Behind the Scenes:「Tenbun Closing」Presentation @ Anthropology of Japan in Japan Annual Meeting 2020

Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Behind the Scenes:「Tenbun Closing」Presentation @ Anthropology of Japan in Japan Annual Meeting 2020

A Multimodal Special Bonus

Here's some more information about this post-fieldwork event: behind the scenes secrets, out-takes, bonus photos and dissemination of data.

I. The Performance

I have received some good feedback after the presentation. One colleague wrote, "I enjoyed also the performative moment when you drank "sake"—not sure whether everyone noticed."

Oh that was real sake I tell you. Gonzo Anthropology. I bought a small bottle just for the session. Tasty. I also hung the piece of the noren I received after Tenbun closed behind me but it didn't look so great in the background onscreen. So I used a virtual picture instead. But soon the room smelled like grease and tobacco as the noren hadn't been washed in well over a year. So with those smells, the grease remaining on my fingers and the taste of the sake, it was real sensory ethnography during this post-fieldwork event...

There were also comments about the emotion of the presentation. I am really glad that people felt it. I have presented "The End" segment a few times at conferences and classes and I always get choked up.

II. Cut For Time - Methodology

I usually went to Tenbun without much stuff, just my trusty Nikon D700 and its 24-120 VR lens kit. When I wasn't shooting I left it on the bar. I wanted people to get used to me and the camera. The first night of the final week I brought only my camera but the battery died very quickly. So I had to use my back-up: the camera on my iPhone 7 plus. The next night I decided I needed to be better prepared, so I brought a big bag full of equipment (pictured above). Luckily there was room in my bag for the big bottle of sake and glasses Tencho gave me.

The morning of the last night I tried to replace the SD card in my Nikon. But some of the small pins in the narrow slot were bent and I couldn't fix it. So for the final night I used my new(er) Panosonic Lumix G9 Pro. I am still not so used to using it but it is very light due to being mirrorless and got the job done. Still, I am sad at the passing of my D700...

III. Cut For Time - COVID-19 and Social Distance Concerns

Tenbun's last week was after my university suspended face-to-face classes and went remote but before the Japanese government called for the country-wide state of emergency. You can see from the photos and video that there were few masks at Tenbun and no social distancing. People were shaking hands, putting their arms around one another, hugging... On the last night I was at the crowded bar standing next to a regular customer of over 20 years who is a medical doctor. I commented to him that we were probbaly being very stupid and careless. He agreed, but then said that no matter what, he had to be there. "If I get sick and die, so be it. I have to be here now." He explained when he graduated from medical school he had trouble finding a job and was very depressed. The only support he got was from going to Tenbun and Tencho. He said he would always be grateful to Tencho and referred to him as his onjin (roughly translated, benefactor). I haven't heard this term for a long time. I wonder if people still use the term.

IV. Project Links - General