I went to the national museum Tokyo the other day. They exhibited work of Hasegawa Touhaku. He is a 15th century Japanese painter. Touhaku started as a religious painter at a local region, and he went up to the capital city Kyoto.
He had big rivals, Kanoh Eitoku and his group. Kanoh group already had powerful patrons, strong warrior or shogun, when Touhaku came out. They had built up a certain painting style and it had been very major. Touhaku learned Kanoh style and added his own style. Additionally, he challenged variety type of painting, so it made him a unique painter. Then, he finally got great success.
I’m interested in not only his paintings but also his strategies.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
A seminar in English
I went to Tokyo last week. This trip's main purpose was to take part in the seminar by a computer software maker. They sometimes give seminars about their new products. The product which was discussed there was a kind of computer software development environment, and 500 people who use it or are interested in the market around it attended the seminar.
I excited variety of speakers. One of them was an engineer from their American head office, and the others were artists who used this software from Europe, and Japanese independent software creators. They informed a lot of things from new functions of the new one to their strategy on some markets and its expected effects with customer’s satisfaction. I could know not only its technical tips but also impress by their creative work. I was strongly stimulated by them.
I had one more impression. Foreign speakers made speech in English in the seminar. The seminar gave an interpreter receiver service, but some Japanese audience seemed to be able to hear without it and some of them asked questions in English to the speakers. I felt that our world is globalizing quickly and I should study English harder.
I excited variety of speakers. One of them was an engineer from their American head office, and the others were artists who used this software from Europe, and Japanese independent software creators. They informed a lot of things from new functions of the new one to their strategy on some markets and its expected effects with customer’s satisfaction. I could know not only its technical tips but also impress by their creative work. I was strongly stimulated by them.
I had one more impression. Foreign speakers made speech in English in the seminar. The seminar gave an interpreter receiver service, but some Japanese audience seemed to be able to hear without it and some of them asked questions in English to the speakers. I felt that our world is globalizing quickly and I should study English harder.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
"Surrogate"
I watched the movie "Surrogate" the other day. This is a near future sci-fi story. In this story, everybody has his or her own robot and they make it be a surrogate to do all activities out of home. People wear goggles and sensors on the special chair at home, and then control their own robot remotely. They enjoy life as Surrogates, because not only it makes their life safer but also they looks younger, healthier or more beautiful as a robot than their real figure.
However, it makes them have had a lot of fear for their life. For example, after the hero lost his surrogate because of being destroyed by anti-surrogate people during chasing a criminal who run away to the anti-surrogate people’s domain, he had to go to his FBI office by himself as his real body. One of his colleague said that he should have another Surrogate as soon as possible, because it is very dangerous to be out of home by his real body. She seemed to want to say no surrogate was insane.
I think that this plot might allegorically mention an aspect of our modern life. Many people use the Internet, and we can do a lot of things at home through it, for example, shopping, learning, or meeting with other people. Some people have avatars as they say in the Internet, and even enjoy fashion and virtual activities there.
This movie might alert us that it is possible that these kinds of life make us increase fear or negative feeling for the real life. The more dreadful thing is that we get around to feel them general, and nobody finds them something strange if there are.
However, it makes them have had a lot of fear for their life. For example, after the hero lost his surrogate because of being destroyed by anti-surrogate people during chasing a criminal who run away to the anti-surrogate people’s domain, he had to go to his FBI office by himself as his real body. One of his colleague said that he should have another Surrogate as soon as possible, because it is very dangerous to be out of home by his real body. She seemed to want to say no surrogate was insane.
I think that this plot might allegorically mention an aspect of our modern life. Many people use the Internet, and we can do a lot of things at home through it, for example, shopping, learning, or meeting with other people. Some people have avatars as they say in the Internet, and even enjoy fashion and virtual activities there.
This movie might alert us that it is possible that these kinds of life make us increase fear or negative feeling for the real life. The more dreadful thing is that we get around to feel them general, and nobody finds them something strange if there are.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
When I stayed in New York, I had my account of a bank to use debit card service. Someday I needed to deposit some money. I usually went to bank counter, but this day I came to an unattended service site, so I had to deposit my money with ATM. I had withdrawn by ATM in New York frequently. Although I didn't know how to deposit to it, I thought I could use it on the same way of ATM in Japan.
I operate the ATM for saving money, and then it opened a slot. I guessed I could put my money into the slot and threw them into it. However this machine didn't seem to count my money as Japanese ATM, which counted thrown money automatically and show the amount of money and goes to confirmation process. However, American ATM didn’t seem to care about my money and finished process, and I heard the sound that my money dropped into something like a postbox and were scattered on the bottom. I was afraid whether this machine could acknowledge the money of mine.
I thought that I should have seen how other customer's do to deposit cache to an ATM. I decided to wait someone to do so in the bank, and then I saw someone put the money into an envelop which was in the corner of the bank and she wrote something on it, sealed it, operated ATM and put it into it's slot.
I realized that I should have used the bank’s envelope, and I had to think how I should do next for the problem. This was an unattended site, so I thought that I should call the customer service center of the bank. But I hesitated it, because my English skill is not good and I thought I couldn't explain my situation to them and I might not be able to understand what they say.
Before I decided to call the bank, I tried to call a Japanese life support service office in New York, which I contracted before visiting New York for helping my New York's life. I called them and explained my situation to its staff. I expected that she would do something for this problem, but she said that she could nothing for it, because banks didn't allow a substitution for their privacy policy, so I should call the bank by myself. However she said that she would try to contact this bank’s Japanese staff who she knew privately. I got some comfort and waited for her reply. After a while, she called my mobile and said that he was absent unfortunately, so I had to do by myself.
I decided to call the customer center of the bank and called them. The staff of the bank was very kind. He told me that he needed to have my account number and some personal information for confirming my identity. I gave him them and explained my situation. Fortunately he understood my situation easily, but I had difficulty to understand what he would do for my problem because of my poor English skill. I had to ask him to give his explanations repeatedly. Finally, I could understand that they could distinguish my ATM from my account number and deal with my money correctly, and he told me that I must check my balance sheet next day, and if it wouldn't have this dealing then I had better call them again. I deeply appreciated him.
I made sure of my balance sheet next day and I found that I had no problem. I realized that my mistake came from being in use my Japanese way in New York. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
I operate the ATM for saving money, and then it opened a slot. I guessed I could put my money into the slot and threw them into it. However this machine didn't seem to count my money as Japanese ATM, which counted thrown money automatically and show the amount of money and goes to confirmation process. However, American ATM didn’t seem to care about my money and finished process, and I heard the sound that my money dropped into something like a postbox and were scattered on the bottom. I was afraid whether this machine could acknowledge the money of mine.
I thought that I should have seen how other customer's do to deposit cache to an ATM. I decided to wait someone to do so in the bank, and then I saw someone put the money into an envelop which was in the corner of the bank and she wrote something on it, sealed it, operated ATM and put it into it's slot.
I realized that I should have used the bank’s envelope, and I had to think how I should do next for the problem. This was an unattended site, so I thought that I should call the customer service center of the bank. But I hesitated it, because my English skill is not good and I thought I couldn't explain my situation to them and I might not be able to understand what they say.
Before I decided to call the bank, I tried to call a Japanese life support service office in New York, which I contracted before visiting New York for helping my New York's life. I called them and explained my situation to its staff. I expected that she would do something for this problem, but she said that she could nothing for it, because banks didn't allow a substitution for their privacy policy, so I should call the bank by myself. However she said that she would try to contact this bank’s Japanese staff who she knew privately. I got some comfort and waited for her reply. After a while, she called my mobile and said that he was absent unfortunately, so I had to do by myself.
I decided to call the customer center of the bank and called them. The staff of the bank was very kind. He told me that he needed to have my account number and some personal information for confirming my identity. I gave him them and explained my situation. Fortunately he understood my situation easily, but I had difficulty to understand what he would do for my problem because of my poor English skill. I had to ask him to give his explanations repeatedly. Finally, I could understand that they could distinguish my ATM from my account number and deal with my money correctly, and he told me that I must check my balance sheet next day, and if it wouldn't have this dealing then I had better call them again. I deeply appreciated him.
I made sure of my balance sheet next day and I found that I had no problem. I realized that my mistake came from being in use my Japanese way in New York. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Expect of the new government
The Democratic Party of Japan started to administer the government around a month ago. The new government is putting out new policymaking, and it showed some new aspects of Japanese political landscape. One of examples is that the government decided to call off many expensive public projects to control costs. However, some of these projects have people who get a lot of profit from them, so these people and the government have serious conflicts. The government’s hasty actions make it seem to be selfish and self-righteousness, so it is no surprise that they provoke antipathy with these people.
However, I basically agree with the new government’s decisions in spite of the conflicts and its haste. Because, first, I think that the new government make rational decisions about these issue. Second, I think that the government has some reasons of its haste on the time-critical situation. For example, they need to get off their decisions before some people pull the wires behind the scenes. It's a kind of strategy, so they maybe prospected that it made some conflicts. Third, The new government advanced a contrary idea to “Nemawashi.” Many traditional Japanese politicians have such a custom. Nemawashi means a kind of secret negotiation to control some people’s profits before political decisions. I think that this Japanese custom disturbed many political decisions ever or made some necessary arguments opaque. In fact, I felt that although the new government made some conflicts, they made some arguments transparent.
I expect that the new government will take new approaches. Maybe they bring good things and bad things. I want to believe that the new government will continue to try to make these bad things better.
However, I basically agree with the new government’s decisions in spite of the conflicts and its haste. Because, first, I think that the new government make rational decisions about these issue. Second, I think that the government has some reasons of its haste on the time-critical situation. For example, they need to get off their decisions before some people pull the wires behind the scenes. It's a kind of strategy, so they maybe prospected that it made some conflicts. Third, The new government advanced a contrary idea to “Nemawashi.” Many traditional Japanese politicians have such a custom. Nemawashi means a kind of secret negotiation to control some people’s profits before political decisions. I think that this Japanese custom disturbed many political decisions ever or made some necessary arguments opaque. In fact, I felt that although the new government made some conflicts, they made some arguments transparent.
I expect that the new government will take new approaches. Maybe they bring good things and bad things. I want to believe that the new government will continue to try to make these bad things better.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Woody Allen's movie
I watched a movie the other day. The title is "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" directed by Woody Allen. I have not watched his work for a long time. I think he has become an old man rather than when I had known him once. When I watched his new movie, I enjoyed his unique describing human characteristics as well as before.
For example, one of the main character women met a man in Barcelona where the story was set in. He was an artist and romanticist. He told her (and her friend) about sexuality, so she said that she hated him who was impolite at first, but they spend together sometimes. One day, her friends traveled from America to Barcelona and she met them (one of them is her finance). They told about how useful their new electric gadget was and so on. She heard their talking, but she seemed to be bored them. Maybe she thought it was a kind of snobbism and her new Barcelona friend had never told about such topics and more honest and innocent than them. She might feel some distance from not only her American friends but also realize a mediocre life of herself. Finally, it made her fall in love with him.
However, romanticists maybe had their own burden. In his case, it was his wife’s passionate personality. She couldn’t help but involve with their emotional relationship and violent which is caused by it. She couldn’t endure such a situation, so she went back to her (mediocre) world.
This movie described another women, but I focused to this woman here, because I sympathized her. She wanted to have a romantic experience in Barcelona while running away from her dull life, and she finally realized she should live her life. I think that she had known that both were a kind of fantasy. There is no mediocre world as well as no romantic world. I think that there are variety ways of life in the world. Therefore, she might have been going to proceed her own life while she got some power from Barcelona’s experience.
I felt that the director described a theme of human life by weaving out from little details of human characteristics and activities. I like this movie.
For example, one of the main character women met a man in Barcelona where the story was set in. He was an artist and romanticist. He told her (and her friend) about sexuality, so she said that she hated him who was impolite at first, but they spend together sometimes. One day, her friends traveled from America to Barcelona and she met them (one of them is her finance). They told about how useful their new electric gadget was and so on. She heard their talking, but she seemed to be bored them. Maybe she thought it was a kind of snobbism and her new Barcelona friend had never told about such topics and more honest and innocent than them. She might feel some distance from not only her American friends but also realize a mediocre life of herself. Finally, it made her fall in love with him.
However, romanticists maybe had their own burden. In his case, it was his wife’s passionate personality. She couldn’t help but involve with their emotional relationship and violent which is caused by it. She couldn’t endure such a situation, so she went back to her (mediocre) world.
This movie described another women, but I focused to this woman here, because I sympathized her. She wanted to have a romantic experience in Barcelona while running away from her dull life, and she finally realized she should live her life. I think that she had known that both were a kind of fantasy. There is no mediocre world as well as no romantic world. I think that there are variety ways of life in the world. Therefore, she might have been going to proceed her own life while she got some power from Barcelona’s experience.
I felt that the director described a theme of human life by weaving out from little details of human characteristics and activities. I like this movie.
Monday, April 20, 2009
"change" in New York
I went to a super market last night. I bought some groceries and drinks. The store clerk input the all prices of goods on a register and said that the price was ¥2,267. I had a ten thousand bill and some small changes, so I gave her ¥10,267. I expected her to give back ¥8,000. I could have given just ¥10,000 and get ¥7,733 change, but I wanted to have less small change, so I took this way.
I sometimes do a little more complicated way. For example, when I have to pay ¥2,276 and I have some thousand yen bills, a five hundred yen coin, some ten yen coins, some one yen coins, and I have no other bills and coins. In this situation, I will give ¥2,531 and I expect to get back ¥255 change (2 one hundred yen coins and 1 fifty yen coin and 1 five yen coin). I think that many Japanese shoppers like to do the similar way to have small change as less as possible.
I did the same way of paying while I was in New York before. I heard that New Yorkers hate it. They say that most of New Yorker’s didn’t like to use small change in shops and they sometimes willfully got no change. However, I did it and enjoyed their reaction.
According to my “research”, I had no problem in most of super market by this way. They coolly input the amount of my paying to their register, and smoothly gave back the collect change. At small deli store, they also had register machine, but some clerk hesitate my paying. They didn’t try to input it to their register and said I had paid a wrong amount. However, most of Korean deli clerk (there are many Korean deli store in New York) make smile and gave back collect change immediately.
When I went to a Starbucks, I gave $10.53 for the price of $5.43. I expected to have $5.10 change. At first, the store clerk input $5.43 to his register without watching my amount, and he found that it was different after that. He got upset, but he maybe realized my purpose, then he seemed to calculate in his mind for a moment. Finally, he gave back me $6.47. I had to tell him that the change was wrong.
I think that someone like to do this way, but someone think this is a curious way and don’t like it. It’s a personal problem. I hope many people to accept this way in the world.
I sometimes do a little more complicated way. For example, when I have to pay ¥2,276 and I have some thousand yen bills, a five hundred yen coin, some ten yen coins, some one yen coins, and I have no other bills and coins. In this situation, I will give ¥2,531 and I expect to get back ¥255 change (2 one hundred yen coins and 1 fifty yen coin and 1 five yen coin). I think that many Japanese shoppers like to do the similar way to have small change as less as possible.
I did the same way of paying while I was in New York before. I heard that New Yorkers hate it. They say that most of New Yorker’s didn’t like to use small change in shops and they sometimes willfully got no change. However, I did it and enjoyed their reaction.
According to my “research”, I had no problem in most of super market by this way. They coolly input the amount of my paying to their register, and smoothly gave back the collect change. At small deli store, they also had register machine, but some clerk hesitate my paying. They didn’t try to input it to their register and said I had paid a wrong amount. However, most of Korean deli clerk (there are many Korean deli store in New York) make smile and gave back collect change immediately.
When I went to a Starbucks, I gave $10.53 for the price of $5.43. I expected to have $5.10 change. At first, the store clerk input $5.43 to his register without watching my amount, and he found that it was different after that. He got upset, but he maybe realized my purpose, then he seemed to calculate in his mind for a moment. Finally, he gave back me $6.47. I had to tell him that the change was wrong.
I think that someone like to do this way, but someone think this is a curious way and don’t like it. It’s a personal problem. I hope many people to accept this way in the world.
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