Today: Education & Arts

If Tokyo has 12,000,000 people within its city boundaries and Boston has 600,000, how many times larger is Tokyo?

Tokyo. Big. Dense. Bustling. Tall. Neon. Clean. Mostly modern. “New York on steroids,” someone once said. “It's an enormous amount of space but it explodes upwards…” reflected actor Bill Murray. Tokyo is the world’s most populated city, topping the list, according to a recent almanac, of United Nations-defined urban agglomerations* of over 10 million people (Tokyo 35 million, Mexico City 18.7 million, Sao Paulo Brazil 17.9 million, New York City 18.3 million, Mumbai India 17.4 million, Los Angeles 12 million).

What a varied program day we had today. This morning we heard a thought-provoking address by the President of the National Institution for Academic Degrees in Japan, who reflected on the need to consider the personalities and ethical development of student learners in a system of education that has, historically, heavily emphasized academic achievement. This afternoon we were immersed in Japanese traditional theater – kyogen, kabuki, Noh, and Japanese classical dance –distinctive expressive forms. We were able to look closely at Noh masks, which portray character types,
and we watched closely as a dancer applied her white face make-up layer upon layer, topping her costumed self with the traditional wig.
The shamisen is a beautiful stringed instrument which makes a sound we recognized as distinctly "Japanese."

Quote of the day, offered by the theater professional who has seen Western audiences become restless with the pace of Japanese classical dance: “If you think the music and dance are too slow, you might be watching it too fast.” So we practiced really listening and looking with a more meditative mind set.

*An “urban agglomeration” is “all contiguous territory inhabited at urban density levels, without regard to administrative boundaries,” which may include areas not officially within city boundaries.