Week Ten
Tuesday, September 16 - Kawabe, Japan
Typhoon
There is a typhoon coming to Akita. It has been coming to Akita for about four days now and it is all anyone can talk about. Every thirty minutes on TV are updates on the destruction from this large cloud of water. What this means to me is that most of my outside shooting of nice morning light, gardening, farming or sunsets is put on hold.
I spent last night photographing three wild young things sing their hearts out in a karoke box the size of a US bathroom, while drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes. Yes I got it on tape, as well as me singing Bad Girls by Donna Summer and Holiday by Madonna, all off key. “Abandon Hope (for your ears) all ye who enter here” should have been hung on the door of our little room. Then because it was early (11:00 p.m.) they decided to drive around and look at the large freighters and ships docked at the port. Mind you I am on old people time and by 10:00 p.m., I was wishing I was tucked into my nice cozy futon.
I am following this young twenty year old, Izumi Sato. She lives in a household that has basically three different lifestyles living under one roof. There is a grandmother who sits on the floor, a father who sits at the table and Izumi, stands always ready to catch the phone when it rings. She hates being at home and does not get along with her family because they just "don't understand her." She drives a cool little car bought by Daddy, and carries a little portable phone, also paid for by Daddy. Her friends are number one, and she looks so sophisticated with her blue polished toes and fingernails, dressed in the finest fashions and smoking the expensive clove cigarettes from Indonesia (though she can't read where they are from and in Indonesia they cost about a tenth of what they cost here) but when you talk to her you realize that she is just a little girl. I want to show the differences of generations here with the older people. She is perfect, I think.
This morning I woke up to brilliant gray light. I am starting to really like this light because it has a magical quality for photographing. My plans to photograph had fallen through because of the weather not being sunny so I was planning on dealing with this project some more. Obaachan had to go to the hospital today for her bimonthly shot. I offered to drive her because of the weather and I did not want her riding her bike. Of course I brought along my camera. Well word went out about the shuttle, first thing we did was stop and pick up her friend who also wanted to go to the doctor. It is important to note that the hospital is a social gathering place for many old people. Many go everyday. They receive mild shots and get treated for different ailments like a stiff neck or sore legs.
We sat in the waiting room. Her friend was my good will ambassador and went around explaining to everyone that I was a student here from America and that for omiage (presents that you bring back for friends and family when you go on a trip) I was taking pictures in this small clinic's waiting room. Everyone was delighted to help out. There were about nine people in the waiting room and the average age was 69, wait I just averaged it out and the average age was 75 (not counting me or the 2 year old that walked in half way through). There were four people over 80. The light was beautiful brilliant gray and as they sat legs uncrossed hands in their laps waiting to be called, I snapped photos. They talked and socialized. I met one cute 85 year old as spunky as can be who jumped up and trotted over to me insisting on taking my picture as an omiage. She said for me to choose where I would stand and she would take the picture. I thanked her and said my mother would be delighted with the photo. She comes to the hospital every morning without fail.
Obaachan met with the doctor who was delighted to practice the English he learned while an elementary student in Taipei about 35 years ago. He asked me to write my name and university down before we met him. The nurses interviewed my good will ambassador (Obaachan's friend who came with us) and made some notes in the margins. The doctor then proceeded to give Obaachan laser treatment and then a shot in her neck. He then prescribed 15 minutes of lying down in this strange massage machine that actually stretches you out. Obaachan said it hurts but that the feeling overall is good. I took some hilarious photos of her with this strap around her neck and a scrunched up expression on her face. I also took some of her and her friend both lying side by side in these machines. Bizarre. What I took from this is that it is more like a massage machine. If I am correct I think that many of the people come for the massage machine and call that going to the doctor, when it is more like a massage therapy. Returning home was a journey, as two 72 year old women shouted out directions admitting they had no idea how to go home because they took the back routes by bike or came by bus.
Tonight is a full moon and once a year a special offering is made in the Fall to the full moon to ask for health and guidance and whatever else you want. You also make a special offering to the dead ancestors of the house. I actually like how the Japanese remember their deceased by putting a photograph up on a special altar. Then every morning they bring them rice and say thank you or hello, ask for health or whatever they need, but basically they remember those who were once living with them but now have left. It seems like a more holistic approach to death to me. There is a real sense that these ancestors still are valued and not forgotten. I brought home some doughnuts one day. The first thing Obaachan did was put them on the butsudan (the altar) for Ohake sama (deceased ancestors) to enjoy. I remember thinking at first that this was kind of funny, but then I thought what a nice gesture of remembrance. Death is a very integral of the Japanese culture. There are always some kind of celebrations going on for someone's death .A major foot note: MOSTLY THE OLDER PEOPLE DO THIS, FROM WHAT I HAVE OBSERVED, THE YOUNGER PEOPLE DO NOT DO THIS NOR DO THEY EVEN KNOW WHAT ALL THIS IS ABOUT. I AM NOT SURE IF THIS IS A COUNTRY RITUAL OR NOT, BUT I HAVE NOT HEARD OF ANYTHING LIKE THIS IN THE CITY AND I DID NOT WITNESS THIS TEN YEARS BEFORE IN OSAKA.
Wednesday, September 17 - Kawabe, Japan
Kawabe So
I had a hard time getting motivated this morning. It was pouring rain and cold. I awoke with the feeling that this project is kind of sitting in one place and not really moving forward because of a lack of decision making on my part. But with photography, although I find the content is guided by thoughts, it is really by the subjects being photographed. I try to make photographs that fit into the ideas that I have.
They moved Mrs. Noto into another room. I went to her old room today to bring her a Japanese okashi (small cake) and she was gone. I then went to Mrs. Toita's room to ask her what happened to Mrs. Noto. Mrs. Toita didn't know who she was, but held my hand and walked around with me until we found her. I gave them each a little cake. The Japanese don't really get to hung up on names. They remember those of their family, close friends, and store clerks, but that is about it.
Today was the tanjokai at Kawabe So. Basically they celebrated all the September birthdays. They cook really yummy food, serve sake and beer, and sing songs. Everyone really had a good time. The photos aren't that great, the light was real flat and florescent.
Thursday, September 18 - Kawabe, Japan
Kawabe So
Mr. Kawakami is dying. They have moved him from his mattress on the tatami mat into a bed in the room for the really sick people. He can no longer get up in the morning and write his characters. But he still had the energy to raise his hand and say hello when I visited him.
The elementary students came to visit today. I thought there might be some nice shots of the kids and the elderly people interacting. Then they had a picnic in the park. I got a few nice shots but not much.
Spent the rest of the afternoon trying to find a tall place to photograph the highway and the shinkansen from. Not much. Got nice and wet though. I also mapped out my essay and part of the Kawabe So photos. I feel like I am not very good at thinking these kinds of projects through. Well actually I think them through really well but when it comes to decision making it is kind of hard for me to focus my ideas. The elderly seem to be really dominant in my photographs and I am trying to find some kinds of contrasts and similarities between the lives in the nursing home and their lives outside. This is also starkly contrasted by the lives of the younger Japanese.
Friday, September 19 - Kawabe, Japan
Anata wa, ii koto (You are a good thing)
It was pouring again this morning. All of Obaachan's friends came over because they can't work in the gardens when it is raining or wet. About five women over 70 years old sipping tea and eating beans. They gather and talk and sing songs and cackle and discuss what is wrong with everything. They gathered around this large round table. I like the look of the circle and the figures sitting around it. I took pictures of course. I also taped them singing a few songs. Obaachan was having so much fun she ran to the pantry and grabbed a small cup of sake and started drinking. The others thought that was hilarious. I hung out and talked with them. They had the dirtiest mouths, well my Obaachan had a dirty mouth and a few other chimed in. But we laughed and drank tea. They all said that they were jealous that Obaachan had me living in her house because she could talk to me everyday. They talked about me for a bit none of which I understood except for kimochi ii (which means good feelings). So I finally said eh? nani (what). And they all said "Anata wa ii koto” (you are a good thing). That was nice. One of the granny's daughter-in-law came with her two kids. She didn't interact much at all and sat kind of back from the group while her kids ran around like crazy. After she left there was a big discussion about the selfish younger people today.
Mr. Kawakami died early this morning. I feel kind of sad. I fed him some water yesterday and talked to him for a little bit saying thank you and that I really liked visiting him. He raised his hand and grabbed mine tightly and whispered "arigato” (thank you). I said I would see him again. I guess I kind of knew this was going to happen. It seems that now that summer is over and the seasons are changing. People are growing older before my eyes. I feel like I should have been at the nursing home last night to photograph this, but what can I do.
I picked up a bunch of film today. I feel like I shoot a lot of garbage as kind of a knee-jerk reaction, kind of a fear that if I don't shoot nothing will happen. Well film is not cheap and I am almost out of the high speed film so I am really going to make a point of being more careful. I photographed the shinkansen and the highway at sunset tonight. I want some kind of photo to illustrate that this town is not all green forests, rice fields, and small vegetable gardens, changes are happening in this town.
Saturday, September 20 - Kawabe, Japan
Ashita wa, ashita no kaze fuku (As for tomorrow, tomorrow's winds will blow or Tomorrow is another day.)
I learned this phrase at 2:00am from a small Japanese 20 year-old boy who looked like James Dean and was drinking gin straight for the first time. He could speak pretty good English and said that he wanted to go to America and Europe. He said he was working a part-time job and that he wasn't really able to save money, as he ordered another eight dollar drink. A young 20 year-old girl I know from taiko was going out to her favorite bar and asked me if I wanted to join them. I brought my camera along for some fun pictures of drunk Japanese kids. I thought that a bar scene would contrast nicely the earthy pictures that I have of the older people. I used a flash and a monopod. I never know with flash if it is working or not but if you don't try you will never know. I also colored the light a red or a blue to see if that would give me any cool effects. I ended up focusing other people besides the girls I came with because they were rather calm and collected and there were a bunch of other really drunk people with big smiles and exaggerated gestures. We will see. Anyway I came home and went to bed around 4:00 am. I was still asleep when another friend called to say that there was this special day at the elementary school dedicated to grandparents so they could come to the school and see what their grandkids were doing. I went because I thought I could find more about the role of grandparents in this community.
I wasn't motivated to shoot because there really was not much interaction. I took a couple of shots of grandparents at the back of the classroom but didn't want to waste my film. I have been increasingly frustrated with my shooting. I sit and think that I am probably the worst photographer on earth. Some might say this is ridiculous, and granted it is, but will I ever get it? Everything I am photographing feels really boring to me now. I am not fast enough yet to capture any kind of activity, and although I try, I don't have the foresight to predict what is going to happen next. There is a Zen belief that only those who let go of their longing to be a true master and just accept that they always going to be learning (or translated as really bad), truly become great.
I just returned from photographing a bunch of old ladies in their garden. The older people here have several clearly defined roles in the family. One is tending to the family garden, and often to the rice fields. Most of the parents work full time which means that they can only tend to the fields on the weekend or before. Many of my photos, even though they are not very multidimensional (hopefully before the time I die I will be able to do these kinds of photos), are demonstrative of the roles of the grandparents in the family and the community. I am photographing the young people to highlight the differences in lifestyles and how the different generations are really miles apart. This seems to me like a nice way to set up for the Kawabe So essay which takes many of these roles and adapts them to the institution, but also shows a different relationship with young people than previously seen. I want the photos to be a stark contrast because that is really what is happening. At no other time than now are the generations farther apart. This will all change in the future because the parents of today's kids grew up with TV and tables and beds.
Sunday, September 21 - Kawabe, Japan
Kawabe So
I went to Kawabe So again today. It was Sunday and I wanted to get some photos of visiting family members. Pictures were OK. I didn't want to go. It is becoming increasingly hard to think about saying goodbye to these people. I saw Mrs. Noto. Her face is swollen still but not as bad as before. She wants me to call her daughter. She says that she can't talk or that they won't let her call her daughter. I asked the nurse about her. I guess she won't eat the finely cut up food and that keeps aggravating her gums. Once her gums heal, she will get her new teeth. I am kind of uncertain about what to do. My gut feeling is that she is OK and that this place doesn't really do bad things. I think she is just really homesick. I get the feeling that many of the nurses don't want to hear her talk about being homesick. I am going back on Wednesday. The problem is that I am never sure how much people remember. Old age no matter what country has its fallout like forgetfulness (even I suffer from this), many of these people really don't know what they are saying and answers to my questions have to be double checked with the nurses or other staff members. I am still worried about her.
It feels like my work with the permanent residents at Kawabe So is almost over. Maybe this is a mistake to think so, but I want to spend a little bit of time focusing on the day service center. I have a few photos that I still want to capture, but that is about it.
Monday, September 22 - Kawabe, Japan
Chasing the Fog
I feel like a real photographer, I am addicted to weather reports. It is all I can talk about, that and when the cutting of the rice begins. Everyone talks about the weather here, in fact it is the first thing that you learn in Japanese class anywhere is weather words. It is kind of like a greeting to say it has started to turn cold. Also this time of year in this part of the country, everyone talks about when their family is going to begin harvesting rice. They all say in an optimistic tone, tomorrow and then it rains and they say in a few days, and then it rains again. It has rained every day.
I woke up at 6:00 am today. It was cloudy once again, but there was this cool fog cloaking the entire town and rice fields. I decided to go check out the train station. This turned out to be a waste of time because there wasn't any fog there. As I was returning home, I noticed that it still was holding over the rice fields near the mountains. I decided to go chase it. I drove by these rice fields and there was a little old lady riding her bike to her garden located in the middle of the rice fields. I jumped out of the car with my camera and 80-200 mounted on a monopod. As she rode through the fog to her garden I photographed her.
I am still working on the old people and their outside role to complement the nursing home. I am not sure this is going to work but I am going to try while still working at the nursing home for these last two weeks. Today a teacher friend of mine said that there was this interesting old lady that I should go meet. He escorted me to two people's house. I think this was more for his benefit than mine because the photo opportunities were nil and he did a lot of the talking. I did learn more about some old Japanese traditions that are dying out. I took a few photos of this old guy's wife serving tea in a very traditional fashion but that is about it.
In the afternoon I met with a grandmother who cares for her grandson while the parents work. I want to photograph the care-taking role of the grandmother for the grandchild. This is an important part of the grandparents’ purpose, though it has been changing since the families are starting to become more separated and live apart. That is next week.
Again sorry these are boring, and not full of anecdotes. I wish I had the time.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment