On Girls Day: An Apology To My Non-existent Daughter, and Wishes For My "Adopted" Daughter

I was cheated.  All I wanted for girls day in Japan was a set of hina ningyo.  Celebrated on March 3rd with a seven-tier stand of the most beautiful dolls any girl could hope for, I coveted this graceful doll set.  All my girl friends had them.  All of my girl friends had them.  Not me.  I am forever scared.  My parents did me a great disservice.  Send me a box of Band-Aids.

Why wouldn't they buy me these dolls?  Did they not love me?  Did I not deserve to be celebrated along with all the other girls in Japan?  Why not?  Why not?  Pretty please.

My parents answered with a very simple and powerful answer.  "We're not spending thousands of dollars on dolls."

Yes, these dolls really do cost thousands of dollars.  They're just dolls.  Dolls every girl wants, but in the end they're just dolls.  It wasn't about deserving these beauties.  It was simple math.  I get that now.  Many, many years later, I get that now.

I do not have a daughter.  I wanted one, not in place of our son, but in addition to him.  For many reasons we didn't.  I will take this regret to my grave.  Which is why I've placed a very special order with my son.  "Give me a grandbaby girl."  Specifically, a red head.  More specifically, a red haired girl with bouncing ringlets and gray eyes.  I've seen the one I want.  She walks hand-in-hand with her grandfather down the sidewalk in our city outside of Boston. 

"That one," I've said to my son seeing her again as we drive through town one day.  "I want that one."
"I'll see what I can do," he's promised, laughing.  "But, I doubt I can get you that specific girl.  She seems to belong to someone already.  Careful what you say.  You sound like a stalker."
"Please," I say.  "Don't be so dramatic."
I sighed loudly.  Whatever.  My son laughs, again.  I do, too.  Never mind the fact research shows both parents need red haired genes in order to produce a red-haired baby, and neither my side or my husband's family has anyone who matches this requirement.  A girl can dream.  I'm hoping for a miracle.

Had we been blessed with a daughter would I have bought her a set of hina dolls?  No.  I'm firmly in my parents camp.  I would never have spent thousands of dollars on dolls.  Why then do I chide my parents for depriving me?  No good reason, I suppose.  I wasn't then, and am not now very good at taking "NO" for an answer.  I wanted these dolls.  It was as simple as that.

Instead of the beautiful display of real hina dolls we made our own.  This was torture to the seven-year old me as they were in no way a replacement for the real thing.  My mother and I would drain two eggs, let them dry over night, and fold origami kimonos for the eggs that would become the prince and princess.  I would then proceed to paint faces on the eggs.  Every year I would crush one with an, "Oops.  I guess you'll have to buy me the real ones now" line which was never resulted in the purchase I desperately hoped for.  Oh well.  I tried.  I truly did.

While I do not have a daughter, I have informally adopted many.  We have no signed papers but just an understanding.  I had to send a rather terse e-mail to one of my daughters recently.  She botched something and it was my job to inform and guide her through the fix.

This daughter lost her real mother in the tsunami three years ago.  She was 17 at the time.  A nursing student now, she's trying to move on.

She called me 15 minutes after I sent the e-mail.  We talked about its content.  She explained.  I listened.
"I need to tell you something," she said towards the end of our phone call.
"What is it?"
"I've been," and she pauses, "I've been diagnosed with depression."
I don't speak.
"I'm getting treatment."
"I'm glad," I say.
"I'm not excusing what I did, but in hindsight, I realize I should never have done that project.  I wasn't in a good place.  I should have turned it down."

She talks some more, her voice cracking in some spots.  I try to keep mine steady.  I tell her to call me any time she needs to.  I tell her I will always be there for her.  I silently curse the Japanese mental health care system again, the one that keeps people shut up about their trauma lest they become stigmatized as "mentally ill".  I tell her I'm proud of her.  I tell her she's brave.  I ask if I can help.

As a child I prayed my parents would change their minds about purchasing hina dolls.  As an adult I pray for my daughter with depression.  Girls can survive being denied dolls.  I'm proof.  Don't pray for me that magically I'll see dolls on my front door step tomorrow.  I'll be fine living without.  If you do pray, if you believe in asking for help from whatever deity you work with, please pray for my daughter.  Light a candle.  Sing.  Dance.  Send good vibes.

My daughter and I ended our chat with a promise.
"If I'm still living in Japan when I'm old, I want you to take care of me," I say.
She laughs.  "You'll be a handful," she says.
"Of course I will," I say.
"I'll try."
"I don't like needles," I say to her, and laugh.
"We'll figure something out."
"Promise?"
"I promise."

The Other Election

It's hard to write about this topic without sounding like I'm mocking the group, its founder, and the girls and women.  Observing this phenomenon as an anthropologist might, my goal is to report without casting judgment.  On this particular subject objectivity is hard to muster up.  Feel free to look for a tone in what I write.  Cloaked as it is (might be?) here is a side of Japanese culture I struggle to understand.

Let's first define the topic.  AKB48 is a group of young women and girls who were handpicked by Yasushi Akimoto.  In his own right, Akimoto, a lyricist, a television writer and producer is a genius.  Seemingly out of nowhere, he created AKB48 (AKB is short for Akihabara--Tokyo's tech district also known for its maid cafes and socially awkward men--otaku).  Now the highest grossing group in Japan with a ridiculous following by men and women, they're everywhere:  on television, documentaries, concerts, commercials, and the annual election.  To be sure, there's drama.  There's the sassy one, the cute and demure, the ones who break rules and are punished, rivals, competition, cat fights, those who pull off the not-so-bright act (?) with ease, the scary one, the sex pot, and everything inbetween.  Put them together and they make for good television.  Or so Akimoto says.

The following they have proves him right.  An idol group like no other, these women and girls have a major cult following.  One which, to date, I simply do not understand.

The highlight of the year is the election.  Let's call it what it is:  a glorified popularity contest.  For weeks building up to the big event, commentators spend time outlining their predictions--who will win and why.  From what I understand, the winner is picked by votes.  Possibly (?) the votes are cast by CDs bought?  That part is unclear.  (I haven't bothered to check.)  The election, called just that, was last week.  The winner?  The mouthy one.  She gets the middle spot as they sing and dance, the coveted position.

Except that the mouthy one was demoted last year to a regional, tier two group as punishment for something I forgot to follow.  Her victory means she gets to come back to Group A?  Akimoto will decide, I'm sure. 

The election is one major event for AKB48, the janken (rock-scissors-paper) championship is another.  Both of these shows get ratings that would make the Miss America pageant cringe with envy.  The janken championship is just that--they compete one-on-one with a quick game of rock-scissors-paper.  What skill is involved in a game of rock-scissors-paper continues to elude me (mathematical probability?) but the girls vow to win showing up in dresses and costumes befitting a group aimed at attracting the socially-challenged.

I applaud Akimoto's genius and talent, that he figured out this is exactly what Japan needs, delivering in ways that has shocked us all.  The spin-off groups throughout Japan are not as popular, only because they're AKB48 wannabes, not quite there yet, not quite ready for the big stage.  There's talk of additional spin-off groups in Taiwan and Indonesia, but I honestly have not been able to find the time to confirm, much less follow this.

I wish the sassy one well.  She'll have another year of guaranteed coverage unless (until?) she does something to piss off the big man again.

Without casting judgment, let me conclude by saying this:  I don't get it.  Akimoto's brilliance, yes.  It's hard to miss.  Hard to ignore.  The rest of it--the hype, massive following, and popularity--it's a mystery.