Yesterday was time for my annual top-to-bottom physical, called Ningen Dock, a name that implies a human (ningen) “drydock” where you get checked from head to toe for potential problems. The check-up was quite thorough, including blood and related tests, tests for vision, hearing and lung problems, an ultrasound check of internal organs, and the always fun barium X-ray machine, which tilts your body at different angles while internal pictures are taken, a common test done here due to the high percentage of stomach and esophageal problems among Japanese. The hospital the tests were done at is quite an interesting place, dedicated entirely to efficient testing for problems, from the standard one that I had done to a “Brain Dock” test that checks your brain for possible problems, and important regular tests for women. There are many reasons why the Japanese enjoy the longest lifespans in the world on average, including diets with lots of fish and soy products, smaller food portions and maintaining healthy lifelong relationships, but without a doubt a big factor is a medical system that promotes regular, prophylactic check-ups like the Ningen Dock.
It’s interesting to see the myriad of ways that Japan has had an effect on the the West over the years. Charlie Chaplin’s manager for two decades was a Japanese man named Kono Totaichi, and Chaplin came to Japan several times, gleaning some aspects of his unique acting style from watching Kabuki performances here. Vincent van Gogh went through a period where he was fascinated with the ukiyo-e paintings from Japan, and made imitations of different works. Albert Einstein spent several months in Japan in the 1920s, giving lectures on his theories and doing things any tourist in Japan would do, including the hot springs circuit (I can picture him trying on a yukata). If you’ve ever seen an Akita dog, it might have been descended through one given by the Japanese government to Helen Keller, who visited Akita Prefecture (near the northern tip of Japan’s main island of Honshu) and showed an interest in Hachiko, the loyal dog who waited patiently for his deceased master to come home for ten years. Of course, Akira Kurosawa’s films have had a huge influence on many directors, not least being George Lucas. Whole sections of the Star Wars films, from the bushido-influenced Jedi to the drunk comic relief samurai character (Jar Jar) are taken from Japan’s films and culture. The bottom line? If you’re as fascinated with Japan as I’ve been all my life, you’ve in good company.
It’s autumn, and that means that everyone living in Japan must endure a very subtle form of torture. I’m talking, of course, about TV commercials by JR (Japan Railroad) tempting us with fabulous scenes of Kyoto, Japan’s ancient capital, and bidding us to drop everything and head down there on the next Shinkansen. “I know what we should do! Let’s go to Kyoto” (そうだ！京都へ行こう） the slogan goes, and they always employ a variation on the “My Favorite Things” song that never fails to fill you with desire to visit the city as soon as possible. Fall is an especially fine time to be in Kyoto, as the leaves look beautiful in shades of red and yellow and brown, the season called Koyo (“crimson leaves”) in Japanese. Unfortunately, it costs about the same for us to go to Kyoto as it does to fly to Rome, so it’s not something we get to do very often.
We have yet another wacky Japanese T-shirt for you: a new “warning” shirt to go with our “Death from Overwork” and “No Foreigners Allowed” shirts, this time featuring a message that might serve a few college students out there. “Warning: Extremely Hung Over Now,” our newest T-shirt proclaims, showing the image of a person having an out-of-stomach experience at the porcelain altar. Our unique Japanese T-shirts are a fun way to add a little kanji in your daily life, and maybe start up a conversation or two with any Japanese people you run into on the street. All our kanji shirts are printed in San Diego and all sizes are full U.S. standard sizes.
