The Ginza Is My Beat

Les Sewing Sisters Japan Home Tour: Part 9

The Ginza is my beat. I know Ginza like the back of my hand. And come to think of it, I don’t know or can remember what the back of my hand looks like. Still, Ginza has made an impression on me ever since I walked into the district at nighttime about 30 years ago. Ginza neon lighting is softer than Shinjuku or Shibuya and, therefore, more romantic. Ginza has been a force of economic strength since the Edo period in Tokyo. It was considered the downtown of Edo, the old name for Tokyo, and the Meiji period decided Ginza to be the model of modernization after a fire that pretty much destroyed the area in 1872. And after the destruction of the fire and World War II, here comes Tosh.

There is something erotic about this shopping area, and it may be because everyone looks sexualized in that Jun'ichirō Tanizaki manner. Compared to other neighborhoods in Tokyo, people in Ginza dress differently. Mostly brands, but worn and purchased in a sophisticated old money style. People hang out in Shibuya to be seen, but people in Ginza hang out to ‘kill time,” as in reflecting the time passing or doing it with quality and style, which is why I sincerely love rich people. For that reason alone, I go to the Beer Hall Lion Ginza to enjoy a medium-sized glass of Sapporo draft beer and cheese toast, which they call a cheese pizza. Sadly, my server only served the cheese toast and forgot my beer. Thinking of explaining in English to him that he failed in delivering my beer and making sure he didn’t order another beer, I told him in English No beer. He got it and served the missing glass of beer immediately. That wasn’t erotic, by the way. Still, what is a miracle is that this building is intact and somehow avoided any destruction from the war. The decor is the same as it was in 1934—the birthdate of my late Mom.

The best way to get into the Ginza lifestyle is by reading books on it. Ginza Cosmetics (銀座化粧, Ginza Kesho) by Yasunari Kawabata is one, and there seems to be a short story by Osamu Dazai, the writer who made me into a writer (so, blame him) called The Lady in the Car, which I don’t think has been translated into English. I know it’s strange, but seeing a movie or reading a book in Ginza is much better than visiting the place yourself. If you do go likely, you will have a wonderful time, but it won’t be the same as the Dazai or Kawabata literature. If you somehow entered my body, you would think, “There is nothing that great here,” but with my mental (and sexual) sensibilities, I can make the plain into something exceptional. And that is what Kawabata and Dazai did regularly with their writing. I try to do the same thing, but it is a struggle.

Writing is like a surgeon who cuts into reality with a pen (surgical knife) and transforms it into something special or unique. One studies a system or how to look at something, but the art is to change the non-special into something extraordinary. It's not easy, but it can be done with a meditative way of looking and always searching for a technique that is out of the box or conceiving ideas used repeatedly.

As I walked down Ginza Suzuran-Dori Street, I ran into a closed store, but one can see inside the shop a forest with a pathway. I thought of the famous saying You can't see the forest for the trees, as I photographed the window. Japan is full of details, but one can miss the big picture. But then again, the detail of something, such as signage on the side of a building or this display in a room/structure, is fascinating. If I was a visual painter and a Westerner, I would be fascinated to catch aspects of Japanese landscape through my art. For example, the British artist David Hockney did many of his paintings in Southern California due to the architecture and the sunlight, which is unique for that region. The same goes for Japan, and not only the obvious architecture but the small signage here and there and the way the streets are laid out. It’s interesting to note that a lot of streets in Tokyo don’t have proper names. It is a total visual experience, even locating a specific spot in the city.