Freelancing in Tokyo: Being Dismissed

I have posted a picture of these "lucky cats" because all of them have their eyes closed and they look like they are waving goodbye. This is not the usual "lucky" cats you see in Japan, but they seem appropriate for this post.

I wrote FIT and created this site to help others who might want to walk down the same or similar path that I did when I first came to Tokyo in 1993. I stumbled and fell many times; I made lots of mistakes. I learned harsh lessons--and I also learned how to be my own little "machine," creating a world for myself where there were a lot of odds against me. Despite what I have learned and what I know and what I have attempted to share with FIT followers, I, too, continue to learn--and to be surprised and dismayed at some of the things that continue to happen along this FIT adventure.

Specifically: After playing piano at a well-known hotel here in Tokyo for almost a year, the management, based on a "customer complaint," suddenly decided that I was "too loud" and my arrangements were "no good." As a result, five scheduled dates of work were canceled. I disagree with why decided to let me go; I have played at the same volume and have played the same repertoire since they hired me. However, they are entitled to their opinion; what bothers me is how I was unceremoniously dismissed, which seems to be in keeping with my FIT experience.

The management would never under any circumstances communicate with me--all communication had to go through my agent. Okay, that's fine, but their lack of communication also extended to not acknowledging my existence. Meaning: despite the fact that I made every effort to greet them in a friendly manner each time I came to work, I was ignored. I thought it was a little severe, but I let it go. 

In keeping with this lack of direct communication, I was somehow supposed to have read their minds and made adjustments accordingly, through some kind of osmosis. All they had to do, if something was not right for them, was to have communicated that information to me, or to the agent. 

When I asked the agent "If they thought the piano was too loud, why didn't they say so? I could have easily adjusted the volume," her response was: "It's their policy not to communicate directly with the entertainers." Okay. But instead of asking an employee that had worked for them for a year to make some kind of an adjustment, they instead called her to tell her that because one customer "complained," that therefore there was no other possible solution except to let me go? 

I have worked for the agent in question for 17 years. She speaks very good English and she has always paid me in a timely manner. I knew from the moment she said "a customer complained" that it was the end of the job. Despite the fact that on the same evening two customers came up and thanked me (not to mention bowing to me--quite rare these days in Japan) for the "beautiful music"--one customer's "complaint" ended the job. I told the agent that it wouldn't make any difference what I said to her and that there was no point in even trying to ask questions or make suggestions, because the management had already made its decision. To which she said nothing. She did apologize for the situation and she did offer to pay me 50% for the canceled dates--but in the same breath she asked me to play one more night (because it would inconvenience her to have to find someone so quickly). I said: "If they didn't like my piano playing on Thursday night, why would they like it on Sunday night? I think not."

The point of me telling you this story is not to whine about my personal drama, it's to tell you that as a foreigner working in Japan, you may have little recourse when a job is taken away from you. There are no unions that protect talent in Japan. It is a rare agent that will speak up and ask for money for overtime or try to negotiate anything extra for you or "smooth things out" with a client. There are those agents, and I applaud them, and they have helped me in the past--but for those of you who may find yourself in a similar situation, do not expect it--or anything at all in the way of help, understanding or sympathy. It is a sad reality, but it is what I have seen over and over.

Bottom line: You can try your hardest here, but you may never ever know what the reasons are for your being "let go." You can get upset, you can demand answers, you can try to go above other people's heads, but I would say that none of these things are going to change much of anything. The only thing that might is if you spoke fluent Japanese and had a Japanese lawyer that believed in you and felt you were wronged in some way. That might help. Otherwise, keep moving on. 

Thank you for listening. FIT is an adventure and there can be some great experiences along the way, but there's always a doozy mixed in to keep things "balanced."

I intend to keep "FITting"--and I hope to meet you along the way. If you do see me, please say hello. FITters can help each other, and that's why I created this site, to help build a community for those of us who are out there surviving by our wits.