K: So, recently, I’ve been thinking about imperialism. Which, oddly enough, I think about every January. Because we’re in Japan, I think about imperialism. Because whoever the prime minister is – well it’s been Abe for many, many years, but we have a new prime minister now – and they always do something with imperialism. Like – because the emperor’s not really that active. And it really – I don’t know what the emperor does. Every now and then, there’ll be a news story about the emperor because we’re in Nagoya.

C: By law, the emperor is a ceremonially figurehead. So, he actually has no power. And… if he were to exert power, it would be considered improper. So, like, the previous emperor – when he said that he didn’t think the constitution should be amended to give Japan its own military outside of the self-de

K: That was scandalous.

C: Right. Right. Because Japan has the self-defense force, which is a military, but it’s not… technically a military. And… when they send troops overseas, they’re humanitarian troops like medics and things. So, it’s a whole thing.

K: A lot of agricultural – they send a lot of agriculturalists overseas.

C: Right, yeah. They send – yeah.

K: But not everybody likes rice. And so, they have like this grain – they have several strains of rice that can grow anywhere.

C: Right.

K: So, they’re always going over to countries and trying to get them to eat rice. And not everybody likes rice.

C: Yeah, there are different strains of rice that can grow in brackish water or in fresh water or with little water or are

K: Yeah.

C: Drought resistant or various things. So, yeah, it was a scandal, like… minor scandal when the emperor actually spoke out about a perhaps political issue. So, a lot of the right-wingers who claim to speak for the emperor… the previous emperor made it clear they don’t actually speak for him.

K: Yeah.

C: That he is opposed to everything that they want.

K: Yeah.

C: But he can’t say that too much because then they’ll be like, you’re violating the constitution which says that you are a ceremonial figurehead.”

K: Yeah. So, the current prime minister wants to… actually start… to ramp up militarization of Japan’s forces. Because he misses when – and this is so bizarre to me that a prime minister – like I’m – I feel like the prime minister said some parts that are not supposed to be said. He misses when Japan was an imperialistic force in Asia. And I personally like everything I’ve read because I wasn’t – I wasn’t in Asia at that time.

C: You weren’t alive at that time.

K: Yeah. We don’t say that I wasn’t alive at any time. Like, the Musick Notes know that I am forever.

C: Okay. Yes.

K: Yeah. So… psh.

C: I apologize.

K: Yeah. My father was here… like… during the Korean War.

C: Yes. Which was also after that time. But again

K: But my grandfather was too old to be draft in World War 2.

C: Yes, he was.

K: So, there you have it folks. I was here. I could’ve been here.

C: You could – you could’ve been here.

K: Yes. By the way I do math, and the way I see the world and think about the world

C: Yes.

K: I so could’ve been here during imperialistic Japan. And… and… I watched The Last Emperor twice.

C: Well, see, if you had only watched it once, then I would doubt you. But the fact that you got through it twice, you must be an immortal being.

K: Thank you. I watched it twice. So, I’ll be honest: I watched it the second time because a chick I was getting with wanted to watch it.

C: Mm. See, that should’ve been a sign.

K: And I was really shocked that she wanted to like, watch it watch it because it’s a really long movie.

C: Yeah.

K: And then she was pissed off at me when I fell asleep after the movie. I was exhausting.

C: That’s like being pissed off

K: The movie was exhausting, and I had already seen it.

C: That’s like being pissed off if somebody falls asleep during The Right Stuff. They have an intermission for a reason.

K: Right? Or like – what was that one – that three-act play… with Elizabeth Taylor and what’s his name? Richard Burton. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. It’s a three-act play. So, it has two intermissions.

C: Mm. Yeah.

K: So, yeah. It’s like that. Even though all of these things we’re saying are completely unrelated. But I just can’t believe she got mad at me. And I like – and it was even weirder because she was Filipina, but she wouldn’t say she was Filipina. She would say that she was Spanish and indigenous.

C: Okay.

K: Yeah.

C: Interesting. But…

K: Oh, no, wait. She said she was Spanish and Japanese. That’s what it was. I don’t do like fake – I’m indigenous, so my temperament to people who claim to be indigenous who are not is like

C: Yeah because

K: Can’t handle it.

C: Spanish and indigenous is a South American thing. There are a lot of people who are Spanish and indigenous.

K: Yeah. A lot of people.

C: Yeah.

K: Even in… on any of the Americas, that’s like a thing.

C: Yeah.

K: And all throughout Puerto Rico and the islands, there’s a lot of that. So… for – it was weird to me that she was saying she was Spanish and Japanese. And she said that… she was – her family was full-blooded Spanish. And it was weird because I went over to her house for dinner… and… I love Filipino food, so it was like full Filipino spread with like Filipino bread and lumpias and all kinds – all my favorite Filipino stuff. They even had like the goat milk candy. It was so good. So good. Stuffed myself up. That should’ve been like the first indicator that we’re not

C: (laughs) Compatible.

K: Yeah. Not gonna get down on the get down because I was like – I was full, full, full. So, then the movie was a good idea to movie because it was like, okay cool

C: “I’m full, I can watch a 4-hour movie.”

K: Yeah. And then, afterwards, I was asleep.

C: Mhm.

K: And she was like so… upset that I met her family. Which I didn’t plan. I was picking her up to go to a club, and then her mom invited us in, and then I had dinner, and then she was like, “how about we stay in and watch a movie?” And I was like, okay. This was before Netflix and chill was even a thing.

C: So, was she upset about your action, or was she upset that she watched The Last Emperor?

K: I think she was upset at her parents

C: Mm. Yeah.

K: Because her parents kept checking on us.

C: Ahh.

K: And so… I think she thought her parents were stopping us from having sex then she realized I was just overfull and tired.

C: Yeah.

K: at that point.

C: Yeah, that’s not the way to get you in the mood.

K: No. Not at all. You have to starve me.

C: In the mood for sleep, yes.

K: Yeah. So, you know. You don’t feed me first.

C: (laughs)

K: We have sex, then you feed me. Come on now. I think that’s like sexy – getting someone – like wanna have sex 101. I’ve never understood the dinner and sex thing. Like, who wants to have sex on a full stomach?

C: Right?

K: I mean, we’ve done it, but it wasn’t the most comfortable.

C: Yeah, I hadn’t even thought of that in terms of like a dinner date. Like, reverse the order.

K: Yeah. You’ve always thought, like, the dinner then sex thing was weird.

C: Yeah. I have.

K: And I was like, “but it’s supposed to be like you go to dinner and movies then sex.”

C: And I think the movie’s supposed to give you time to digest, but I like popcorn.

K: Yeah, I like pop – and if we’re going to the movies, I prefer to have a hotdog and popcorn.

C: Exactly.

K: But now, ever since I watched Big Little Lies season 2, I’ll never eat sausage again. Like, that episode on how bad sausage is for the world that made the little girl faint in the cupboard.

C: Mhm.

K: I’m not gonna do any more spoilers than that. It made me think wow sausage is bad. Like, really bad for the earth. I had no idea. It takes like 500 gallons of water to make 1 sausage. At least, that’s what it said on Big Little Lies. I don’t know.

C: Yeah, I – I don’t know. Like

K: When it comes to imperialism, to me, I think imperialism is bad. But the way that Japan talks about imperialism is very propaganda. And it makes it sound good. So, like, everything Japan does – everything the prime minister does – because there’s not freedom of the press here the way there is in other places in the world.

C: Right.

K: Which I think… freedom of the press is a farce. Myself, personally. Fight me on that. You know. Leave comments.

C: That fight will not be publicized.

K: (laughs) Like, you can go to our Twitter, and you can tell me what country you’re from and explain to me how you actually have freedom of the press.

C: Mhm.

K: And then I will explain to you how you don’t, and it will make you sad. So… because this is something I’ve thought about and investigated quite a lot, and there is censorship everywhere. And so… for the United States, specifically, I love the – the “Freedom of Information Act.” That I’m doing in air quotes for every single one of those words. You can go and get all the redacted documents you want.

C: Yes.

K: So, there is no true freedom

C: If you really want some pieces of paper with just black bars all over the words…

K: Yeah, you can

C: Request away.

K: They’re more than happy to give you that. And there are some people who are really good at combing through tons and tons of redacted documents to tease out information. But here’s the thing: the people redacting the document left that – those pieces of information in to satiate the people who are good at putting all of those pieces together. And it – it’s – like, you can look it up for yourself and read the history books. The history of redaction. And see that this is not something I’m making up. I’m not a conspiracy theorist – or I don’t follow a lot of conspiracy theorists. And I don’t buy into a lot of conspiracies, but when it comes to redacting a document, it is an art form.

C: Yeah.

K: And it’s something that I found really interesting.

C: It’s not a conspiracy. It’s a bureaucracy.

K: Yes. And I am obsessed with bureaucracy. Because I think that bureaucracy – bureaucracy is a wonderful thing. I love bureaucracy. I love rules. I really am a firm believer in before you can break the rules, you have to know the rules and know how to break them and why you’re breaking them. Or know how to follow them and why you’re following them. I think, if there are no rules, it kind of makes choice a little bit more difficult.

C: Yeah.

K: For me and my personality.

C: Yeah.

K: So, I love a lot of bureaucracy which is why we love it here in Japan. Because you also love a lot of bureaucracy.

C: I do, yeah. And so, Japan’s history with imperialism has been interesting because technically it’s still an imperialistic country because it has an empire, but that’s not what’s usually meant by imperialism

K: Emperor. Yeah.

C: Yeah, it still has an emperor. What’s usually meant is imperial colonialism.

K: I feel like combing my hair – do you think the mic will pick it up?

C: I don’t think so.

K: Okay. Because I really feel like combing my hair.

C: Yeah. And if it does, I think it’ll just be a little bit, and people will be like, “wow. We are hearing the sound of Kisstopher combing her hair.”

K: (laughs) I have really long hair. It goes down to my waist. But it’s also really thin and fine, so it like – if the wind blows too hard on it or anything happens, it will tangle.

C: Yes.

K: Like, if you look too hard at it, it will tangle. And I just – I need to comb it

C: I can only look at it in mirrors and other reflections.

K: (laughs)

C: So, it’s not vampire hair.

K: No. It’s not vampire hair.

C: So, Japan was closed to the rest of the world for hundreds of years. And only open at Goto island to Dutch traders. And…

K: Oh, and then they made that horrible movie about when the Catholics were trying to force it up.

C: The po – yeah, the Portuguese missionaries. But there were only like 16 of them who came over here to try and force it open. And they were executed by the local warlord. The local Daimyo.

K: Yeah

C: Because they were

K: But the movie made it seem like there were droves of them.

C: There were 16, and they were

K: And they’re acting like – that movie was just such really bad propaganda.

C: Yeah. And they were executed

K: It stars Darth Vader. That guy will always be Darth Vader to me now.

C: Okay. They were trying to get the local populous to rise up and declare that they have no lord except Jesus Christ and all that. When you’re in a feudal system, you know, your feudal lord is your lord. And… saying that you have no lord except Jesus – like, in feudal Europe they were like… “here’s how it roots back to Jesus so that you can, you know, have your local lords and ladies.”

K: Yeah.

C: But I was reading this fiction… book – this novel, that’s what they’re called. I know this word.

K: (laughs)

C: About the 1700s and these characters were in Italy, and they were like eating delicacies from Japan and shooting off bottle rockets. I was like, “nooooo.” Bottle rockets were not invented for another 100 years – which I had to look up. I knew it was wrong, but I didn’t know how wrong.

K: (laughs)

C: But the Japanese thing bugged me more because I knew that, at that time, the only people allowed to visit Japan were the Dutch, and they were only allowed to go to one island off the coast of Japan.

K: Yeah.

C: And so, that was… during the Edo period. And then, in the 1880s

K: And the Edo period is your jam.

C: Yeah, the Edo period is my jam. So, in the 1880s, Admiral Perry from the United States came over and forced them to open up using an entire navy – not just a few missionaries – and that was… the beginning of the Meiji Restoration. When Edo’s named was changed lady to Tokyo and all of that. So, there have bene a lot of different eras in Japan. And a lot of the imperial art is celebrating those eras, so it’s interesting that the art… that

K: Yeah, and I think it’s weird that the imperial art – like, every time the imperial art is on display, it’s a huge deal. It’s very rarely on display.

C: Yeah. So, the three treasures are always on display except for minor exceptions when they’re being cleaned or whatever.

K: Yeah.

C: So, I think there’s 2 near Tokyo, and we’ve got 1 here in Isei.

K: Yeah.

C: Or maybe we’ve got – no, we’ve got 2 here because we’ve got 1 at Atsuta Shrine.

K: Yeah.

C: 1 in Isei. And then 1 in Tokyo.

K: Yeah.

C: So, we have not been to see all 3. We’ve seen the one at Atsuta Shrine.

K: No. I saw – I’ve seen – we saw the one in Tokyo.

C: Okay. Then we haven’t seen the one in Isei because we haven’t gone there specifically.

K: Yeah, we haven’t saw the one in Isei, but we saw – we saw the one at Atsuta. We saw the one in Tokyo.

C: Okay.

K: We saw that one when we were on… one of the times we came here as tourists.

C: Oh, okay.

K: Before we moved here.

C: Yeah. And then

K: It was on – in Lonely Planet.

:C Okay.

K: we did like our favorite travel book. But we’re not going to talk more about them. For 100 bucks, Lonely Planet, we’ve got

C: (laughs)

K: What? I’m just saying.

C: Yeah.

K: Closed mouths don’t get fed. I’m hungry.

C: and we were planning to go to Isei this summer, but then…

K: You know.

C: Everything was closed, so we didn’t.

K: Yeah.

C: So, maybe later we’ll go to Isei and see that 3^rd one. But, yeah, a lot of the – a lot of the art from the Meiji Era – which is when Japan was like, “you know what? If we’re not going to be closed to the rest of the world, then we should conquer it.”

K: Yeah.

C: And went and occupied a bunch of the Korean Peninsula and parts of China. And such.

K: And did horrible things. Horrible, horrible things.

C: As all colonizers do.

K: Yeah. America’s no exception. America’s a colonizing nation.

C: Yes. Just ask Hawaiians about that.

K: Yeah. And the Philippines.

C: Yes.

K: And Guam.

C: Yes.

K: And Puerto Rico.

C: And the U.S. Virgin Islands and all that.

K: Yeah.

C: So

K: The list goes on and on. Occupies occupy as they do.

C: But most of the art during that period was celebrating the hey-day that had occurred during the Edo period. And so, like, it was historical art. And we see the same thing today. Where a lot of art – like American Pop Art is Pop Art of the 1960s and 70s.

K: Yeah.

C: It’s not Pop Art of today. Or, if it is, it’s not recognized as good art until, you know, 20 years down the line when people can look back at it and say, “wow, it really captured that era.”

K: And so, they’re thinking about actually opening up the official… royal art. So, there’s a – a cache of art that is – so… there’s been several art exhibits that have been quite historical in Japan, and we’ve seen all of them. We’re not going to be able to see this one, unfortunately. But we saw a Pure land Buddhist art exhibit where everything had been enshrined for hundreds of years, and it was the first time this art had been seen in hundreds of years. We were able to see that in Nara when it happened. And then there was – of course, to not be outdone – the Shinto artists did the same thing. And so, we were able to see a lot of really beautiful… Shinto art.

And then… now, they’re doing the imperial art. And I’m so bummed that they’re choosing to do it now. And they’re doing it now to stir up tourism. But when the special art exhibit happens, they’re massive, and people go… en masse. And you have to like walk in a line, and it’s really… really intense. So, like, we’ve done Triennial, and we’ve done – like, we went to the Spanish guy. We saw his work.

C: Salvador Dali.

K: Yeah, Salvador Dali. We saw Salvador Dali’s work, and it – it was a really great collection because it had his fashion, his sculpting

C: Yeah, they had costumes on display and perfume bottles he had made and all kinds of

K: And letters he had written.

C: Yeah. So, more than his famous paintings.

K: Yeah. So, they’re really, really well put together exhibits, and I’m really bummed. I hope they film it and put it on YouTube. Because lately, that’s what we’ve been doing. We’ve been going to art shows – art exhibits – on YouTube. Which has been great for us.

C: Yeah so

K: We just kick back. I’m like, “oh, honey, let’s do the Van Gogh exhibit today.”

C: So, this one, I think, is going to depend on… how long things last as far as being stuck inside. And how far we want to travel. Because it’s going to start in Yokohama, which is south of Tokyo

K: Yeah. It’s really far for us to travel for art.

C: Yeah. And then it’s going to be here until… like May or June of next year. This year. I keep forgetting that. It’s almost a

K: It’s 2021 baby.

C: I know. It’s like almost a month in. I keep forgetting it.

K: Happy new year. We didn’t say it on the other one. It feels so obligatory.

C: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

K: So, we didn’t do it on the obligatory one. But I – see, I cracked. I did it.

C: I knew you would eventually.

K: You knew I would eventually? You knew I’d break down and say happy new year?

C: Yeah. So, it’s supposed to run until June here, and then it’s supposed to move to Osaka and run through 2022. I forget how late in 2022.

K: Mm. So, we might be able to make Osaka 2022. Make a weekend of it.

C: Yeah. Because Osaka’s not that far from here. It’s about 50 minutes by train.

K: Yeah. That’s not bad. Yeah, we can go see it in Osaka. It’s a bummer that it’s going to be here in the summer.

C: So, and that – what that is, is they’re gathering the private collections housed at the museums of these three museums.

K: No, it’s specifically the emperor’s private art collection and emperor’s private art museum.

C: Which are curated at these three museums because they’re cur – the collection is spread across many museums across Japan.

K: Yes. That only royalty and royal guests are allowed to see.

C: Right. And so, that’s what happened with the Nara thing, too, is that only the curators got to see these. And I think the Nara museum displays like 3% of its collection at one time, so it was a big deal.

K: Yeah.

C: And they do the same thing in the U.S., too. If you go to the Smithsonian, you’re only seeing a tiny part of their collection. And if you want to see things that aren’t on display, you need to be an academic who’s studying it and get special permission

K: Yeah.

C: Whole thing. So… it’s not a Japan conspiracy. It’s a worldwide museum conspiracy to keep us from seeing all the art.

K: Yeah. And the… Mutter Museum has a YouTube channel. A lot of the museums – and the Smithsonian – they now have YouTube channels where they’re showing some of these pieces that they don’t normally show

C: Right.

K: As a means to strum up money for museums.

C: I think that’s cool.

K: The museums are really struggling right now because you can’t go out.

C: Yeah because you and I went to the Mutter Museum – Rasta was with us.

K: Yeah.

C: The three of us went to the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia

K: We’re good parents.

C: In Philadelphia.

K: Yeah. Because we’re good parents.

C: Yeah. It’s a museum of… anatomy.

K: Someone described it to me as a museum of medical atrocities. And I thought, “no. It’s a museum of medical science.” And if you think… people donating their body to science after they’re dead is an atrocity, I’m sorry for you. I don’t. I, personally, don’t.

C: For me, I thought the coolest display was where they – I forget the exact process – but they basically pumped wax, or something else, through the veins and

K: The venous system. Yeah.

C: Yeah.

K: It was dye.

C: Yeah. Yeah. And the nervous system, and like had a… basically a 3D sculpture where you could actually see a person’s insides because they had been preserved.

K: Yeah. Nervous system was really cool.

C: Yeah. It was very cool.

K: Yeah. Because I kind of – you don’t think of the nervous system as actually having a structure, but it does.

C: Mhm.

K: Like veins. So, there are neuropathways, and those are actual, physical structures.

C: I do think about it having a structure a lot, but that’s my own personal thing.

K: I was just – for me, it felt like artistry. I think it disturbed a lot of people because, for some reason, they chose to put glass eyeballs on both of the sculptures.

C: Yeah.

K: And if they didn’t have eyeballs, it would be hard to see them as people.

C: Mm.

K: So, they would do weird things – like one of the sculptures had dentures. And… glass eyes. Which I was like, okay. That’s a weird artistic choice.

C: Yeah. Yeah.

K: So, for me… I look at imperialism – bringing it just roughly and aggressively back. There’s no joke or segues here. And I don’t know how to feel about it. I know that it’s very… upsetting for my friends who are Chinese

C: Mhm.

K: When Japan starts talking about imperialism. And I know that, like, in January, February, March, and April… I don’t mix my friends that are from different countries because my Korean friends feel very differently about it than my Chinese friends do. My Chinese friends feel offended by the fact that the emperor still exists at all.

C: Mhm.

K: And I’m not saying that this is how all Chinese people in Japan feel. I’m saying this is how my feel friends feel.

C: Yeah.

K: And this is their truth, and they’ve given me permission to say it. And my Korean friends feel obligated to be outraged but don’t seem to care. They’re like, “yeah. It’s a thing. It happened in history. I’m not oppressed.”

C: I think that’s where the selection bias is really interesting because you get a much stronger feelings in Korea. I think the people who are

K: You think that they do based on what’s published – based on one article you read in the news. You don’t actually know.

C: Based on them regularly drumming up anti-Japanese sentiment when it’s convenient for them. So, it’s

K: That would be like looking at pictures that show the Nazi party here in Japan and saying that Japan is ruled by the Nazi party.

C: I’m not saying that it’s ruled by it – I think that there

K: I think that you’re completely ignorant of how Koreans feel. In Korea. You don’t speak Korean.

C: I don’t.

K: You’ve been to – you’ve been to Korea 4 times.

C: Right.

K: So, why are you saying you know how Koreans in Korea feel?

C: I’m not saying I know how Koreans in Korea feel. What I’m saying is I think that

K: You’re saying – you said, “I think it’s selection bias.” How many Koreans do you know?

C: I don’t know…

K: You don’t even know my Korean friends.

C: I don’t know your Korean friends. I think

K: You’ve talked to exactly how many Koreans about this?

C: I haven’t talked to any Koreans about this because I feel like their feelings about Japanese nationalism and that are… irrelevant. Because I know about – I think probably – one or two dozen Koreans. And they’re all math people. Which is how I know them.

K: Yes. And so, it’s not that their feelings are irrelevant. It’s that you find the discussion about Japanese imperialism to be irrelevant. And the only reason you’re discussing it with me this week is because you want me to talk on the podcast. And you can’t think of any topics on your own. (laughs)

C: I don’t think it’s irrelevant.  I think the Japanese imperialism

K: I’m sorry. I just got like really offended that you were going to pontificate to me. Because I think sometimes you don’t understand how it lands. It landed a little bit condescending on something – so for me, the fact that I’ve talked to Koreans about it because I find it interesting. And imperialism isn’t actually one of your interest, and so you don’t actually talk to anyone about imperialism other than me. And it only comes up when I mention it. Because you don’t find it to be interesting in the least.

C: Yeah. The militarism I think is a different issue, which I did talk with… people at my last job about because they were interested in it.

K: Yeah, but you’re not interested in militarism either. I mean, why not just be authentic and be like, “yeah. I find both of these things to be irrelevant because they don’t impact my life.”

C: I find both of them to be places where I am out of my depth. Because… I don’t have any context in it. And even the American imperialism, I feel uncomfortable and out of my depth. Most of it happened before I was born because I was born at the end of the Vietnam War. My birth did not cause of the Vietnam War. I was just born at the end of the Vietnam War.

K: It’s an inside joke that we have. I say that Chad’s birth brought peace to the world.

C: Yeah.

(laughter)

K: And on that day, there was peace. Because Chad came into the world.

C: And when I was in high school, people were worried about them reinstating the draft for Desert Storm.

K: Yeah.

C: And Desert Shield.

K: Yeah. That is really, really scary.

C: And then… you know, all the other stuff later is why we left – a part of why we left the U.S.

K: Yeah.

C: So, I – I feel like I have strong feelings about it, but as far as my historical knowledge about the specifics and my contemporary knowledge about how other people feel about it… I’m not very well-informed.

K: So, my Korean girlfriends and I – what we talk about when they talk about imperialism – I listen. I don’t… because… none of my people were impacted by Japanese imperialism.

C: Mhm.

K: That’s just a fact. And when… I talk about slavery and racism, they listen. And they don’t really contribute because none of their people were impacted by American slavery. But where we do come together is on… the decisions that we make every single day in our lives. Because every single day, I have to decide whether or not to pass as Japanese.

C: Mhm.

K: And I make the decision not to. Like, every day I get up, and I actively decide to not pass as Japanese. Because it gives me so much more freedom. And I lobby them heavily to not pass as Japanese. I’m trying so hard to convince them how much better their life would be. Like, even to the point where we go – when we go out places, I’m like, “check it out. Speak no Japanese. Just go with me on this.”

C: (laughs)

K: “Oh my gosh, they’re treating me like a princess.” I’m like, “I know, right?” Because the propaganda of the Japanese people are so kind. That’s not really what’s going on. What’s really going on is they want to get done. And so… if me scratching out and then looking up at them with sad eyes, kitten in the rain because I don’t know how to write my address – which I do know how to do – but they’re much quicker at it than I am. And I like being waited on. So… I tell them, like, just don’t speak… any Japanese. Just, like, point. And make big, round eyes at them. And they will walk you around the – they’ll like do everything for you.

You can literally have a seat, and they will literally run around the store for you. They’re like, “I feel so guilty. I feel so guilty.” I’m like, “why? They’re making choices for themselves.”

C: Mmkay. If you were in the U.S., it would just be called a personal shopper.

K: That’s what I feel like. I feel like they – I did not tell them, “go run get this for me.” And I discovered it purely by accident. I just, like, “where can I find this?” And I was on the wrong floor. And instead of taking me to the right floor, the person just ran away from me. And I was like, “what the heck?”

C: (laughs)

K: and then they ran back down. And… I was like, “oh. Okay.” And then I did it again and got away with it. And, so, like I’m trying to get everybody on the system of being, like, just don’t be Japanese.

C: Well, and we’ve had it happen to us when it’s less comfortable which is when we’re out in public, and we ask directions. We had one woman who was headed to the subway station be like, “oh… that’s near here, but it’s tricky to get to. I’ll just go with you the whole way.” To

K: See, and I had always enjoyed that. Chad doesn’t enjoy it. So, maybe everybody doesn’t enjoy it?

C: I feel put – I feel like I was putting them out of their way. Like, I had obviously delayed their trip. They were

K: I felt like they were bored and found us interesting.

C: Mmm.

K: and they were getting to… speak in English and… tell us all these little facts about their neighborhood that they wanted to talk about because they were just saying the most irrelevant things.

C: See

K: They got to use all of their English, and I think I just did a great service for that person.

C: I think this is where

K: So, I am ego-centric

C: I think this is where our job histories come in differently. Because I – I have never felt like I am entertaining to anyone.

K: I feel like I entertain the heck out of everybody, but I’ve been an entertainer for most of my life.

C: And that’s exactly what I was saying. Like, clubs would pay you to go be at the club, so that people would come to the club because you’re so entertaining.

K: Yeah.

C: And… T.V. shows would be like, “come on the show and entertain our audience.”

K: Yes.

C: So, that’s what I’m saying is I’ve never been an entertainer.

K: Yeah. I was – for most of my life I was an entertainer. So, I’ve been an entertainer and a therapist. I’ve been a bunch of other things, too.  Because being an entertainer is not… steady money.

C: Yeah.

K: So, I’ve done other things to subsidize entertainment. The money I was making as an entertainer. But you don’t think that somebody making a choice to, like, not get on the subway train, making the choice to walk a quarter of a mile out of their way – half a mile round trip – out of their way, that they’re not doing that to entertain themselves?

C: I don’t. And I – I really don’t. I was just thinking about it.

K: How does us asking for directions obligate them to take us?

C: See, I was thinking about this while you were talking because I was thinking, “she’s gonna ask how does… us asking about”

K: Yeah. I’m totally going to ask. Like, where are you at with this? We entertained her.

C: It’s the Mormon guilt. I was raised if like, if somebody asks for something, you have to do it or you’re a bad person.

K: I don’t think she was Mormon.

C: I don’t think she was Mormon, either. I’m saying that the way that I grew up – if anybody asked for something, and I didn’t do it for them, I was made to feel like a terrible, awful person. And so, doing things for people was never a pleasure. I did not want to get them another… another refill of soda at the fast-food place. No, no, no. I wanted to get paid, but I would feel like an awful person if somebody asked me to do something, and I didn’t do it.

K: See, I’ve voluntarily set up a salad bar at the fast-food place.

C: That’s different because you’re doing it before it’s open.

K: Yeah. And it got me off salad bar for the rest of the day. Because, if you set it up, everybody just leaves you the hell alone about salad bar.

C: Yeah.

K: So, I loved – I loved doing the salad bar, and if they were like, “no, you can’t do salad bar because you never do it” – because I would do salad bar, shake machine, drive-thru.

C: Mhm.

K: And they were like, “you’re just so privileged.”

C: And you were like

K: And I started on the fryer, so no.

C: I think everybody starts on the fryers.

K: Yeah, I think so, too. Because, like

C: They’re like until you’re – until you’re scarred up a certain amount from the splashing grease

K: Now I’m hungry.

C: (laughs)

K: Dang it. I want fried food, and I know I can’t eat fried food because I’m still in recovery.

C: Mm.

K: Yeah, so – in recover from pancreatitis, the quickest way to tank your pancreas… is to eat something fatty. Eat anything with fat in it, and your pancreas will let you know because it will drop you. Like someone just threw a brick in your gut.

C: I’ve never had that happen to me.

K: Yeah, I’ve never had it happen to me, either.

C: Okay.

K: I imagine it would be like super painful.

C: Okay, yeah, I can imagine that that would be super painful.

K: And I think they would hit my breasts

C: Mm.

K: Because they’re so big. I don’t think they would actually be able to hit my stomach.

C: Yeah.

K: My breasts are perky, y’all, like you can tell my breasts from my stomach, but I don’t think – they’re just such a bigger… object.

C: Yeah.

K: And I don’t trust anyone’s aim because my aim was horrible.

C: Yeah. Like, all the times that I’ve seen you throwing bricks, you’ve been very bad at your aim with bricks.

K: No, you’ve seen me throw stuff.

C: Yes. But not bricks.

K: What have you seen me thr – you’ve seen me throw paper. And I – paper’s hard to throw.

C: Paper is hard. And keys. I dodge. That’s been a

K: Yeah, I do try to throw – I stopped after years. Because you were like, “it is assault at this point if you try and throw my keys to me.”

C: Yeah.

K: Like, “here babe, catch this.” And you were like, “tell me where you’re gonna throw it” and then you jump out of the way. I think you’re not making a good faith effort to catch what I’m throwing at you.

C: I was absolutely not making a good faith effort, and I made that clear.

K: (laughs)

C: I would tell you, “I am not going to try and catch them. I am going to let them drop to the ground and then pick them up.”

K: Why wouldn’t you just catch them?

C: It hurts.

K: Oh, okay. That makes sense. Because I like to lay in bed – that’s just an established fact. And partially because I’m sick, so I live from my bed. Except for when I don’t.

C: Yeah. It is kind of

K: When I’m at work.

C: Yeah.

K: So, imperialism is a tricky subject, as you can see from us. One we don’t talk about amongst ourselves very often. And… it’s this time of year that I think about it, and I thought, “we’ve never talked about… Japan being imperialistic” and… like, the type… it seems like… the current party – the current political party that’s in power – the democratic party that’s in power.

C: The one that’s been in power all except for two and a half years since World War 2.

K: Yeah. And… it seems like they just really… miss being a global superpower, and… living here in Japan, that’s kind of scary sometimes. Because, in the current state with the United States, I think people don’t understand… that what happened in the past 4 years with the – with America’s war on – trade war with China – is that China has gone around and strengthened its financial relationships with other countries. And specifically… like… Australia – like, it has a stranglehold on Australia financially. And Australia is a major stronghold in terms of intelligence for American intelligence.

C: Yeah.

K: And they’ve done the same thing – and Japan is now considering should they strengthen ties with China and should they strengthen ties in Oceania. Because… what happened in the past 4 years in the United States is that the world realized that… things can change drastically and dramatically when it comes to U.S. politics every 4 years.

C: And the – the thing that Japan was doing – and this was back in 2016 – was it was heavily promoting the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

K: Yeah.

C: It was saying, “this is what’s going to get the economy solid. This is how we’re going to solidify trade with other countries.” And the U.S. for a while was like, “yes. We’re down with the TPP.” And… then… the support for that fell away in the U.S. as “oh, it’s establishing a… one-world-order” and all kinds of, like… things about job outsourcing. And Japan didn’t have a plan for it falling apart.

K: Yeah. And so, also Japan is really big on recycling.

C: Yes.

K: And really big – Japan does care and takes the climate crisis really seriously. And if we don’t bring China purely and solidly into the first world, then… it’s tanking all of Asia’s recycling programs.

C: Yes.

K: Because, right now, for all of the – so, the number 1 producer of cell phones in the world is China. And… they take all of that chemical waste. And the reason that people… do it in China is because China’s laws on waste and chemicals and pollution and all of that. But it’s affecting, like, China’s food.

C: Yeah.

K: And it’s affecting – it’s really damaging to the country of China. Just like it’s really damaging to the country of India to do most of… the… leather dye and all of that. So, when I’m thinking about imperialism, I think about the history of imperialism and the countries that are – were most devastated by imperialism. And that – where you can still see the legacy of imperialism where… they just pulled out and left no infrastructure.

C: Yeah.

K: They left no support. And then… what came in its place. What replaced it, how was it replaced, and how did they reform. And I think, looking at Japan, Japan did a really great job in putting something else in its place. And… I think that… the United States occupied Japan for a really long time after World War 2.

C: It was about 6 years.

K: That’s a really long time to occupy

C: It is.

K: (cough) I’m coughing because it wasn’t exactly 6 years after the end of World War 2 because World War 2 did not end all at once.

C: Yes. There were VE days and VJ day and yeah.

K: Yeah. So, like, the European War ended on – added a full, entire different – years. Years’ difference between when it ended in Asia versus when it ended in Europe. And looking at… Japan’s ability to say, “no. We’re going to still keep our culture. And we’re not going to assimilate and just…” the will of the people in Japan. And I’m not saying the countries that didn’t keep their culture… were weak-willed. And I’m not saying that – because I am indigenous, and… I’m Cherokee. And Cherokees went – the Cherokee nation went full Christian.

C: Yeah.

K: And bought in and… so, I’m not looking down my nose at anybody. It’s just interesting to me. And… sad. And messed up. And… when – every time it comes back up again, I think because I have Chinese friends, because I have Korean friends, because I have Japanese friends, I get three different views. And then I also have foreign friends. And it’s interesting to me how… for the foreign friends, it’s not a big deal. And it’s not anything painful. And it’s interesting to me that – for my particular friends – I don’t know how all Koreans eel about it in Japan. But my girl friends that are Korean that are just – they feel awkward.

C: Mhm.

K: And they feel like they’re put in an awkward position. And my Chinese friends feel angry and hurt. And my Japanese friends feel conflicted and confused. They don’t understand why. And then it leads to talking about… America.

C: Yeah.

K: And American imperialism and… that’s – those conversations aren’t fun, but I have them. And… so, it’s just a really weird… time. And this year, I’m not having any of those conversations because I’m sequestered.

C: Yes.

K: And we don’t have them.

C: I don’t. I tend to talk more about economics with people, and I think economic domination and all of that is… its own subject. It’s separate from… the – I feel like, military expansionism is much more explicit than economic.

K: Yeah, and they’re – they’re looking at doing military expansion.

C: That’s what I’m saying. That’s much more explicit than economic. Like, when you send troops to somewhere, it’s much more clear what you’re doing than… if expats move to your country and start businesses, for example.

K: Mm.

C: Like, are we part of the American Invasion because we’ve moved here and started businesses?

K: Mmm. I hadn’t thought about an American Invasion. I don’t think Americans are invading – we’re not the largest expat group.

C: Not even close.

K: Yeah. So, I don’t know what you’re talking about.

C: But that’d be like saying that just because America sent troops – if other countries sent more troops, then Americans weren’t trying to expand. I think every country’s… trying to expand

K: Do you think that America is actively trying to expand into Japan right now?

C: I think that America is not trying to actively expand into Japan. I think there are other countries

K: America is pulling money out of Japan right now.

C: Yeah, I think there are other countries where they do foreign direct investment and stuff.

K: Okay.

C: I’m just saying that the economics of it is, like, a different… it’s a different world than the military of it.

K: So, this was a wild and weird trip about imperialism and… do not trust any of it as fact. It’s just our lived experiences (laughs) Please google it. Like, I didn’t google anything before having this conversation. I was just like, “I know. I’m thinking about imperialism. That’s what we’re going to talk about because Chad needed to record an episode.”

C: Exactly. Exactly. And Kisstopher was there for all of these events, but she’s old enough that her memory has gone.

K: (laughs) There you go. There you have it. And so, we’re going to be talking about book covers, and we’re going to be talking about… Gracie and Zeus Live the Dream, and we’re going to be talking a little bit about Not My Ruckus over in the take two. I hope that you found this interesting and entertaining.

C: Yes.

K: I say with a question mark. Because now I’m not so sure that it was entertaining. But I did find it interesting, so…

C: Yup.

K: We hope you tune in next week, and I doubt it’s going to be political. But I don’t know. So, yeah.

C: It’s always a mystery.

K: Yeah. So, thanks for listening this week. We totally appreciate… y’all getting us into the top 30. Yay! For – I’m still pumped about that. Probably going to be pumped about it for the whole year. I hope we’re here next year kind of thing. And… we hope that you follow us on over to the take two. If you don’t, that you join us next week. Talk to you then.

C: Bye.

K: Bye.