Yesterday was my last full day in Kyoto: aside from tying up some loose ends and running some minor errands, I basically just rode my bike around the city one last time. As I was cruising along the river, I saw a guy playing a djembe, so I stopped to watch for a little bit. I thought it was a very appropriate encounter. After that, I was hungry, and wound up at a tiny ramen noodle shop near the Gion entertainment district.
To give you an idea of the setting, the place didn’t even have doors, it was a real hole-in-the-wall. The place was real “locals-only” joint: the food was delicious, exceptionally cheap, but the experience stuck with me for a very, very odd reason.
The whole time I was eating lunch Southern gangster rap was playing. Now, I have come to learn that among the Japanese youth, there is a certain idolization of the American hip-hop culture. Japanese rap is very popular (and of course, as is American rap); so, I have heard my fair share of rap while in Japan. Nonetheless, what was so striking about this incident, was I was the youngest person at the noodle shop….by about thirty years. So there I was, eating delicious ramen while listening to T.I. with a bunch of elderly Japanese people.
While this experience does not have any direct correlation to what I am researching, with this fellowship, from day one, I have slowly understood the idea that music is the universal language. This prospect is nothing new to me; almost every agrees of the universality of music. Yet, seeing it (rather hearing it, that is) in practice is something truly remarkable. Music disregards the notion of context; but, I guess that is what makes it universal, right?
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