Kid Gloves?
Kids are in an interesting predicament in Japan. There is a low birthrate at present, in spite of the government’s New Angel Plan (PDF link to a JETRO special report from 2005, the first year of the population decline), which puts interesting pressure on the youth. Some people note that the “school refuser” culture is on the climb, leading to dropouts and truancy on a larger scale than was reported in earlier years. Some look at the situation as being a snowball effect, more and more compounded - Japan seems to be raising conspicuous consumers under the old ranks of conspicuous consumers from the golden years of the bubble economy. This leads to parasite children, “NEET” (Not in Employment, Education, or Training), and “FREETER” (from the English free or freelance and the German arbeiter) problems. If more people choose to continue to view children as an economic burden that threatens their purchasing power and standard of living, what will happen to Japanese society? I will address none of these questions. Ha ha. Sorry to psych you out. There is a flipside to the situation that I want to mumble about. There is obviously some guilt over not having children or losing them - those who have studied the modern instances of Jizo (Ksitigharba or Dizang, but the Japanese version) or the mizuko kuyo rituals since the latter half of the 20th century know what I mean. For the rest of you, I thought it would be fun to point out that Japan is following in Western footsteps as supermoms (and superdads) across the nation race to protect their children from all probable (and indeed, improbable) threats.
Playgrounds. Japanese playgrounds.
They have astonished me. I remember reading an opinion in an article for one of my classes in college which claimed that Japan was a child’s paradise. In some cases, that is true. The notion of a socially integrated upbringing, relying on teachers and other community members for disciplinary action and positive reinforcement creates plenty of individual wiggle room for kids. This means that you are more likely, in my humble and often inaccurate experience, to see a mom holding their screaming kid on the train, just letting the siren-like wails reverberate throughout the car. Every once in a while you’ll see a mom get fed up, pop their kid and reprimand them, but it’s not nearly as common as watching a mom cave to a temper tantrum on the street. Kids are babied a bit, in short.
Except on playgrounds. Until recently, that is.
I seriously wish that when I was growing up we could have played on some of the playgrounds that I have seen in Japan. (I found one guy who really was lucky enough. Jealous.) Sam and I gawked at the crazy stuff we saw while on our way to Yokohama’s Chinatown. I mean, look at this playground: awesome. Think back to being a kid - would that not have been the coolest hangout? YES. The answer is yes. Don’t lie to yourself. The Japanese have really darn cool playgrounds. The New York Times did a cool slideshow piece on some funky, more conceptually driven Japanese playgrounds. Admittedly, the really kitsch stuff fascinates me too, but my guess is that you are more likely to come across a cement and metal playground like the one I mentioned earlier from my day trip to Yokohama than you are one of a bunch of plastic animals. Ha ha. It seems that the world of playground design is headed to bright new (plastic-y, abstract) places. Keita Takahashi, the guy behind the popular Katamari Damacy game concept, has even said that it’s his dream to design playgrounds for kids. How cool would that be? He can feel free to design one for me…anytime.
Ah, you are wondering to yourselves, how can it be that these dangerous playgrounds show that children are becoming more prized? Because a horrible rash of safety complaints, mostly related to crime - not sanitation, which puzzles me - has broken out across Japan. The result is that some people are taking the extreme to the other end of the spectrum. Searching for Japan and playgrounds, I popped up mostly negative articles, commenting on the safety issues. Those are the very issues I wanted to share with you all in celebration for the lucky children who get to play on awesome playgrounds. But alas, now there is international sharing of safety checklists. Ugh. Why? There are people (even children) telling Japan that what they do during their recess time is dangerous. (If you read the comments from Mrs. Elzey’s class, you should know that I fully agree with Jay’s take on the situation, am confused by little Haley Littleton’s attempt to change the subject to sibling rivalry and infighting - a tricky tactic indeed for a young playground reformer, think David shouldn’t listen to his mom so much, don’t think that Kelsey understands how cool it is to “put each other in the air,” and feel for Ana and Brianna. They obviously want to give Japanese playgrounds a shot. Yeah, I know, random. Just thought I’d be thorough.) Turns out that I’m actually rather late to the table on this topic. Other bloggers have hit it before. What happened to Japan? Why did they suddenly put the airplane brakes on their super playgrounds? To the dismay of kids who like to jump in puddles, put weird junk in their mouths, and get scraped up once in a while, a new form of playground seems to be on the horizon: the unbelievably safe and clean playground. If I was a kid, I’d be upset. Well, more upset. I’m an adult and I’m upset for the kids who can’t do insane things anymore. Wussy parents have to go and ruin everything.
Sadly, it looks like Japan is going to start handling kids with kid gloves. It happens all the time in America, when some moron sues somebody for something ludicrous. The end result is jaw-dropping reduction in fun for everybody. Come on, Japan. Hold out. Preserve your cool playgrounds. Pretty please with cherries on top?
Exit question: What kind of playground would you rather play on?
This is a non-serious article written in haste for the previously mentioned Japan Blog Matsuri under the theme “Uniquely Japanese.”
