Post-Covid: Look to Japan

During 2008, I signed a small record contract with an Indie Music Label in Yokohama and had the pleasure to perform my first tour in Japan around that time. What I learned then about Japanese culture seemed strange and almost archaic. Now, while living during a pandemic, it makes complete sense to me.

Perhaps Japan, one of the oldest surviving civilizations on the planet (its first settlers came possibly 15,000 years ago), has not only survived its share of pandemics, but also learned from them enough to adopt customs that effectively combat them.

Here are all the customs inherent to Japanese people that seemed strange when I visited, but now seem like remnants of a post-pandemic society:

Bowing…

No kissing like Europeans.
No hugging like Americans.
Not even high fives or fist bumps.

The Japanese did not touch at all, but they were still extremely affectionate in their accepted form of greeting/departing. A longer, deeper bow meant that much more respect or love than a simple head nod.

I saw a young girl recognize my tour manager from across a record store and run full speed right up to him only to stop 5 feet short and bow almost all the way to the ground. It was akin to the biggest hug you ever saw in America.

This custom seemed distant and almost silly, pre-pandemic. Now, as I see friends in safe, outdoor settings and we awkwardly say hi or do a nervous fist bump, I understand how useful it would be to have a universally embraced form of greeting that was both effectively expressive and Covid-safe.

Face masks…

In Japan, I was caught off guard at the airports and walking around Tokyo to see so many face masks – a decade ago! I thought, “are these people horrifically sick? Should I be nervous?”

When I inquired about the custom that was only bothering American me, the response was almost condescending: “They are just sick with a cold or flu and don’t want to spread germs to others. It’s basic consideration.”

Americans seemed to detest the stigma of showing weakness or hiding their face… or maybe they just don’t care about negatively affecting their neighbor?

Whatever the reason for not having this custom pre-pandemic, it would seem the stigma persists as mask-wearing has been a uniquely American political conflict during Covid when it would seem like the easiest way to reduce (not eliminate, mind you) the spread of infection.

Residences Off Limits…

I was surprised when my record label in Yokohama put me up at a hotel instead of staying at a family residence. I was used to sleeping in guest rooms or pull-out couches around the US and UK as a way to save money and also have a sense of “home” or family while abroad. In Ireland, my agent had a guest room that practically felt like mine for how many nights I had stayed there on multiple tours.

But in Japan, residences were sacred and I was not welcome in anyone’s home. I thought it had to do with privacy, but in a Covid world, I wonder if it had more to do with germs. Americans were used to constant visitors from friends and family before the pandemic, but that has drastically changed to be much closer to pre-pandemic Japan with little to no guests now.

Of these 3 Japanese customs, I would be very happy to see bowing and face masks become a permanent part of American life. I would, however, be very sad to lose frequent and numerous guests in my home as that is my most regrettable loss this past year. I miss family and friends visiting, holding my children, singing songs, and sharing a moment of affection in this brief, precarious existence.

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It’s Time to Bow

Covid-19 will change many aspects of daily life for years to come. 

Last week, Dr. Fauci, American physician and immunologist who has served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, said we should stop shaking hands indefinitely, even after Coronavirus is under control.

Perhaps now is the time to adopt the social custom of bowing, in lieu of physical contact.

And why not? Bowing is fun! It’s safe and it’s very respectful. 

My wife and I performed music for the U.S. Troops in the Asian Pacific and traveled to many countries where bowing was the norm. I thought it was so lovely and affectionate, even from a distance.

Bowing is not as simple as it would seem. There are many levels of intimacy and different emotions that can be expressed without touching. Cordial business bows are more rigid and dry (the equivalent of a firm handshake). Friendly bows are more loose and smiley (like a hug). 

Bows of the deepest affection or respect are very low and long. In Japan, our tour manager took us to a record shop where a great friend of his recognized him from across the room. She ran full speed up to him and paused drastically at the appropriate distance (about 6 ft) and bowed the lowest, most loving bow seemingly possible. It was as powerful as the strongest hug I’d ever seen.

Perhaps long ago (or not so long ago) a pandemic of COVID-19’s magnitude swept through Asia and the culture collectively abandoned physically engaging forms of affection, instead embracing (pun intended) this social distancing form of love.

In any case, let’s try it out, America! Everyone knows what it means to bow. What might have been viewed formerly as “foreign” or “unAmerican” (we hug here) might just be a large ingredient necessary for getting this country out of our current predicament and back to some semblance of the beautiful way of life we once knew.

What a Fall From Grace

While I’ve been in college only for four and a half years, it feels as if I’ve been there twice as long because so much has changed from the time I enrolled and to now.

I entered college under Barack Obama and will be graduating under Donald Trump. I’ve watched Trump gradually tear down what little Obama was able to build, branding it as ineffective, but was unable to come up with anything better.

In my junior year, I interned with The Japan Times when I studied abroad in Japan. Every day without fail, Trump would be on the front page with new or recurring shenanigans. Through a different cultural lens, I was able to look at my president, at my country and see how we are continuing to plummet from grace.

The mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL happened while I was abroad. When I returned home, there were many more mass shootings. There were many more shootings in general, which claimed the lives of innocent people for unjustifiable reasons.

If we put forth legislation to regulate the gun market, people will claim that it’s an infringement on their second amendment rights, and/or use under-the-table methods to obtain a gun. It turns out that the more you tell someone to do something, the more likely it is for them to do the opposite.

This holds true in terms of immigration as well. Everyone’s circumstances for emigrating from their home countries are different, though more often than not, it is a better option to take a chance on America versus staying home. Under this anti-immigration presidency, immigrants have been treated worse than I’ve ever seen in my life. Separating children from their adult relatives, housing these children and adults in separate detainment camps without the barest of essentials, and making these children stand trials without translators or juries are just a few of the inhumane efforts to deport these immigrants.

America was built on immigration and continues to thrive today because of immigration. Yet, xenophobia has a vice grip on some Americans. The fear of foreignness coupled with the misconception that immigrants are taking over our economy result sometimes in fatal events like the mass shooting in El Paso, TX.

I continue to watch as our “magnificent” country further deteriorate because that’s all I can do when I don’t know what to do or what can be done. 

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