How much do we really know about Japan? We can find out by listening to Yamato, a podcast produced by Emons Record and available on the Emons App, on the Spotify, Google podcast, Apple podcast, Spreaker platforms.
Meanwhile, to understand each other, Yamato is the ancient word that identifies the first Japanese kingdom, that nucleus of territory from which the land of the Rising Sun was born.
In eight episodes lasting about twenty minutes, Giorgia Sallusti therefore proposes a journey to this fascinating country, as they have never told you before . Taking clichés as a starting point, Yamato delves into numerous aspects of Japanese culture and its millenary tradition. From sushi to samurai, from the meaning of cherry blossoms to work culture, passing through Zen philosophy, literature, manga, cartoons and video games.
We ask Giorgia Sallusti, yamatologist, scholar of Japanese culture, first of all to tell us how her passion for Japan was born.
«I would say that the cartoons of my childhood in the 1980s launched a suggestion that has grown dramatically over time. Since 1978 Italy was the first country for the number of Japanese cartoons broadcast on TV, with peaks of eight hours a day divided among several broadcasters and I think I have spent them all in front of the TV. I continued to enjoy Japan with manga during my adolescence, and then finally at the university where I studied both the Japanese language and Japanese culture. And I've never stopped studying since."
From one to ten, how much do we Italians know about Japan?
«We know quite a bit from an exquisitely pop point of view, thanks to the anime and manga that arrived, especially after the 1990s, when there was an editorial opening towards Japanese productions. We superficially know a little of this and a little of that, sushi, kimonos, samurai, even if we lack the depth. We have in our eyes an image that is often a stereotype that suffers from a colonial and exotic vision, just think of the idea of the geisha modeled on Puccini's Madama Butterfly. The idea of the Yamato podcast was born precisely to undermine these somewhat musty ideas, and take a vertical dive into each topic. However, I believe that younger people - certainly than me - are more prepared and with less prejudice, because they have more open and free access to the Japanese world than I did».
Among the many stereotypes spread about Japan and the Japanese, which one bothers you the most or do you find most far-fetched?
«One of the most important nodes is where feminism intersects with a decolonial vision. Let's take for example the Madama Butterfly that I mentioned earlier. Butterfly is defined through qualities traditionally associated by Western culture with the Japanese, or 'Oriental' woman; and so the docile and submissive Butterfly enters the imaginary of the exotic until she completely dominates it. The enduring power of this cultural construction is also evident in the later reworkings of the same stereotypes of the geisha and the oriental woman, in different political and cultural contexts, such as Joshua Logan's film Sayonara, David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly of 1988, or the musical Miss Saigon by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil».
But do the Japanese eat sushi?
«Yes, otherwise we wouldn't eat it either. The dish lands in Japan from China in the eighth century, and we discover it thanks to the presence of the word 'sushi' in the Yōrō code, which is a collection of government rules compiled in 718. But the fortune of sushi arrives later: just as we know it today appears in the city of Edo - or in today's Tōkyō - at the beginning of the 19th century. We find it already sold on street stalls. It is said that the chef known as Yoshi, who lived in the first half of the 19th century, created nigirizushi – that is, sushi prepared with the hands, in the form in which it can still be enjoyed today. He is also said to make the famous 'Edo-style' nigirizushi. This chef is so farsighted as to capture the tastes of his fellow citizens better than all the others, preparing a dish that is not only still consumed today in the same way, but which has crossed the borders of the country and arrived everywhere, even on our plates. However, sushi is the exclusive preserve of the specialized chef, or itamaesan, which literally means 'mister in front of the cutting board'. To eat it homemade, you need to prepare a simple version, rolled up in nori seaweed: norimaki».
In your opinion, why are manga so popular in the West?
«I have the impression that manga are liked everywhere. I myself have been fascinated by it for almost forty years. It is with the manga, and with the cartoons that derive from them, that I learned that a girl can do everything like and perhaps even better than a man, and Lady Oscar, Lum, The Star of the Seine taught me that. Furthermore, Italian broadcasters went through a political situation favorable to the arrival of Japanese cartoons: in 1976 the liberalization of television frequencies was favored and a universe of private networks was born, all of which found themselves having to fill many hours of daily programming. Luckily in those years there was a huge amount of animated series coming from Japan, launched on the market at extremely competitive prices and which only need dubbing costs; they are cartoons created with a better technique than the European and American ones, they are new and in addition they have original textures and styles. The cartoons will therefore drive the success of the manga a few years later, until today, which is a constant presence in the editorial rankings ».
But are the Japanese interested in Italy?
«I think so, not infrequently you find Italian brands among the best known, or great enthusiasm for opera, art and cuisine. The relationship between Japan and Italy goes back a long way: the first Japanese delegation arrives in Italy on a diplomatic mission in 1585, after a three-year journey».