Dachshund being held at festival in Enoshima.
As I continue my journey in Japan, I have been introduced to many novel ways of looking at everyday life activities that relate to the situated themes of this program. The local/global theme is one that I see constantly whether I am in the depths of downtown Tokyo, the island of Enoshima, or near the enchanting Lake Saiko. Interestingly enough, I have found a common thread that links all three of these places to an animal close to my personal life. I have seen more dachshunds since I’ve been in Japan than I have seen living in the metropolitan United States. As a dachshund owner, I am always quite fond of seeing this little faux hotdog walking around, but I have seen so many that I find myself wondering why this German dog is so popular in Japan. I detect a blending of global and local trends.
The local/global dyad challenges us to question the reasons behind the dachshund’s popularity in Japan, taking into account Japanese culture and Japan’s history with Germany and the cultural exchanges between the two countries. Due to globalization and affinity for cuteness, dachshunds and other small dogs have found their way from their home countries into the households and hearts of millions all around the world. Everywhere in Japan, I see evidence of cuteness and a love of cute, from Hello Kitty-themed dried squid to cartoon police station mascots. All of this “cuteness fever” takes place in one of the most densely populated places in the world, where spending a single night at some Japanese hotels will make you feel like a sardine packed into a can. Thus, it’s easy to see why such a cute and small dog is so beloved in Japan; it perfectly allows Japan to indulge its love of cuteness in a small package that takes up next to no space.
As I am contemplating the local/global influences surrounding Japan’s adoption of the dachshund, I have been supported by a number of readings from the past few weeks. For instance, in Aviad Raz’s book Riding the Black Ship: Japan and Tokyo Disneyland, Raz asserts that the “local can appropriate, domesticate, and steer, as well as travel with, global forces such as leisure, post-industrialism, and consumer and service culture” (Raz 12). Raz masterfully describes how pressures from globalization become localized and appropriated to fit the needs of specific groups, using Tokyo Disneyland as a case example. The globalization of dog breeds has set the German dachshund on a journey away from its homeland, where it no longer serves as a badger-hunting dog but is now a cute ornamental pet that perfectly fits the compressed lifestyle of the Japanese. This “Japanizing” of the dachshund serves the purpose of legitimizing Japan’s status as an industrialized world power as it appropriates a dog from a country that is known for its status as a world power. Thus, the dachshund represents Japan’s transmutation of global pressures and politics into a localized culture that suits Japan’s own sensibilities.
Cartoon dachshund used to show how pets are not allowed on trains unless in crates.
References :
Raz, Aviad E. Riding the Black Ship: Japan and Tokyo Disneyland. Harvard University Asia Center, Cambridge 1999.