Can One Be TOO Enlightened?

When I first began my adventures in the Land of the Rising Sun back in 1990, Christmas lights were still something of a novelty. Sure, one often saw them in the glitzier shopping and night life areas, but in the more local commercial and residential areas they were uncommon beyond the little Christmas trees that people (mainly children and young women) had in their homes.

In 1993 I ran a string of lights around the glass back door of my apartment and scored a major coup. It really attracted attention in the neighborhood, and I could often hear groups of people (mainly children and young women) saying, "Ah! Kiree! (beautiful)" out in the parking lot in the evening. (Of course, if I opened my curtains, let alone my door, they immediately fled.) I even remember people getting all excited when, at around the same time, one of the local shopping centers decorated one of its nearby trees with lights.

Ah...those were the days. Since I've said that, you might thing that perhaps the present day is quite different.

Bingo.

Now it seems that Christmas lighting is all the rage. There still aren't many to be seen in the residential neighborhoods, but there seems to be a sort of competition going on among public facilities and businesses. Actually, it has been in progress since about the turn of the century. At first it was very tasteful and enjoyable. Yes, I did say, "At first." Unfortunately, like so many things, it went overboard fast.

Last year the Aso Community Hall was the site of the Aso Illumination Festival. I saw it, and it was a rather nice Christmas event. Basically, it consisted of speeches, a dance performance by a local traditional dance troupe (of which my daughter is a member), more speeches, a nice, Christmasy performance by a local junior high concert band, more speeches, a bingo game for prizes contributed by local businesses, more speeches, and...FINALLY...the lighting of the enormous mass of Christmas lights they had set up all around the square. Except for the speeches, it was all very enjoyable in a sentimental, small town sort of way (just the way I like it). I thought they did a really good job with the lights, too, and I'm sorry I don't have a picture of it to show you.

Unfortunately, as it turned out, the neighboring town of Tamatsukuri immediately had a copy-cat event of its own, and people were saying it was more impressive. That left the noses of the people of Aso very much out of joint. Matters got even worse after the incorporation, because Tamatsukuri's downtown area beat out Aso's for the official administrative and primary commercial center of our newly-created Namegata City. Not willing to take all that defeat sitting down, the leaders of the local mom-and-pop businesses of (former) Aso got together and decided to beef up this year's Illumination Festival even more. My daughter danced again, but, unfortunately (or maybe fortunately?), I was unable to attend. I was, however, able to see what they did to the Community Hall's Christmas light display this year:


This is the result.


Now, I like blue as much as the next man. In fact, I really like blue. It's my favorite color. That's why I happily drive a BLUE car.


However, this is starting to make me feel blue. It's hard to get the full effect looking at these pictures instead of getting swamped by that blue overload, but it is definitely what I would call overkill.

I haven't seen the Tamatsukuri display. Frankly, I'm afraid to. Even a little ways down the street from the Aso Community Hall one starts finding very gaudily-decorated businesses such as this one:


Yes, I know it's blurry. It's hard to take a good picture with a small, handheld digital camera on a freezing-cold night with a hard wind blowing...especially when you're having to work hard to keep a straight face. How about that heart? It blinks in a sort of pattern, I guess so that it appears to be beating. Now, I realize that New Year is the main holiday event in Japan, as it is in most Asian countries, so Christmas isn't quite so significant here as it is in the Western world, but the fact that the Japanese seem to have turned it into a sort of December Valentine's Day (or, perhaps more accurately, a winter sex festival) is still something I have trouble with. Forgive me; I'm a traditionalist, particularly at this time of the year. The little Christmas tree, Santa Claus, presents, etc. could be kind of cool, but that heart seems hideously out of place (not to mention tacky).

Several of the businesses in the Aso downtown area are similarly decked all out in very brightly-colored lights. Some of them are very pretty. Others range from kind of silly to annoyingly absurd. I'm sorry I don't have more pictures to show you; the ones I even tried to photograph came out even blurrier than the ones I posted here. I know I should be fair. Obviously people put a lot of time, effort, and love into their work, and I'm sure they're all proud of their "babies". However, as a neutral observer and citizen of this town, I can't help thinking that this latest round of "keep up with the Suzukis" is going beyond wacky. I'm almost afraid to see what they come up with next year.

It's not necessarily limited to Aso, either. The signs and trees in front of Kashima Jingu Station are all decked out in a huge mass of Christmas lights, too. However, though rather ostentatious, it doesn't quite approach the tacky overkill on the other side of Lake Kitaura.

Today's Daily Yomiuri newspaper included an editorial bemoaning the recent changes for the worse in Japanese culture. They were mainly concerned with the fact that increasing obsession with short-term economic gain has led to a wide range of crimes and scandals during the past year, several of which were either deadly or potentially so. Until the 21st century, Japanese companies tended to emphasize both long-term goals and pride in their good image. That Japan seems to have faded if not disappeared. So has the Japan in which simplicity was considered a virtue. That's too bad, because I still tend to think simplicity can be a very good thing. That's why my contribution to my neighborhood's Christmas lights continues to be as follows:


Still just one glass door hung with a string of twinkling lights. It's hard to see from the street as you drive by, but I think it's worth it.


So is my family's very own, little Christmas tree on top of the TV (though it was more fun when it was piled high with presents)!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYBODY!!!!!