The Flowers of Keiwha
Page 9
foreigner who can even speak English in addition to Spanish.
The TIJUANA analogue is useful. Yet certain things are missing. The Japanese in question might have to be Ainu or Russian-blood Japanese for an exact correspondence of race. Further, relative prestige levels are different; skill in English is almost expected out of international people and university graduates these days; the odd thing is understanding a local, limited-utility language (and what that might imply about the person's interest in the women of that culture). But TIJUANA also holds in that after the girl runs home to change her clothes and do her makeup, she has clearly lost face if the boy subsequently rejects her. Cold as ice; Machiavellian; yes, these things are true, and we now designate TUSK not TUSK, but TUSK', he has acted in accordance with societal expectations rather than his internal feelings, and although his status has risen, naturalness of internal motivation has been lost in favor of social devious and self-interested power play.
TUSK rejected ERI. This happened on Thursday, on a day when three things happened (Wednesday being quiet), but before we get there, it is necessary to deviate some more into analysis rather than narrative, this issue being at least worthy of observation as the KANYE-AKEMI affair. The first of course is the potential relationship itself. TUSK-ERI is a relationship with potential. Sharing certain values, their relationship might very well last a lifetime, a common family commitment to defend the West/Japan against the encroaching forces of Communism, Socialism, Islamic terror, etc. In such a right-wing family, children would be brought up with a firm hand, defense topics and the banking industry would dominate family discussion, and the cold, austere lines of an internal family philosophy would be reflected in a household decor itself that was rigid, austere, perfect. "Ah, the workers are agitating again in Korea ," might offer one of the spouses. "Koreans. And laborers," might be the simple response of a fellow rightist wife.
ERI, as discussed, is if not in personality, in status, situation, and background the oddest of the girls at the class. Politically right-wing, about to enter the Japanese Defense Ministry, she beliefs might roughly correspond to an Ann Coulter/neoconservative streak in the U.S. She said the words, "atomic bomb" because that is what she thinks about. She thought about SEATO, about Chinese submarines, about Star Wars SDI and Reagan. These were her belief structures. Nixon was a great President for the U.S. because he converted gold debt into dollar debt. That Greek speculator was right only in that the UK had misread the pound. These are her thinking patterns.
With regard to TUSK, the first analysis might be a comment on how things have diminished since university days. A Yale student, a member of Chicken's Leg, selected for a year abroad near Abingdon/Whitney, UK, and somebody who once had a seven year relationship with a black crack-addict, he is a force of nature in someways, somehow superhuman, more than man. To go from this to dating an ERI is such a dramatic fall down, we might feel a twinge of sympathy for this Machiavellian, we might find him more human would the thing go forward.
Yet there is one more analysis. Why should sexuality be pursued, is sex a good force for man? Later that week, there will be a "serious conversation" within the class about religion; but this perhaps is the more essential topic, even if it is not a topic for polite dinner conversation. Are we better off because we feel this urges to the opposite (and for some, same) gender? Would not asexual reproduction create a happier, more profound set of relationships between human beings? Yes, let us be sad that AKEMI-KANYE never happened; let us feel sorrow for the never expressed relationship of TUSK-ERI. But in a sense, solitude is the desirable state for man, the most truthful. The world is better off that these did not happen.
TUSK rejected ERI based on her lack of femininity. He didn't like her at the beginning, and he wasn' t physically attracted to her. ERI came from a fairly middle or lower-middle class background, her father an owner of an electronics workshop whereas TUSK's grandmother went to Ritsumeikan. But ERI has a steady job coming up and she is the most elite in terms of university education of the girls in 2/1. Actually JOHANN briefly felt a twinge of liking for her (short-lived) and in terms of total lifetime suitability, she might be the very best of the 2/1 girls, fluent in English, capable of political subtlety.
On Thursday everything unfolded. In the morning TUSK made public his refusal of ERI, doing a perverse mock-grab for RITSUKO of all girls to demonstrate his continued independence. ERI reacted within minutes, answering the teacher, "Ahn-nyong-ha-seh [pause] yoh," revealing only in barely perceptible pause her level of anger. TABUN noticed; so did JOHANN; the two made eye contact. KANYE also walked in carrying a gift bag with a cake. The disintegration of the KANYE-AKEMI axis had become clear by today (although the two did take the subway home together on Tuesday), and KANYE believed himself sophisticated because he had a backup lined up for Wednesday night's dinner. "Look," he said, "I got a gift from one of the Japanese girls." [Aren't I cool.]
Believing himself to be cool, this moment actually revealed the final collapse of Fulbright. Although by U.S. cultural standards, a boy receiving a gift from a girl means the relationship is deepening, in the curiously reversed world of Japanese dating culture, the gift from the girl to the boy marked the end of the relationship, an overly formal presentation of thanks for favors rendered (dinners paid for, against protest), a release of obligation, and a desire to become "just friends." "This is a relationship ending gift," commented TUSK. "You read the note," said KANYE. "Didn't even know there was one."
TUSK was fully prepared to advise KANYE, but the offer was rejected. Yet KANYE, too, had little choice; he could not be fully trustful of somebody he had just met.
Later that day JOHANN publically signalled his alliance with TUSK. "Hyung-neem," he addresses TUSK, the Korean word meaning "older brother." The girls were amused. In Korean culture the relationship was now close, fraternal; in Japanese, the moment is more "senior-junior" without the conntation of fraternity. In either case, TUSK accepted the term, but JOHANN felt the cost in face was not sufficiently repaid. He laid in plans for a more devious shift on the alliance.
Other things happened. Just barely perceptibly, AKEMI snubbed TABUN. TABUN was trying to say, in ever so polite and subtle Japanese, that AKEMI was a loose woman, a chaser of foreign men. AKEMI, with just the hint of superiority in her voice, pointed out that TABUN, knowing no English whatsoever, could not possibly hope to understand what was going on; the relational matter was so subtle that the two actually remained friends.
That afternoon, the programme held "Sports Day." Consisting of Korean traditional physical games and activities, the third and final 'field trip' would take place on campus and save the programme money. Nobody complained. But there were some who felt the programme was already short-changing the students, 60 hours of promised instruction really came out to only 50 or so including speeches by the director, testing day, final day, etc. One of the activities, moreover, consisted simply of arm-wrestling. Yes, arm-wrestling.
2/1 (and the rest of the program) got to meet! It was interesting to see the other eleven classes or so, to perceive that 2/1 was just a bit more tightly knit. Other foreigners were now obvious, generally the only one or two in their classes, and the obvious dynamic, for example, of one tall Dane amidst ten nerdy looking Japanese girls became clear. COPENHAGEN. But in one sense, one of the classes had made more progress than 2/1, there was a thin Canadian boy protectively shielding a fairly good looking but slightly obtuse looking Japanese girl. She signalled "I am with him" to the Westerners, but "he is after me" to the Japanese all in one single way of holding herself. "They are definitely sleeping together," commented JOHANN. "Not in the least," noted TUSK.
There is literary reality. The events that have transpired have come so fast and heavy we must briefly review. 2/1 consists (now) of three Western boys and three socially active Japanese girls. The boys are JOHANN, KANYE, TUSK; German, American, American. The girls are SHINO, ERI, and TABUN. S
HINO has a cute girl's voice and perfect girl mannerisms; it hasn't been commented yet, but she's already made sport in public of attracting men and then shooting them down. This has happened three or four times in the past week. ERI is the Defense Ministry girl, the one who said "atomic weapons" the moment after a pretend play by TUSK. Not unbeautiful, she was flawed; simple. TABUN is on the outside looking in. She missed the first night out and then this weekend she is going to visit her relatives in Pusan (as stated publicly in class). She will have to try to squeeze into the dynamic, revealed to be fascinating, cross-cultural, international. Musical, 19 years old, half-Korean, she has caught the eye of JOHANN, but doesn't know it yet.
Now 2/1 can see the whole program. FARMBOY's tendency to walk over to 2/1 after class is revealed to be understandable; his class is boring. JOHANN, meeting COPENHAGEN , sees the opportunity to twist around TUSK's failure to 'pay back' loss of face on the 'hyung-neem' issue. And TUSK sees the Canadian boy's ostensible "girlfriend" is being misread; there is still opportunity here.
Everyone did the little activities.