on September 1, but on the preceding evening, over 100 Black soldiers forcibly entered, gang-raping 14 comfort women, their screams echoing throughout the night. Japanese police dared not intervene.
Unusual Japanese Men
Let's shift to unusual Japanese men, beginning with bachelors.
It's amusing to note that while bachelorhood due to lack of brides exists in remote areas of China or Vietnam, involving trafficking of women, it's surprising to find this phenomenon in highly developed Japan. Let me explain the situation of Japanese bachelors.
Japan consists of Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Hokkaido features plains and pastures. The western part of Honshu is called Kansai, the eastern part Kanto, and the central part Chubu, with Kanto being Japan's granary. Farmers constitute 23% of Japan's population, with highly mechanized agricultural practices, no manual planting or plowing. Cattle are raised on Hokkaido's pastures. Farmers earn high incomes as Japanese rice is the world's most expensive, considered a national treasure, costing at least 1,600 yen (approximately 22 RMB) per kilogram, with premium varieties reaching 4,000-5,000 yen (about 70-80 RMB) per kilogram. Generally, farmers lead comfortable lives, but like in our rural areas, despite favorable conditions, young people prefer urban life, leaving mostly the elderly, sick, or disabled behind. In Japan's Ryu River region, this is the prevailing situation, with young women flocking to cities (ironically, Tokyo has an excess of women). Men see only mothers or other men's mothers daily, making marriage challenging. However, finding wives isn't difficult here due to numerous matchmaking centers where, for approximately 10,000 RMB, one can marry a Vietnamese, Burmese, or Thai bride. More selective individuals join matchmaking tours, while less particular ones rely on photos sent by matchmaking centers. The challenge isn't finding a wife but keeping her, as many disappear shortly after arriving, fleeing to big cities. Interestingly, Ryu River residents value face, refraining from reporting missing wives, instead explaining: She wasn't adapting, so I sent her back to her parents. This underscores their Yamato emphasis on harmony.
Yaro Shops
Japanese men consider returning home after work a sign of mediocrity, so they generally avoid going home after work. They can drink and socialize outside, with most husbands leaving home at six in the morning and returning at midnight. Japanese women, feeling lonely, are avid fans of idols. Celebrity concert audiences are predominantly female, with South Korean star Bae Yong-joon being their favorite. Despite demanding several hundred million RMB for advertisements, crowds greeted him at the airport when he visited Japan. Many fans are middle-aged women and elderly grandmothers, some viewing Bae as their son. This could be due to loneliness or the imbalance in Tokyo's gender ratio (8:10). Yaro shops are very popular in Japan, with Shinjuku's Kabukicho being the red-light district, offering every imaginable service. A bottle of wine costs 7,000-10,000 RMB, and from six in the evening to twelve at night, merely conversing requires 300,000 RMB. Some male tour members, hearing about earning 300,000 RMB in a few hours, joked about staying to find work, prompting