Mainstream Japanologists have been fascinated by aspects of traditional Japanese culture. The 11 th-century novel “The Tale of Genji,” which describes aristocratic life in the medieval period, or the Tea Ceremony, the Zen Buddhist-influenced ritual of preparing and serving green tea spurred their interest in Japan. Today, American youth are developing into a new breed of Japanologists, as they unknowingly enjoy cutting-edge Japanese pop culture on a daily basis, through movies, music, TV programs, and fashion. Japanese-influenced products and concepts have become so pervasive and familiar that Japanese presence in the U.S. passes unnoticed and even seems to have declined.
The current popularity of Japanese culture in the U.S. is impossible to ignore. Hayao Miyazaki’s “Spirited Away” received an Academy Award as the best Animated Feature Film. Toys such as Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! are on sale in every Target store. The cable channel Spike-TV broadcasts many Japanese comedy programs such as “Takeshi’s Castle” and “Hey: Spring of Trivia.” “Iron Chef” is one of the highest rated programs on the Food Network. The Cartoon Network airs exclusively Japanese animation programs after midnight. Japanese cultural exports, i.e. revenue from royalties and sales of Japanese music, video games, anime, art, films and fashion, soared to $12.5 billion in 2002, up 300 percent from 1992. Douglas McGray identified Japan’s emerging soft power, defining “ Japan ’s Gross National Cool” in Foreign Policy, May/June 2002 issue.
The progression of Japanese culture in the U.S. has recently reached new heights. Most moviegoers know that the 2003 box office hits “The Last Samurai,” “Lost in Translation,” and “Kill Bill” were inspired by Japan’s unique characteristics such as history, futuristic metropolis, and martial arts, which are obviously important indicators of “cool” Japan. But many would be surprised to learn that hits like “Shall We Dance?,” “The Grudge,” “The Dark Water,” and “The Ring,” which seem to be ordinary American movies, are actually remakes of recent Japanese films. The blockbuster movie “The Matrix” was also significantly influenced by manga, Japanese comics. In the past, particular classical artistic films by Akira Kurosawa were respected by movie giants like George Lucas and John Sturges, and led to legendary films such as “Star Wars” and “The Magnificent Seven.” Nowadays, it is no longer unusual for American film artists to emulate Japanese pop culture as Lucas and Sturges once did. The same goes for the music business: Missy Elliot, one of today’s most popular female hip-hoppers, frequently employs Japanese language and images in her songs and videos. Linkin Park, a fusion-style alternative-metal quintet, based the image of its latest single on cyberpunkish Japanese animation. In her latest promotion video, Gwen Stefani, lead singer for the progressive pop band No Doubt, jokes with uniformed Japanese female students. Jim O’Rouke, a post-classical composer from Chicago, favors the graphic art by a progressive Japanese painter Mimiyo Tomozawa for his CD jackets.
The Japanese people have been enthralled by American movies, food, fashion, etc., for decades. American culture has been so widely and intensively accepted by the Japanese that it has come to be an integral part of Japanese culture. It seems to me that the same phenomenon is happening in the U.S. At present, more and more of American culture is becoming “Japanized,” as exemplified by the movies, music, fashion, and television programs. It seems that Japanese culture is being integrated into American life as an essential element. Some people argue that Japan is disappearing from America’s radar screen as a result of its sluggish economy. However, such an impression only emphasizes the degree to which Japanese culture has become surprisingly familiar to the Americans. The fact that some people are ceasing to recognize Japanese pop culture as “foreign” shows how intertwined Japan and the U.S. have become, largely due to tremendous mutual investments and massive cultural exchange.
During their 150-year history, and particularly during their last half-century as friends, Japan and the U.S. have promoted their friendship in every area, including politics, economics, and culture. At the same time, the two countries’ camaraderie is still growing and expanding, as indicated by the spreading of Japanese culture in the U.S. It will be interesting to watch how the image of “cool” Japan will continue to evolve and how our two countries will grow closer to each other in years to come. Comments are welcome.
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