Update: "Photographer faces charges over nude photos for book"

Partial image borrowed from Japan Press (you can see the whole image at http://www.japanpress.info/archives/994)

It looks like the cops finally busted photographer Kishin Shinoyama for public indecency. Another warning about not only what but where you can't take photos in Japan...

From today's Japan Today:

Police plan to send papers to prosecutors shortly on photographer Kishin Shinoyama on suspicion of public indecency for shooting nude photos for a book, sources close to the matter said Saturday. Police are consulting with the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office on sending papers on the 69-year-old photographer and two female models, the sources said.

According to investigative sources, Shinoyama allegedly took outdoor shots of the nude models in Tokyo in the summer of 2008 at such places as a cemetery and a wedding hall for the photo book. The book, ‘‘20XX TOKYO,’’ was published in January last year. Photos in the book also include those of naked actresses at such public locations as railway tracks and waterfront areas. In November last year, the police searched Shinoyama’s office and home in Tokyo.

Reader comments follow the story:
http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/photographer-faces-charges-over-nude-photos-for-book

Kyoto Asian Studies Group February Meeting: Karakuri Ningyo Robots

Photo borrowed from karakuri.info.

Here's an announcement about the Kyoto Asian Studies Group February meeting (via H-Japan):

This February, the Kyoto Asian Studies Group lecture will be by Murakami Kazuo who will present Edo Period Karakuri Culture and Japanese Robots. This talk will be followed by a demonstration of karakuri (automata) by Minasaki Sougo. This will be a very rare opportunity to view such objects up close.

Murakami Kazuo is a freelance journalist who specializes in the history of technology in Japan and he is the author of many works on karakuri. Minasaki Sougo, with whom he has worked closely for years, is a specialist in the mechanical devices of the Edo period, and a restorer. He is also one of the few remaining craftsmen who make automata, mainly dolls, today. The lecture will be in English and the demonstration
in Japanese.

This event will take place on:

Monday 1st February

18:30 to 20:30

Doshisha Imadegawa Campus

For more information, contact: Elizabeth Tinsley, Otani University (liztinsley@hotmail.com)

Sponsored by the Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies.

Sounds like a very interesting presentation. While we see robots more and more in Japan, it is interesting to note that this isn't a new phenomena. While karakuri were meant to surprise people, Japan now strives to make robots as familiar and user friendly as possible. With Japan's declining birthrate more workers will be needed, especially to replace and/or take care of the increasing elderly population. And since Japan doesn't seem to be so keen on allowing women to work and allowing foreigners to immigrate and work, the best possible solution is... robots.

For more information about karakuri ningyo, check out this web page:
http://www.karakuri.info/

Portrait Project - Request for Advice

1. F-san

I am starting a new project based upon taking portraits of a particular population I have been researching for some time now. With that in mind I recently had an opportunity to practice taking portraits as sort of a pre-project exercise. Here I give you the results, some explanation of the setting and finally ask for advice for my project.

2. S-san

The Setting: I have been frequenting a certain izakaya for the last several years and have become well-known by the owner, staff and regular customers. Many of these people have become good friends. Often times I take photos and I have actually posted photos of this setting on VAOJ before. I am not sure how many of these people understand that I am a visual anthropologist, but they do understand I am a university professor and I have been accepted as a regular customer. This year the izakaya scheduled a special shinnenkai, or new year's party, offering participants food and all you drink for four hours for a mere 2000 yen.

3. A-san

The Ethics: When I made my reservation to attend I asked the owner if I could take photos and I was given permission to do so. Before and during the event I made it known to all that I was the official photographer. Everyone seemed happy to have their photographs taken. By the end of the event the owner was making sure I was getting photos of certain individuals. Only one person had an objection to being photographed and I honored her/his request. I also made sure that s/he did not appear in any public or posted photographs by accident. I am giving copies of photographs to the owner and making many of them available on my Flickr account to other customers and friends.

4. B-san

I include getting permission in such detail because of my interest in the ethics of photographing in the Japanese public and because of some recent blogs discussing photographing in public without prior permission and almost bragging about still shooting when asked not to. (I commented about this on one particular blog and warned about the strict/paranoid laws in Japan, but the author responded by deleting my comments.) I discuss ethics and legalities not to discourage students/people from taking photos in public but rather to encourage interaction. By simply asking permission one can start a dialogue and get more information about the context of the photo. Respecting the people one photographs is important as well.

5. K-san

Anyway, I found myself in a very advantageous setting where people were allowing me to get in their face and take photos of them. Here are my results. I beg feedback and advice from VAOJ readers about theses portraits.

6. O-san

The Questions: In particular I am interested in the following two questions:

1) What information would you like to have included with an individual's portrait? (For example, age, occupation, education, hobbies, etc.)

2) What information would you like to have included that would put these portraits in a Japanese context? I see this project as ethnographic in nature, so how can I make sure my audience(s) understand I am describing Japanese culture(s)?

7. U-san

Advice on photographic technique is also solicited. Most of these portraits were close-up shots with very little cropping done after the photo was taken. I tweeked exposure and contrast a bit when needed (usually to compensate for poor lighting).

8. M-san

Stylistically I choose to present the portraits in black and white. But some portraits seemed just as good or even better in color. What do you think? This is a major consideration for my upcoming project: black and white or color? Or both? How do I decide?

8.1. M-san (color)

As I said before, very little cropping was done after taking the photograph. No cropping was done in the following shot. The blurring effect comes from the person making the infamous peace sign during the shot.

9. G-san

Black and white or color?

9.1. G-san (color)

The last shot I cropped a lot out in an attempt at artistic endeavor. Of course I want to focus on her face, but I also want to have my audience(s) wonder about what is being cropped out as well.

10. T-san

Black and white or color?

10.1 T-san (color)

For my project I want to focus on the face (I think) of the individual within Japanese cultural contexts. So once again I ask for your advice and feedback.

The shinnenkai was a lot of fun as well as a chance for an academic exercise. This year has been important for the izakaya because the master has begun to turn over the shop to his daughter and her husband. So stay tuned, there might be more posting on this izakaya. In the meantime, if you are interested you can click here to see more shots of the shinnenkai.

SPARROW: Sound & Pictive Archive for Research on Women

This project and website was recently announced in H-ASIA. While not necessarily related to Japan (it seems to focus on Indian women) it is still an interesting application of visual anthropology. Here is a partial description from its own homepage:

SPARROW is:

A trust set up in 1988 [Register Number E-11958] in Maharashtra to build a national archives for women with print, oral history and pictorial material.

A live archives reaching out to schools, colleges, women's groups and other organisations.

An active agent of conscientisation.

A forum for discussions.

An interactive space

A daring flight into unexplored areas of experience and expression.

SPARROW believes:

That recording, reviewing, recollecting and reflecting on women's history and life and communicating this information in various ways is an important activity in development.

That change is possible with knowledge and awareness -- of women's lives, history and struggles for self-respect and human dignity.

Check it out:
http://www.sparrowonline.org/index.htm

Happy New Year 2010 from VAOJ!

新年あけましておめでとうございます。今年もよろしくお願いします。

2010 is the Year of the Tiger and let's hope it's the Year for the Hanshin Tigers as well. To celebrate the new year I want to share some visual anthro experiences and photos from the end of 2009 that I haven't had a chance to post until the new year's holidays. The three events described below were all extremely positive and I hope the positive energy from the events and their participants carry over into 2010.

Kyoto Higashikujo Madan


Madan took place on Culture Day, November 3, in Higashikujo, Kyoto. Kyoto is home to many so-called zainichi Koreans. VAOJ has reported about the prejudice and discrimination these people face in Japan before, but Madan was a day to forget the bad and celebrate Korean culture. And a grand celebration it was. People of North Korean descent, South Korean descent, hearing people and deaf people all came together to enjoy food, music and other activities. The photo above shows one of the many drumming groups at the event. It also shows photographers getting into the mix to get their shots. For the most part I stayed in the background shooting and was annoyed when many of my photos had other photographers in them. I was told that one of the photographers was affiliated with the event organizing committee so I imagine he had permission for "getting in the way" and hopefully had knowledge about how to properly get in the way. I must admit he got some excellent shots.


Above is one of my better shots - this drumming group was incredible. Often they would break down into pairs or small groups to have "battles." Wonderful drumming and acrobatics.


How can one resist the wonderful and spicy Korean food? This food stall was run by the group fighting for elderly deaf zainichi Koreans to receive social welfare benefits in Japan. While the group has lost all of its lawsuits in Japan, it continues to get support for the people, both in Japan and Korea. These women were visitors from South Korea that came to help out with the cooking. Korean Sign Language is about 60% the same as Japanese Sign Language (because of the past colonial relationship between the countries) so I was able to communicate effectively with these women to ask them which food was the best.

See more Mandan photos in my Photobucket album:
http://s164.photobucket.com/albums/u39/visualgonthros/Madan%202009/

See more photos and and read more information about the event (in Japanese) at their website: http://www.h-madang.com/


Kyoto Fuku Fuku Festsa


Fuku Fuku Festa was held in Kyoto on December 12 as an event to bring together so-called disabled people for fun, entertainment, shopping and food. So of course there were a large number of deaf people present. This first picture illustrates the interpretation services available for the deaf people. A sign language interpretor interpreted announcements and speeches. There were also people writing the spoken messages on an overhead projector.


One of the groups that entertained was a taiko drum ensemble.


Even the taiko drum performance was interpreted via the overhead projector. Literally the wrote the sound of the drum, the vocal exclamations of the drummers and what instrument was being players ("the sound of a flute").


There was a bazar and several food stalls. The older fellow pictured here is very well known in the Kyoto deaf scene, so much in fact that someone made a very lifelike bust of him. I saw the bust before I met the man and was a little weirded out...

See more Fuku Fuku Festa photos in my Photobucket album:
http://s164.photobucket.com/albums/u39/visualgonthros/Fuku%20Fuku%20Festa%202009/


Atolier Sign Language Circle 2009 Christmas Party


Atolier is an independent sign language circle in Hirakata city established by deaf people about 11 years ago. It has and remains an important research site and more for me. Every year Atolier has a large Christmas Party with snacks, games, sign language choruses and plays. The above photo is from one of the plays. The theme of the play was "hearing world" vs. "deaf world." For example, one scene of the play features deaf customers having to interact in a "normal" hearing restaurant. The waitress can't do sign language and has no knowledge of deaf culture so the deaf customers have many difficulties. The tables are turned in the next scene when hearing customers have to navigate in a "deaf only" restaurant. One of my favorite scenes was a deaf couple meeting a doctor. The doctor informs them that their baby was born hearing. The deaf couple is sad and upset. But they soon became happy when the doctor informs them that their is a special operation that could make the baby deaf. This scene was an interesting reaction to cochlear implants for deaf babies.


While Atolier was formed by deaf people that doesn't mean they shun the hearing. Hearing people as long as they try to communicate in JSL are more than welcome. During Atolier's meetings, the first rule is "JSL only - no speaking."


This photo has a lot going on: Members of Atolier are performing a sing language chorus; the man in the middle is dressed as a grand father clock but will later ditch the clock mask and become Rudolf the red nosed reindeer. To the right is a deaf-blind woman feeling interpretation of the performance.

View more X-mas party pics at my Photobucket album:
http://s164.photobucket.com/albums/u39/visualgonthros/Atolier%20X-mas%202009/

All three of these events were successful examples of unity, cooperation, understanding and fun. These are qualities that VAOJ hopes can be applied in the new year. Here's to a Happy 2010 and more good Visual Anthropology of Japan!

"JR East to install surveillance cameras on trains from Dec 28"

Again, from Japan Today, 12/22/09...

I know some of these articles seem redundant, but I post them here with the whole text as a sort of repository, a place where we can go back and see important data. Japan Times and other news reporting agencies sometime delete the story after a certain amount of time. Thus I have come to copy the whole text - saves me a lot of photocopying and think of all the trees we save... Long chunks of italicized text mean direct quoting from the original story. Come back to VAOJ when you need to search for visual anthropology related topics. Anyway, back to the story...

East Japan Railway Co (JR East) said Monday it will start operating a security camera system aimed at preventing groping on trains on the Saikyo Line on the evening of Dec 28.

A set of high-definition security cameras will be installed in the No. 1 cars of some trains on the line linking Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture, the first time for such equipment to be installed on commuter trains by a Japanese railway operator.

JR East announced earlier this month that it was planning to start conducting video surveillance on the Saikyo Line on a trial basis by the end of the year in the hope that security cameras would provide evidence of and serve as deterrent to molestation.

The decision to install the cameras came after police asked metropolitan railway operators to do so amid no sign of a decline in molestation cases on trains, although critics have questioned the effectiveness of the cameras and raised privacy concerns.

Metropolitan Police Department data show that the number of groping cases on trains handled by the police total around 1,500 a year. In the first half of 2009, the number of such cases came to 708, of which 75, or about 10%, occurred on the Saikyo Line. Most molestation cases on the line occurred in the No. 1 cars.

JR East will start the trial by installing cameras in the ceiling near the driver’s cabin. It will increase the number of trains equipped with cameras in late January and plans eventually to record footage from four points in each car.

2009 KGU JSL Group 忘年会

Another successful year of JSL study was celebrated recently through an all-you-can-eat yaki-niku bonenkai. 28 people participated (13 deaf, 15 hearing), a much larger group than I anticipated. Here are a couple of student's comments:

...until the bonenkai, I hadn't really had any exposure to the way that hearing people treat deaf people in public places and such. In the train station, there were many stares from the Japanese people around us as we stood in a group and signed, though in the resaurant, the waitress seemed to be nicer, though that could have been professionalism, but at least one of them was drawn into real conversation with the deaf people, which was fun to watch. (K-san)

I never thought I would find myself standing in a huge circle in the middle of a busy train station watching deaf people enthusiastically and quickly signing to each other, while I tried desperately to keep up with one of the conversations. Participating in a bonenkai for a Japanese Sign Language circle was definitely an exciting experience. it was interesting to see how varied people from the Deaf culture can be. There were deaf people of all kinds: there were young people, older people, some that spoke as they signed and some that did not, some that used their whole bodies more than others, girls and boys, etc. There was also of course the group of hearing exchange students that I was a part of that attended the school's sign language circle and our American teacher that is fluent in Japanese Sign Language.

A few other guests were a little out of the ordinary, even for a group of people from another culture. There was a participant there with cerebral palsy... His sign language was rather difficult, but after learning his style it will most likely become easier to understand. There was a guest who had a cochlear that was interesting to see after watching a documentary about the implant. He seemed able to hear quite well, while still being fluent in JSL. There was also another hearing person fluent in JSL... While fun, I understand that just going to a sign language club and participating in events like a bonenkai only scratches the surface of deaf culture. (J-san)

One deaf man who came from Osaka had studied American Sign Language. I think he assumed that our group also studied ASL. He seemed to be confused when he was told over and over again by different students: "Sorry I don't understand ASL. Please use JSL."

While we were waiting at the train station the deaf began to outnumber the hearing students, which seemed to make some of them nervous. I heard a student say when another student came, "thank god you are here - they are outnumbering us!" Conversely there were a couple of deaf people who had never met foreigners who were nervous as well. But as the party went on, the nervousness disappeared and all became friends. At one point near the end of the party I looked down the long table to see all engaged in JSL - it was a nice and special moment for me.

Another special moment - a reenactment of a warm-up game we play. For more magic moments of the evening, click here. To this year's participants, お疲れ様でした! For those returning to your home countries, please continue to study sign language. And to those returning next year, we'll start up again in February. Please prepare yourselves for your new roles as sempai... よろしく!

"Men yell 'children of spies' at Korean school in Kyoto"

Story from Japan Today, 12/19/09:

A group of around 10 men yelled "children of spies" through a bullhorn at the main gate of a Korean elementary school in the city of Kyoto earlier this month, sources with knowledge of the matter said Friday. Around 170 children were at the school at the time. Regarding the act as a hate crime, the school will file a criminal complaint against the men with the Kyoto prefectural police next week, the sources said.

As the school was keeping some of its equipment in a municipal government-controlled park in front of its building, the group went to protest against "the illegal occupation," according to its leader, Makoto Sakurai.

Since the school does not have a schoolyard, it uses the park for gym classes. While the municipal government has allowed the school to use the park, the school and neighboring residents were expected to discuss the matter early next year.

Video footage shot by the school showed some of the men carrying the equipment and asking school officials to open the gate. The officials told the men, "This is a school," but they yelled, "This is not a school," and, "Let’s push Korean schools out of Japan."

They yelled a whole lot of other bad things as well, which can be seen/heard on the YouTube clip above. Here is some supporting text that goes along with the video:

In Japan, discrimination against the Korean minority who live in Japan since the colonial period is rampant. One can easily find abusive comments on Internet and some go as far as to threaten school children.

Kyoto Korean Primary School 1 does not have a school field and is using a park next to it for sports and assemblies.

The right wing activists accuse the school claimingly on behalf of the neighborhood and make protests by removing the speaker/platform and giving strong verbal insults.

While I am happy and surprised to see this story in the news (this kind of thing goes on way too often in Japan, usually unreported) I am saddened that this sort of thing still happens. Demonstrations are supposed to be about peace, not racism and hatred. I first heard of this about a week ago from Korean-Japanese friends in Kyoto. Not only were there students from the school behind the gates but students from 3 other Korean schools were visiting on a fieldtrip. And the group of "demonstrators" seems to be made up of the same people who demonstrated against the deaf Korean-Japanese court case (a group of deaf Korean-Japanese sued the government because they were not receiving social welfare benefits the same as other Japanese deaf people; the case went all the way to the supreme court where they lost - read more here.)

Let's hope for more media exposure and an end to this kind of racism/discrimination.

"Cop arrested for filming up high school girl’s skirt in Yokohama"

More of the same old from today's Japan Today:

A 32-year-old police officer was arrested under Kanagawa Prefectural nuisance laws on Tuesday, after he allegedly used a cell phone camera to take video of a 15-year-old girl’s underpants as she rode up an escalator at JR Yokohama station.

Kazuyuki Nagai, a detective based at Minami police station in Yokohama City, was apprehended by a station security staff member at about 4.30 p.m. after he was spotted putting a bag underneath the legs of the girl in front of him on the escalator. Nagai’s cell phone inside the bag was found to contain video of inside the first-year high school girl’s skirt, as well as two other similar up-skirt videos.

Nagai has admitted to the allegations and said that he thought taking the video would be simple. He was returning to his police station after attending an interview for a special training course.

Security staff at the station have been patrolling the escalator and the vicinity after several similar incidents this year. An officer from Asahi police station, also in Yokohama City, was caught in April taking up-skirt videos on the same escalator, police said.

"Security cameras to be installed in commuter trains to prevent groping"

From today's Japan Today:

East Japan Railway Co plans to install security cameras in trains on the Saikyo Line linking Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture in a bid to prevent sexual molestation, becoming the first Japanese railway operator to take such a step for commuter trains, company officials said Saturday.

A set of high-definition security cameras will be installed at several locations of the No. 1 cars of Saikyo Line trains, such as the ceiling and the overhead rack, on a trial basis by the end of this year at the earliest, they said. Most groping cases have been on the No. 1 cars of the trains.

The company, known as JR East, and police say they hope the security cameras will provide ‘‘evidence’’ and serve as ‘‘deterrence’’ against molestation. But critics question the effectiveness of the cameras, voice concerns about privacy and say they may be used for other criminal investigations.

The decision to install the cameras was made after police in Tokyo and neighboring prefectures asked metropolitan railway operators for them in late October, as there are no signs of a fall in molestation cases on trains.

According to the Metropolitan Police Department, the number of groping cases on trains handled by the police total around 1,500 a year. In the first half of 2009, the number of such cases came to 708, of which 75, or about 10%, occurred on the Saikyo Line.

In particular, gropers target the No. 1 cars—at the end of the train despite the number—of Tokyo-bound Saikyo Line trains as they are packed full in rush-hour times because they are nearest to the stairs at many stations.

JR East will consider installing security cameras in other Saikyo Line train cars or in trains serving other lines after seeing how the trial goes, the officials said.

Other companies belonging to the JR group, which was created through the privatization of Japanese National Railways, as well as private-sector railway operators in metropolitan areas may follow suit.

Police hope security cameras will have deterrent effects although they may be able to shoot only heads of passengers on packed trains.

A police source said camera footage would provide important evidence, showing position relations between gropers and victims.

But Sophia University professor Yasuhiko Tajima, a member of a group against a surveillance society, said that with the installation of security cameras, somebody may be suspected of groping only for the reason that the person stood near the victim.

Tajima also voiced concerns about invasion of privacy. ‘‘For some people, trains are comfortable places to sleep or read books,’’ he said. ‘‘Wide discussions are necessary, based on opinions from passengers.’‘

A senior JR East official said, ‘‘While paying close attention to legal problems, including privacy, we’d like to seek various opinions.’‘

According to JR group companies and the Association of Japanese Private-Sector Railways, security cameras have been installed at decks or cargo spaces of some bullet trains on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen Lines and some other limited express trains. But no such cameras have been installed in commuter trains.

Railway operators have so far installed security cameras in stations and platforms mainly for the purpose of safety. As part of countermeasures against sexual molestation on trains, they have introduced train cars specifically for women.