Japan Without Me

I suppose that the title of this post could be interpreted in a number of different ways. If "Japan" was a verb, for example, the title could be seen as some sort of abstract imperative (depending on what it means when someone tells you "to Japan").

Example: I'll probably be working on these reports until midnight, so you Japan without me and I'll catch up with you later.

I think I typed it out at first thinking about me without Japan, but it came out in reverse. It's also more correct, because as I pack things up I realize that Japan with be very much without me once I am gone. Whether anyone or anything will notice is a completely different issue.

I know that Himeji will be different. The new differences, like superficial lacerations, will heal over before anyone notices. That's part of the reality of teachers employed by big eikaiwa companies like mine: turnover is guaranteed and there are always fresh faces who want to try their luck at this whole teaching abroad thing. So while the employee number of the next tenant of this apartment will be different, he or she will undoubtedly perform the same duties that I did while I was here and we will be considered temporally different examples of the same body.

In Japan, the nail that sticks out gets nailed down, as the saying goes. Conformity is important in maintaining the relationships between people in this small island nation of communities. The population is so culturally (and, to an extent, ethnically) homogeneous that being a foreigner and (very) visible minority here makes conforming absolutely impossible. There are pros and cons to this of course, but I would be lying if I told you that I hadn't been regularly noticed simply for being the white guy during my time here. As the next foreigner moves in to take my place, will people ask about that gaijin who wore a lot of blue and rode his bike everywhere, rain or shine? Will they inquire about the nice Canadian boy who seemed to love sushi more than a Japanese person and would never stop raving about onsens? Will the people of Himeji speak in quiet whispers about the new foreigner and the whereabouts of that other guy?

Some just might.


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