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old Japanese man gets mad at me
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"You got me f*cked up! Replicas?! These are 100% original! WTF are you talking about??" This is basically what the 80-year old owner of a popular ukiyoe shop in Kyoto told me just yesterday. Been awhile since a Japanese person genuinely got mad at me like that (besides my gf, of course). What happened to the soft and kind Japanese people you see everywhere in media? Well, now that I'm writing this from a Starbucks in Kobe a day later, I can reflect on what really happened. You see, this guy is a shokunin. Shokunin = artisan. Except not really. Because artisans hang up the gloves after a day's work. Shokunin do their thing for life. Now, this guy in particular doesn't actually create the woodblock prints that Japan is known for (think of that that big wave painting from Hokusai you see everywhere). He's a collector that sells them from his shop with his wife. Still, he has the mindset of a shokunin. Someone that lives and breathes their craft. The same lifestyle I hope to emulate with my books and films. Exactly why I named my Japanese company, "Shokunin Mode". Anyway, old Japanese man with shokunin mindset gets mad at me. So, I do what any emotionally mature adult does. I slap the sh*t out of him. His wife picks his lifeless body up and screams "NoooOOOOooo" towards the ceiling. *fades to black* So what really happened is I absorbed his anger, and explained myself. "This is why I asked if your prints were replicas..." You see, I had used a word that typically means "original". But in this context, it was wrong. Miscommunication. He loses his sh*t. And his wife steps in. She starts to explain, that's not the word we use for ukiyo-e. I say "thank you, I didn't know that." And... I proceed to spend the next 15 minutes before they closed shop to scour their beautiful collection ooohhh-ing and aaaahhh-ing at the treasure trove they've managed to build up. All the while asking them about this one and that one... Which gets the husband (who is now standing at the opposite end of the shop from me) re-engaged. He answers some of my questions. Explains some of the meaning behind the characters and the artists. And when I leave, he's the one to invite me back by handing me a flyer. Funny how handling people's outbursts like an adult - calm but maintaining boundaries - allows you to connect. Afterwards, I went to a shop down the street, checked out some cool prints, and then passed by his shop on the way to the train station... When, lo and behold... Our eyes meet... And he bows to me through the window... Respect. Anyway. I was in Kansai to record a Japanese koto course with the viral, Okoto-chan. She's been playing the koto for 30 years. And has played internationally and all around Japan. If you want early access for less, hit reply with "koto" and I'll send you more details about the offer. Talk soon, Brandon "calm but firm" Chin P.S. In book news, I got a new release from a fellow indie author for ya. If you dig high fantasy adventure where old gods and new science clash in a beautiful hardback, then hit the link or image below. |
Brandon Chin - Books & Art from Japan
Join 2000+ readers to get smarter about traditional Japanese culture through my books and art.
When I started generating image stills for my short film based on my book, Yokai Shadows, I thought it was going to be easy. "Oh, it's just 5 minutes. How hard could it be?" HARD. Literally took days. Hundreds of generations between Midjourney, Runway, Luma Labs, Kling, Hedra, and Hailuo. And STILL, I feel the character consistency isn't quite there yet. That's partly because the tools are still in their infancy... But all I got to say is my respect for short film directors who don't use AI...
Boom. First contribution to the Dome House project has been made. Who’s next? This is how community projects get built. Little by little. Brick by brick. Dome on Dome. Some of you reading this might still be confused about what this Japan Dome House project is all about… If you want to travel to Japan soon (2023 - 2024) or just like supporting new ideas, then skip on over to the link below for more details. The Dome awaits… >>>Click here to support Talk soon, Brandon “are you next?“ Chin P.S....
Today, I’m going to see one of my favorite performance art shows with a friend… It’s called “Sankai Juku”. It’s a bunch of bald white men dancing slowly to weird lighting and trippy music. But highly regarded abroad, especially in Europe. Obviously my description doesn’t do it justice, but it got your attention ;) This is one of those shows you have to see in person to understand. Traditional Buddhist principles combined with modern performance technologies. Check out the trailers on YouTube....