Imports

While out on errands with my roommates today, we hit an Asian import store. The place was mainly food items and the like, and not exclusively things Japanese. There were a fair amount of Chinese and Korean products as well. But, the place had a Japanese name and featured a Kinokuniya bookstore in the back, so most of the things there reminded me of Japan.

I walked about, reading the labels on the imported goods, pleased with myself that many of them were comprehensible. There was a fair amount of kitschy bric-a-brac (decorative chopsticks, miniature Buddha statues and the like) that in Japan itself formed so much retail debris, yet here were laden with nostalgia. I found the exact same maniki neko (one of those cats with the upraised paw) that my old school had, the same brand of udon that I used to buy (here marked up because of imports) and bound editions of manga. I got a little homesick for a country that isn't mine.

Not that I'm complaining about being in Portland, but it was another reminder that this is permanent. I will always miss Japan. In Japan, I missed Portland. I remember going to a bar that had Rogue beer on tap, and just seeing the logo made me nostaligic for my home. To prevent myself from missing Japan I said to myself, "this is a good thing, this feeling of wanting another, past place is a mark of past experience." Moreover, it is permanent. I will always miss Japan, and always miss Portland, and hopefully, other areas will be added to that list. It is, weirdly, pleasurable to be nostaligic about a place that is not your home. It is an affirmation of sorts.