Life in Sweden
No. 6 Japanese Culture found in Stockholm
1999/11/07
From October 29, 1999, a Japanese movie "Kikujiro's Summer" is played at a movie theater in Stockholm. The director is Takeshi Kitano, a Japanese comedian who is well known as a director of a series of hard-boiled gang movies. However, this movie is a little bit different; a heart-warming road-movie of a boy, who is in search for his mother, and a Yakuza, a japanese Mafia, who is in help for him. This movie was introduced in several newspapers here in Stockholm. I think this is also a good movie to see the culture and the life-style of ordinary people in Japan.
Movie theater "Grand" at Stockholm, where "Kikujiro's Summer" is played.
By the way, Japanese-fasioned dishes and furnitures seems to be prevailng in Stockholm recently. Many of them are designed with some Japanese or Chinese characters, and usually the meaning is something funny and strange for native Japanese people. However, I feel very happy to see many people in Stockholm are interested in Japanese culture.
Dishes and furnitures are displayed at ”lens, one of the largest department store in Stockholm.
This wall-hanging says "Floor", however the Chinese character is not correct!
I think there has been a sterotypical image of Japan historically. A country full of Samurai and Geisha, people who tends to sacrifice oneself by Harakiri or Kamikaze, people love extreme hard working and home of many industries such as Toyota and Sony. However, I feel sad that the culture and history is not as well known as industrial products.
I really wish more foreign people to visit Japan and see what it really is. The tradition of the past still lives behind the modernized world. In this point, I think "Kikujiro's Summer" is a very good guide for foreign people to overview the other side of current Japan apart from industrial products.
Back to Index of "Life in Sweden"
Last Updated 1999/11/07
Copyright (C) 1999, Takashi Murata, All rights reserved