IS MADAME BUTTERFLY DEAD?

In my life I had the opportunity to travel a lot and to see different parts of the world… and is the only way to discover myself but I have to recognize that I keep special in my heart Asia…

If in the oriental world all is hidden by a veil ,behind thick sienacolor walls too keep away the hot sun and with a smell of strong incense that it makes u feel they hide something from your eyes in Asia all is seen but not understood… and I refere myself here to the East Asia- South Korea and Japan of the most fascinating countries and cultures I ever met….

First contact with the Far East culture was trough the book of James Clavell “Shogun”~ Japanese culture and society organization…after this was the “Memoirs of a Geisha” both the book and the movie…(I always think that the books are better then the movies)

And so my job gave me the opportunity to go to Japan for 2 months last fall…

I think it was the place that had the biggest impact on me…from the superfast trains to the wonderful gardens,from the traditional geisha to the new ones…from the kabuki theater to the stadium concerts…

It seamed like mixing 2 world in such a perfect order…Old with new....evolution with regression…

But is there something that regressed? Are the manga cartoons a regression of the Japanese art?because this influenced a lot the young teenagers from Tokyo as I saw…

Where I wanted to get is to the “new doll girls”~harajuku that seam they get a lot of fans even in Europe…Clearly seen on the streets….Huge wedge heels, black outfits,scary~crazy hair,a porcelain face and lots of mascara and eyeliner….

For myself I prefer a traditional Maiko with their white painted face and red lips….

I can’t deny the fact that beside this “misunderstood teenagers”( I don’t know who doesn’t understand them…the society or themselves?mah…) the Japanese women are very feminine..almost always wearing a skirt and small heels.With a makeup that you never see but you know is there…

But when you compare this petite ladies with the “manga dolls”you ask yourself is madame butterfly dead?

I think the answer stays in the the mix between evolution and regression but where should we put this 2 words evolution for a manga/harajuku or regression for maiko? Or viceversa…Each should put it where he likes more…Degustibus non discutandum…..

Now my life is taken me again to East Asia but this time to Seoul….i just cant wait to see what this new experience will learn me…

Until then enjoy “Un bel di”~Madame Butterfly –G.Puccini…