LOVE IN TOKYO

LOVE IN TOKYO

The Phrase “Love in Tokyo” was born in 1966 when Pramod Chakravorty’s Hindi-language romantic comedy (Love in Tokyo) swept the global box office off its feet. The expression thus came to mean more than just a movie title. It became an expression for a much-coveted romantic love.

The success of the movie led to the filming of “Love in Bombay” which was also well accepted.

There appears to be an ironical tint to “Love in Tokyo” because Japanese men are allegedly staid, unromantic, and would not approve of an effusive expression of love. Japanese culture and modesty are 5 & 6. This does not insinuate that Japanese cannot love, rather, it reflects how reticent the culture is. It will take some time to correct and tame the overarching traditional image of a hardworking, burnt-out Japanese man who hardly or never verbally expresses love.

If it takes a geographical location to make love happen, it shouldn’t have been Tokyo, a city known for its fast paced, congested, industrial and technological existence. It rose astronomically from the humble days of being a little fishing village then known as Edo to the beast of a city that prides itself in being the most populous city in the world with over 37 million inhabitants. No time for soft emotions or expressions. You only need to work and work and work.?

But in the middle of all that, Love happens in “Love in Tokyo.” This is the city where Ashok meets Asha. Both would do anything to be together damning the consequences of going against the wishes of their families. Ashok’s friend, Mahesh travels all the way from India to make sure neither distance nor family would quench the fire of love burning between him and Sheela.?Obvious is the fact that the love that happens in that movie happens to foreigners not the people of Tokyo. Tokyo’s technological, industrial, and cultural atmosphere stifles any gushy expression of love.?

To correct the assertion that romantic love cannot survive in Japan or Toko specifically, Kiyotaka Yamana, a denizen of Tokyo instituted the “Love Message Yelling Event” wherein people were encouraged to speak openly and passionately about their love to their love interest. It took the failure of Yamana’s marriage to make him attempt changing the narrative in this courageous way.

“The dominant image of Japanese men is of overworked businessmen, but I wanted to tell people around the world that Japanese men are actually very romantic,” he explained.?

Since the annual event started in 2009, dozens of Japanese men found the humility and courage to loudly air their feelings to their wives/partners during the event every year. The 2010 edition of the “Love Message Yelling Event” happened at the Hibiya Park, central Tokyo. The participants took turns to mount the stage as they declared their unfailing love and appreciation to their partners with some of them carrying flowers and going on their knees. A 27-year-old businessman, Kenzaburo Cho, yelled to his fiancée all the way from the stage, “Stay with me for all your life. I love you.”

Cho later expressed how the loud love declaration made him feel, “I feel refreshed after I yell, so, from now on, I’ll tell my girl directly that I love her... but not this loud.” Ayako Kikuchi, responding to her husband love yelling, said, “My heart throbbed with excitement. It really touched me.” Some of the open mic declarations of appreciation and love were immersed in despondent economic undertones as one of the men screamed his frustration and love in a teary voice thanking his wife for standing by him though he lost his job a year ago.

This event used to take place on the 29th of January of every year and it was often aired on National TV. It preceded “Love your wife day” which was often celebrated on the 31st of January.?

But after 2013, nobody heard anything again. Perhaps, the love in Tokyo has crawled back into its dark hole of modesty and reticence in the face of economic hardship, cultural happenstance, seismic shift in marital perception or women’s economic standing. All of these would affect the place of language in the exploration of romantic expressions.

To ascribe muted or unexpressed love to Toko alone would be an error of judgement. There are many other places across the globe where public display of affection – in deeds or words – is a capital NO. In other places, the reason is absolutely economic.

Whatever the case may be, the Indian movie has taught us that love is capable of happening anywhere in the world irrespective of culture, education, illiteracy, religion or economic hardship. “Love in Tokyo” is now in the league of expressions that came into existence through pop culture.

When next you see your friends, colleagues, or parents all acting lovey-dovey, just chip it in. Intriguingly, the hairclip with which Asha, a prominent character in the 1966 movie held her ponytail is known as “Love in Tokyo.”

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