Music That Influenced Me the Most

"Boom!" Maia Hirasawa

Music is a vehicle for changing or magnifying people’s feelings. The music that influenced me the most is Maia Hirasawa’s “Boom!” I heard this song after the earthquake hit my country last year. This cheerful song healed my feeling and made me look forward after the terrible tragedy.

“Boom!” was used for music of a commercial which advertised opening of shinkansen (bullet train) in Kyushu, Japan. Although the commercial went on the air on March 4^th, 2011, broadcast of this advertisement was suspended one week later, on the March 11^th, when the big earthquake hit Japan. After the earthquake, all songs we heard in TV and radio were sad and gloomy music because all stations voluntarily refrained from playing cheerful music. “Boom!” was one of the songs that were interpreted as “too happy to play in mourning after the tragedy” by TV stations.

However, this music became very popular on youtube. Its cheerful sound induced Japanese’ strong desire for the positive view of their future. The song cheered them up and helped them recover from sense of loss and deep grief. I remember the day I heard the song for the first time. It was two weeks after the earthquake. My friend told me about this song and I saw the youtube video. At that time, I was very depressed because I heard terrible news about the aftermath of tsunami and the nuclear disaster every day. The song was a catalyst. It made me cry first, and then smile. The wonderful happy song taught me that we Japanese have to keep up hope for the recovery.

A Common Body Language in Japanese Culture

There are many cultural differences regarding body language between Japanese culture and American culture. One of the biggest differences is the way of greeting. In Japan, bow is very important when we greet. In a business manner class, we learn how to bow properly. A short shallow bow is rude especially when people bow an older person or someone who has a higher social status. An angle of the bow has to be 30 to 45 degrees as the picture below shows. Also, we have to bend at the waist. Bending at the neck like nodding is also regarded as a rude behavior. Thus, good bow set a good start of communication in Japanese culture.

            In American culture, shaking hands is very important in greeting. We Japanese also shake hands sometimes, but not always. I also realized Americans hug more often than Japanese when they greet. For example, when I met my American boyfriend’s parents for the first time, they hugged me, saying “nice to see you.” I was upset because in Japanese culture, we usually keep some distance to show respect when we meet someone for the first time. Although I felt a little awkward to invade my boyfriend’s parents’ personal space, their smile and hug told me that they welcomed me, so I was happy. I think understanding cultural differences of body language helps communicate more smoothly.