Thursday October 18, 2007: Sumo, Schools, Diet Members, and Shinjuku

I got up really early this morning to catch a practice session of professional sumo wrestlers in Ginza (the same place where I had dinner on the first night). It is not the season for sumo matches and even if it was, the tickets are very expensive. Someone in my group found out that we could watch the practices for free. With the help of a Japanese couple (who noticed we were clearly lost and insisted on walking us to the exact building), we arrived at the practice at around 7 am. It was awesome and totally worth the early morning trip.

The room was small and intimate. When we got there, the wrestlers were preparing the sumo ring made of dirt by carefully watering and raking it. The preparation of the ring seemed ceremonious in a way and reminded me of a Zen garden. There was an older man who seemed to be the coach but I was surprised to see him reading the paper during the first part of practice. There was also a boy who seemed to be taking notes on the practice and keeping track of who was winning each of the rounds. Something else I didn't expect was the average size of many of the wrestlers. While we were there, several wrestlers rotated in and out against one of the larger wrestlers until he lost. Meanwhile, one wrestler practiced with weights and another was doing leg lifts off to the side of the ring. After watching for about half an hour, we rushed back to the hotel for breakfast and for the first of three lectures/sessions that day.

The first lecture/session (which was on Japanese education) was fantastic. The speaker, Tsutomu Kimura, is the President of the National Institution for Academic Degrees and University Evaluation. As he reported, educators are alarmed not only at decreasing test scores but by the fact that kids are enjoying school less and less (according to research studies). In addition, educators are concerned that while students may acquire much knowledge, they are lacking in their "ability to learn and think by themselves" and their "ability to apply this knowledge." Education reformers are calling for the nurturing of "zest for living" and giving children "room to grow" (by encouraging individualism and creativity). I’ll have to show you guys some of the data presented on his Power Point slides…some of them surprised me given all that we’ve talked about in our Confucianism unit. I totally spaced out on the presentation on the Japanese economy (sorry!...went over my head).

After lunch, 2 Diet members from the House of Representatives, Mr. Yuji Tsushima and Dr. Kuniko Inoguchi, came to speak about the Japanese government. I was really impressed by Dr. Inoguchi…she received her doctorate at Yale University and began her political career under former Prime Minister Koizumi in 2005 serving as the Minister of Social Affairs and later the Minister of Gender Equality. She was extremely articulate and diplomatic in her statements. She addressed some of the issues we talked about in class…the aging population and the decreasing fertility rate. She used the phrase “geriatric peace” to convey how an aging population can positively impact society…making it more susceptible to peace rather than war. As for Article 9 of Japan’s Constitution (which we will talk about later in the semester…it forbids Japan from keeping an army, navy, and air force among other things), Dr. Inoguchi fully supports this peace clause but also recognizes Japan’s obligation to participate in and support international goals such as anti-terrorism. She briefly stated how former Prime Minister Koizumi was not skillful or successful in Sino-Japanese relations compared to his successor, former Prime Minister Abe, who immediately visited with Chinese President Hu after coming into office. Dr. Inoguchi also discussed a study she headed which revealed that 70% of women in the work force submit a letter of resignation after getting pregnant. Although women in Japan are entitled to a one year leave of absence, she found that women aren’t compelled to demand what they are entitled to and feel socially pressured to give up their careers.

I was excited to go to the Edo-Tokyo Museum tonight (my guidebook said it was open until 8 pm) but it was closed so I decided to walk around Shinjuku (this is where the Park Hyatt Tokyo Hotel is located from the film Lost in Translation). I was overwhelmed here. It was extremely busy and fast-paced. My feet were really sore but I finally made my way to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office Building (there are few street signs in Tokyo!) designed by architect Kenzo Tange. I went up to the observatory on the 45th floor to see the gorgeous night view of Tokyo (and it was free).