Forum - View topicHomelessness in Japan and Hinamatsuri
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Kougeru
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Great article! It was really awesome to see this tackled in such a good way in Hinamatsuri..especially since it's mostly a comedy. Anzu also had amazing character development because of it. When I read the manga, this arc actually got me to research Japanese homelessness. I hope people in Japan were inspired in the same way. It's definitely not a choice for most and we as humans should care about those less fortunate, those that have been dealt a bad hand.
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Greed1914
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I'm impressed by this story's efforts to directly deal with homelessness. I expected that Nitta would end up taking in Anzu and the matter would be "resolved." That would have been the easy way to deal with it, but that didn't happen. Heck, even when Anzu is taken in, it still hits you with how she has to deal with feelings of guilt that she gets a home, but her friends didn't, or even that she now lives somewhere where she doesn't have to reuse chopsticks.
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Sulfy
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Count me as another person that was surprised by Hinamatsuri dealing with homelessness in such a frank manner - at times it made the show such a surreal experience, laughing at so many crazy situations when said situations are often not mined for comedy. This was a really good feature, well researched and delicately written. Thank you for the wonderful read.
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reanimator
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When I visited Tokyo last year. I saw only one homeless at Akihabara. That being said, I realized Japan is da*n good at covering whatever ugly from public.
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Compelled to Reply
 Posts: 358 |
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It's not that Japan is covering it up, rather homeless in Tokyo usually congregate in certain areas, like San'ya and under bridges or in wooded areas. The underground passage between Shinjuku Central Park and the station's west exist was also notorious for becoming a homeless camp every night until about twenty years ago, when local government support programs and NPOs started making progress to a certain extent. Osaka, which is considered by the Japanese as a more "mean" city has more of your stereotypical homeless prejudices, with more out in the open while only a handful are legitimately crazy and harass people passing by. Still, it's nowhere near as bad as cities like San Francisco or Paris. |
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belvadeer
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He's a very ignorant little man. If he really believes every single homeless person ended up that way by choice, he must have been a very sheltered person growing up. And "environment beautification", nice choice of words there; as if homeless people are ugly simply because of their financial status and ruin the scenery just by being there. I didn't realize a person's beauty was directly related to their bank account, Suzuki. 
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Brutannica
Posts: 257 |
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When I lived in Tokyo years ago I spent a few nights in a very cheap hotel in San'ya without being aware of what kind of neighborhood it is. One night I came back late and was surprised to see that the shopping arcade was lined with homeless sleeping (or silently watching me) on cardboard, in the dark, for many blocks. |
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Thespacemaster
Posts: 1162 |
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The main issues with Japanese politics involving homelessness is that rather than trying to help the homeless, they try to scrutinise them as they see them as lazy or uneducated to get a decent job. They don't realize a lot of them do try to find to get out of homelessness but they face difficulties such as those mentioned in this article so it is not as simple as they try to make you believe.
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reanimator
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You're right. I shouldn't say covering up. That's not the right word. After reading the article, it seems like local government is actively persecuting destitute thus homeless are hiding from views of wider public. I live in San Francisco and I have seen my share of aggressive panhandling and crazy people cursing by themselves. With statewide housing crisis in California, homelessness keeps growing even in suburbs like San Jose. It hurts my heart and sometimes makes me angry at politicians in Sacramento who are completely incompetent and self-serving. |
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MidoriUma
Posts: 130 |
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My god, this website has become so left-wing it's disturbing.
We have signs at so many convenience store and fast food restaurant, advertising for workers. Night shifts are particularly in demand, and pay a premium. It's absolutely not a princely sum, and the work isn't anyone's dream career, but it's an honest day's work that can put a roof over your head and food on the table. It escapes me absolutely why someone would prefer to live outdoors. We have a massive worker shortage. |
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Compelled to Reply
Posts: 358 |
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^Indeed, and let's be honest. It's not like Japan's attitude to the homeless is any less sympathetic as ours. It's easy to soapbox about something from up in an ivory tower.
What made Hinamatsuri one of the best anime series of last season is its genuine, down-to-earth setting, with just the right amount outlandish humor in its plot without being cheesy and over the top. Unlike many slice of life series which depict usual suburban middle class life, Hinamatsuri shows a working class perspective. While Nita is a loaded nihilistic mobster, he is able to reconnect with his family and friends because of Hina. With Anzu, of course the depiction of homelessness is shown, as well as her foster parents, which the manga further talks about. Also, the only "straight man" character is Hitomi, who has that otherwise seemingly ordinary life, but faults are shown as she's drawn into everything, also talked about further in the manga. Season two, please? |
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luffypirate
 Posts: 3187 |
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I need to check this out. I house homeless individuals (and keep them housed) in northern MI.
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#samuel_sfx
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I was reading this post few weeks ago. And as I watch Arakawa Under The Bridge up to Episode 10 where the story becoming much like reality instead of parody of being homeless in Japan.
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#918666
Posts: 3 |
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{Mod edit}: Post removed for editing spam links in after the fact
Last edited by #918666 on Tue Dec 15, 2020 8:37 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18421 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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^
I was last in Japan when the G8 Summit was happening in Osaka in 2019. (In fact, I was in Osaka when it happened.) The tour guide told us where the homeless encampments normally were but mentioned that they had been pushed out of sight of where tourists were likely to go in preparation for the summit. Even then, you could still see a few hints of them if you knew exactly where to look. |
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