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Savage Thought and Myth in the Structure of Japanese
Image by timtak
This post layers Suzuki Takao's layers a theory of the Japanese language, onto Roland Barthes theory of "myth" and Levi-Straus's theorey of "the savage mind." Starting with the bottom layers first.
Claude Levi-Strauss argued that "savages" are "bricoleurs" (people that use the tools and materials to hand to get a job done), in that they use things, usually found in the natural world, to categorise and organise their societies.
Thus *savages* in totemistic societies may have "Black Hawk" and "White Hawk" groups, and be called by names like "Sitting Bull." They use species of bird and animal as names for clans, families and individuals, because these things are useful to get the job of social categorisation done, and thus "good to think."
Had Levi-Strauss been more rigorous (I jest) he would have given pause to the fact that, even amongst his examples, some totemist use *mythical* and *artificial* signs. He mentions "Water Flask" and "Dragon" tribes. Concentrating on these man-made signs Levi-Strauss' definition of "the savage as bricoleur" starts to become rather vague. If the savage can make up entities (such as dragons) to use as names then how is the savage different from "Levi" named after some ancient Jews Strauss"? If the savage can use man-made objects as names, then why not use patterns, write his name "LEVI" and be done with it. And if he did, would he still be a savage? The problem with Levi-Strauss for me is that, I can't find the place where he compares savages to himself, or where he explains what we are doing, and whether and in what way what they are doing is different. (As far as I am aware, I am a bricoleur too. My name is Timothy, the name of a semi-mythical 'beast' found in the Bible.)
Then Roland Barthes comes to the rescue with his theory of "Mythological" signs. I think that despite the fact Barthes analyses magazine covers and pasta advertisements,he uses the word "Mythologiges" because he is harking back to Levi-Strauss above, and providing a semiotic distinction between us and them, between anthropologist and the mythologist, the scientist and the bricoleur. The distinction of myth, mythological thought, and the savage mind is that it uses signs in combination at a two teired level of "denotation" and "connotation." The briocoleur/mythologists uses second level, connotative signs, that is to say signs in combination that are already signs for other things (see diagram, inset bottom right).
Hence, the black boy and the saluting (a flag) shown on the cover of Paris Match, are in themselves signs. We recognise them and their meanings, of respect, youth, and Africa etc. The cover becomes mythic because it combines these signs to present a new meaning: imperialism is good, all of France's colonial subjects respect the French flag.
Suzuki Takao argues that the Japanese language is appropriate for use as an International Language. I happen to agree. The principle reason he gives is interesting, one that I had not grasped, and relates to the discussion of myth, or savage thought above. Suzuki argues that the advantage of Japanese is in the two-teired way that it is "agglutinative". A simple definition of aggluntinative is that, in ancient greek (soci-ology) and modern German (auto-bahn) one can form words by joining other words together. In Japanese however, the situation is a little more mythological, the process of agglutination often involves an extra layer. In Japanese, while there are cases in which one simply joins words together (e.g. torihiki, pull-push meaning negotiations), one can form complex words by combining the signs, or Kanji, for everyday words.
This layering of Japanese can be discussed at two levels.
At the level of discussion of the merits of the Japanese language, or German and Japanese respectively, the layered nature of Japanese makes it a lot more compact. Complex German words are formed by joining shorter simple, everyday words together, resulting in some very long compound words. Japanese on the other hand uses the signs, or Kanji, for the everyday words and joins these together instead. Since the Kanji have shorter (kun yomi) names of their own, long compounds can be said using far fewer syllables. In Suzuki Takao's example the round lighting devise used above operating tables in hospitals is "Schattenfreie Lampe" (Shadow-Free-Lamp) in German, and "mu-kei-tou"（無影灯）in Japanese. It gets to be a lot shorter in Japanese because mu, kei and tou are the names for the signs that represents "no shadow lamp" (nai, kage, akari). So while learners of Japanese may think it a pain in the neck that Japanese not only has Kanji, but also has more than one name for each, Suzuki argues that it is this layered structure that makes Japanese so successful in expressing complicated meanings, using a few (1000-2000) simple buildings blocks, without resulting in some very long words.
At another level, it seems to mean that Japanese are always being "mythologists" or "bricoleuers" as defined by Roland Barthes and Levi-Strauss in that they are using the denotive signs for every-day things in combination to connote new meanings. They are still engaging in "savage thought."
And so what? I am not sure, but I think that it relates to:
Roland Barthes claim that Japan is "The Empire of the Signs"
Jane M. Bachnik's discussion of the prevalance and importance of "indexes" in Japan, in her opening chapter of "Situated Meaning." (Would Barthes have written "The empire of the indexes" had he been more precise? Are totems indexes? Are indexes always dual, dennotive and connotive?)
My claim that Shinto is a form of totemism that stopped using stones and branches and grass (as related in detail by Kunio Yanagita, back in the days when "everything used to talk") as their totemic badges, and started to use Kanji for their names (when, thanks to the splendid emperial rule "everything stopped talking")
The fact that Japanese superheros are totemists. Please click on the tags for related posts.
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Image by Deannster
You'd think my blog had turned into Animal Kingdom or "When Cats Attack!" week here over at Deannster & Co. But no, it's just me, snapping away at anyone or anything that will pose... whether they are willing or not.
I've found that I learn a lot about portraiture when working with animals. I learn how to handle someone or something that is not going to just sit there and smile on command. They don't want to sit still, they don't want to do what you tell them to do. So I employ tricks and wiles and whatever it takes to get the job done. Same goes for little kids and some adults.
Here are a few of Old Blue Eyes... he hasn't made an appearance since last January-ish, so I figured you guys wouldn't be burned out if he was the feature this week...
Although I bill myself as a "natural light photographer," sometimes, you just can't get the shot you want with available light. So you gotta improvise. Or in my case, learn about actual lighting. I've got a flash... now I'm starting to learn how to use it.
In other good news, I found this amazing place by my work that would make a great backdrop for a portrait session. It reminds me a lot of the creek behind my grandmother's house where I used to spend a lot of time as a kid. Not only does it make me a little nostalgic, but I am now able to appreciate the different elements that give it such good lighting. I already have a couple subjects in mind... stay tuned for some new stuff.
PhotonQ-Exploring Oceans 2.0
Image by PhOtOnQuAnTiQuE
Few years ago I lived on a diving boat, on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia.
Probably the most beautiful place and coolest job I got to spend some time in, and was fun to call it home.
Waking up early, under a perfect sky with a clear Milky Way, gearing up and diving in the dark with a light.
It is like going into space, with full dimension liberty, and the only spacial landmarks were lights from the boat or diving-friends. Once you turned your back or were behind a coral reef, it was like floating in the void. Alone in the dark...you would think...until life would come from every sides, swimming, diving, propulsing and speeding around you.
Little stars would jump in front of your eyes. At first they looked far away, then the brain would adapt and the illusion gone, you would see little bioluminescent animals, switching on and off, like pulsars and stars.
The under water world was full of fishes sharks, krills, turtles, dolphins, whales, birds, rays and many more amazing living creatures, ambassadors of the Earth 's diversity.
Then it was time to swim back to the surface... looking at the aquasky turning from dark to red,orange,green and blue. Bring back some cool memories....miss the ocean =)
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Since then I became hooked on by Oceans, and their explorations.
And something really cool is happening this month. How about diving live at 4 kilometres under the surface to the Titanic :
Expedition Titanic : Scientists hope to 'virtually' raise the Titanic.
A team of scientists will launch an expedition to the Titanic this month to assess the deteriorating condition of the world's most famous shipwreck and create a detailed three-dimensional map that will "virtually raise the Titanic" for the public.
They will bring the public to the wreck, virtually raising the Titanic, through 3-D maps and real-time video of the mission.
In a pair of two-week voyages, underwater robots will take three-dimensional sonar and video images of the bow, stern and debris field from the wreck. Then, teams will return to take samples from the decaying iron of its hull, aimed at answering questions about the mechanism of its demise.
The expedition is set to launch from St. John's, N.L. on Aug. 18 and is slated to take at least 20 days. Heralding the mission as "the most technologically advanced scientific expedition ever," DaVino said the public will have access to videos and photos, and will be able to interact with some crew members on www.expeditiontitanic.com, which launches Aug. 3....
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+ this week a great TED talk went online from the Mission Blue Voyage.
Have a look, fascinating and brilliant, it is from : John Delaney: Wiring an interactive ocean
"Oceanographer John Delaney is leading the team that is building an underwater network of high-def cameras and sensors that will turn our ocean into a global interactive lab -- sparking an explosion of rich data about the world below."
Learn more on the website Interactive Oceans
