Cognac, Taraz, Music and Dance – Random Armenian Experiences I’ve Had in Japan
During my seven years living in Japan, one of the surprising things I’ve come to feel is my cultural identity as an Armenian becoming clearer.
Growing up in Australia it was always hard to settle who I was. Many people from elementary to high school didn’t have a conceptual understanding of who I was. If I mentioned I was Armenian they’d say they’ve never heard of the country, some of my peers in high school even claimed I was making up a country. Often people will default to saying I was Russian because that’s where I was born, however, they also didn’t quite believe that part of myself either since I didn’t look like a stereotypical Russian woman (with the stereotypes usually being a white Slavic woman with blue eyes and blond hair). A large part of this was due to the fact the suburb I lived in, Blacktown, didn’t have a large Armenian demographic, with most Armenians living in Ryde or Chatswood due to the close proximity of the Armenian Orthodox Church. While Australia is a multicultural country, it is pretty common for people to prefer to live in a suburb where their ethnicity is dominant.
It wasn’t until my senior year of high school when the Kardashians became popular, as well as an Armenian-Chinese girl moving to my high school that people started to acknowledge my ethnic background as it is. Although many Armenians do not like the Kardashians as they believe they are not a good representation of Armenians, to me there is no doubt Kim is probably one of the best promoters of Armenia, after all, most people I talk to nowadays have no clue that Cher, Charles Aznavour and Andy Serkis (Gollum in LOTR) are also Armenian.
When I moved to Japan I didn’t expect many people to know about Armenia, however, I was pleasantly surprised when one of my first Japanese coworkers said they knew about Armenia because they had previously lived in Russia during the time of the USSR and knew of Armenian cognac brand Ararat which was and still is a popular cognac brand within the Soviet bloc. Another surprising thing I encountered was that one day when I was strolling around the town where I worked (Himeji) and walked into an alcohol shop I found a grand stash of Ararat cognac.
I believe the bottles of cognac have likely been in stock for decades. The labels bear Soviet-era logos, and since the brand is not widely known in Japan, they were simply left sitting on the shelf. I bought the bottles one by one and delivered them to my family members in Sydney and California and they confirmed the ‘taste’ was still there, despite it being probably 20 years old. I later found out from an extended family member that there used to be an Armenian Cognac Appreciation group in Kobe, however, until now, I haven’t been able to find evidence of this group / whether they still exist or not.
As part of my job, I had also brought with me my Taraz (traditional Armenian dress) thinking I may have a small chance to wear it. I bought the dress when I was last in Armenia in 2015 because I wanted some traditional keepsakes. I didn’t regularly wear my Taraz in Australia because there wasn’t a real occasion for me to wear it, since it is usually only worn when you join a dance group, and while I did take dancing classes growing up I always preferred my drama classes instead. I didn’t really know if I could wear this dress in Japan but the high school I worked at had a special “Global Meeting Day” where teachers from various countries presented to students about their country.
Originally I was expected to do a presentation on Australia but my coworker suggested I do it on Armenia instead since it’s a lesser-known country that most Japanese people haven’t heard about. I agreed and was relieved for two reasons, 1) while I did grow up in Australia, my household culture was very Armenian so I felt (and still feel) I could not give a good presentation about Australia, and 2) it meant I could wear my Taraz!
From that day whenever I had to do a cultural presentation, I chose to do it about Armenia because I enjoyed having a chance to wear my Taraz.
From wearing my Taraz for the Global Meeting came a very interesting opportunity. The school photographer was a professional photographer who was part of some sort of national association of photographers, however, I didn’t really learn about this until later. He had asked me after the Global Meeting if he could take some portrait photos of me in Taraz because he enjoys taking photos of “ethnic people” (I know it sounds weird but the intentions weren’t bad). I said yes thinking it would be just for his studio portfolio. A few weeks later he informed me that my photos would be exhibited in an exhibition and that he would send me tickets later. I was confused but happy, originally thinking it would be for some small local exhibition in Himeji.
To my major surprise, it was actually part of the largest public photo exhibition called Kokuten, and my photo would be exhibited at the National Art Center in Tokyo. In fact, I had to search the location several times to fully make myself believe it would be exhibited there – it really took me off guard. The photo(s) also went on to be exhibited at major art galleries throughout Japan, I was lucky to catch it being exhibited in Osaka and Kobe too. On my last day of working in Himeji, the photographer presented me with one of the portraits he exhibited – turned out the photo was exhibited in Seoul as some sort of Himeji-Seoul friendship exhibition. I don’t know where else he is exhibiting my photos (he would always inform me pretty late) but as I’m a pretty shy and reserved person this helped boost my confidence appearance-wise, but also allowed me to showcase my background in a way I never thought would’ve been possible.
After finishing my working term in Himeji, I moved to Kyoto to be an MBA student. Funnily enough, I ended up living in an area of Kyoto City that had a Russian cafe that featured food from various countries which were part of the Soviet Union. While they didn’t have any Armenian food they had few dishes that I would’ve normally eaten in Australia as my mother and my grandmother mostly cooked up Russian/Armenian food at home. It really felt like fate I had moved there and I go there whenever I miss home food.
A few months after moving to Kyoto I was notified via the small ‘Armenians in Kansai’ chat group I’m part of that there would be an Armenian music concert in Kyoto – about a 15-minute bus ride from where I lived. This was pretty surprising for me to learn so I definitely wanted to attend to learn about the people behind this concert. It turned out the leader of the group had previously extensively studied Armenian music and folk dances and trained himself to play various Armenian flutes such as blul and shvi. He had also traveled to Armenia to further learn about the history of folk tunes and dances, something that most Armenians probably haven’t done. These flutes he played were also not mainstream instruments – compared to the duduk so it was even more amazing that he had learned to play them. After the event, he informed me that in a few months, there would be an Armenian dance and music event and asked that I attend.
The event ended up being on a day when I was going to fly into Japan after visiting my family in Australia for Christmas/New Year. I wasn’t sure if I could make it but luckily my flight came in the early morning and the event was later in the afternoon. I was pretty tired so I didn’t participate in the dances (at the same time I do not know how to dance Armenian folk dances) so I just observed. I was amazed and impressed by the group that attended this event, it involved many people coming from various prefectures in Japan to dance.
Some of the participants I talked to told me they had been learning these dances for several decades, some were introduced to the dances in high school if had a folk dance teacher. They had asked me if I knew the dances and I had to explain to them that it isn’t super common for Armenians to know these dances unless they’re part of a dance group. Since I was also wearing my Taraz they also asked me how common it is to wear Taraz in Armenia/ if it is similar to how Japanese people wear Yukata or Kimono. Unfortunately, it isn’t common for Armenians to wear Taraz unless they visit the popular photo studio in Armenia where they can have a photoshoot with it, or if they’re a dancer in a dance group. I kind of wish it would be more popular since many Taraz dresses are very pretty and it’s genuinely fun to wear. It is also a great way to promote the country’s culture internationally, but it feels like many people are embarrassed to wear it.
After this event, I told the host of the events that it would be good to create a Facebook Page so that other people could learn about this group and their future events. Additionally, I shared a video of the event on Reddit and received many positive comments with many being surprised that such an event was held in Japan of all places. While it isn’t surprising for there to be some representation of Armenian-ness in countries in East Asia such as China it is pretty surprising for there to be some representation in Japan – particularly because it wasn’t a stop on the Trans-Siberian/Manchurian Railway. However as one of my Armenian friends, Dr. Meline Mesropyan, here is researching, some Armenians did find some temporary relief in Japan during the Armenian Genocide, before they settled in countries such as America. This was largely thanks to the efforts of Diana Apcar – an Armenian diplomat born in Myanmar who also played a significant role in getting Japan to become the first country to recognize Armenia’s independence in 1918.
Meline Mesropyan who is researching the history of Armenians in Japan is also now teaching the Armenian language at Kobe University. In 2021 it was reported that lesser-known languages in Japan, such as Armenian, are becoming popular to learn in universities. I’m yet to encounter an Armenian-speaking Japanese person but with all these random experiences in my life in Japan so far, I’m anticipating it’s next on the list.
Another thing on the list is finding an antique shop in Gifu that sells Armenian things (antiques ?). When I shared the Armenian dance video on Reddit one person commented their friend had found an antique shop in Gifu that sold several Armenian things. While I have been to Gifu quite a few times (I love Kamikochi) it was the first time I’ve heard of the store. I’m currently on my job hunt grind so I’m not sure when I can go to Gifu next, hopefully sooner rather than later so I can pay the store a visit and see what items they have!
All in all, compared to my experience growing up in Australia I definitely feel closer to certain cultural elements of my Armenian background. I haven’t been back to Armenia since 2015 and I really wish I could go back and experience the country with so many things I’ve learned about it within the past decade but I probably won’t be able to do that until I am eligible for permanent residency in Japan (another 3 years or so).
