The Magazine of National AJET September

THE INVISIBLE GAIJIN
8
A DANGEROUS LIAISON
— WITH SUSHI
12
GOING HOME, AND
COMING BACK
The Magazine of National AJET
September-October 2003
Volume XV Issue 1
11
2
AJET Across Japan
F
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Omatase shimashita!
Please accept our apologies for keeping you waiting for this issue of AJET
Across Japan. Things got off to a slow
start here at the AAJ office (don’t let us
fool you — the “office” is merely a very
messy kotatsu) but we are pleased to
present you with the first AAJ from the
2003-2004 AJET National Council.
In the year’s remaining five issues, we
plan to make even further improvements
in AAJ’s content and appearance. If,
after reading this issue, you have
suggestions or want to make a contribution, we welcome your input!
But what’s with all this “we” stuff? AAJ is
essentially a one-man operation (although I have spent a lot of time with my
buddy the Dell Inspiron 2600 lately). So
I guess I should officially introduce
myself: Ashley Atkinson, 23, secondyear ALT, likes high-speed Internet
connections and long walks to the train
station. I’m looking forward to presenting
you with the interesting and insightful
work of your fellow JETs over the next
year.
By now, first-year readers have probably gotten accustomed to
life in Japan, or at least
progressed beyond the
point where you feel like
you’ve been reborn as an
infant that needs care,
changing and feeding every
two hours. Perhaps you’re
in the toddler stage —
walking a little unsteadily,
but able to use the potty by
yourself if you’re careful
(especially in those squat
toilets); able to satisfy your
own needs to an extent but
still prone to tantrums now
and then (like when you get hit with
an 8,000 yen enkai tab for the first
time).
Second-year JETs, on the other
hand, have reached the adolesence
of our lives here. Some of us will
make it through unscathed, happy
and well-adjusted. But some of us
have developed a bit of an attitude
with Mama Japan. She infuriates us,
embarasses us, drives us crazy
(Mom, would you STOP with the red
tape already! Geez!). Sometimes we
just want to sit in our tatami rooms
with the headphones on.
But underneath the blasé, seen-thata-hundred-times exterior, we’re still
attached with the invisible umbilical
cord that makes us wonder at her
mysteries, and occasionally even
appreciate her company. Soon we’ll
get a bit older and wiser, and we can
start to hang out like the good
friends we ought to be.
Mama Japan takes a lot of criticism
from us, and indeed sometimes she
deserves it — she’s not always the
nurturing caretaker she could be
(anyone tried the driving test?). But
she brought us here, she’s given us
some tough love and in the
end almost all of us will be
better off for it. Thanks,
Mom.
Ashley E. Atkinson
2003-2004 AAJ Editor
Ogaki-shi, Gifu-ken
September/October 2003
AJET
Across
Japan
Editor
3
Contents
REGULARS
Ashley Atkinson
From the Editor
2
From the Chair
4
Kiosk
5
[email protected]
Advertising Editor
Yves Laforge
[email protected]
Contributors
Amanda Cornaglia, Peter Dawson, Jessica
Drexel, Doron Klemer, Emily Plum, Matthew
Peddie, Derrick Simpson-Anderson
AJET Across Japan is the magazine of the
National Association for Japan Exchange and
Teaching (NAJET). It is published bimonthly for
the benefit of NAJET members.
Unsolicited submissions, letters to the editor,
questions and comments are welcome and
encouraged. For submission guidelines, see
aaj.ajet.net.
All advertising correspondence should be sent
to [email protected].
News from AJET to you
Block Watch
6
Points of interest from AJET’s 11 blocks
Cartoon: Do You Like Natto?
7
Online
13
Books
16
Gaijin samurai and hitchhiking to Hokkaido
FEATURES
Gaijin
8
Two perspectives on being foreign in Japan
Lawson Language
10
Reflections Upon Returning
11
Sushi Love
12
Memento
14
News & Updates
19
Parting Shot
20
ON THE COVER
A reveler greets the rising sun at the Metamorphose music festival, held in August on the
slopes of Mt. Fuji.
If you would like to contribute to AAJ,
please see our guidelines at aaj.ajet.net.
4
AJET Across Japan
from the chair
Forward thinking for fall
Fall is here, and it’s time to roll up my sleeves and
get a lot of work done for AJET. After a summer of
preparing for and helping the new JETs, our focus
has moved from orientations to the task of improving AJET and the JET Programme. As you read this,
the National Council is busy researching and writing reports for our upcoming meeting with CLAIR
and MEXT, which will be held in Tokyo on November
10-11. We’ve also been conjuring up a few challenges and projects for this year. As AJET chair,
challenge is a word I love to hear, and it’s rare to find
one that can’t be tackled with a little perseverance
and dedication. This year’s National AJET team
shares this vision, and we expect to accomplish a
lot over the coming months.
One of our newest ideas is a nationwide AJET Games Festival.
With cooperation between national
and local AJET chapters, we’re
planning a series of great spring
sporting events. We are also creating an AJET Exchange Program
to help JETs interested in starting
an exchange with a foreign school
or program. Pen pal letters and visits are an excellent way to motivate your students — we figured
we’d step in and help make that
possible for as many JETs who’d
like to try it. Both of these services are in the early
stages, but should be completely operational in a
few months. This is, of course, in addition to our
traditional services like Tatami Timeshare (coming
soon to a mailbox near you!). I like to keep all 21
council members on their toes — it wouldn’t be much
of a challenge otherwise. Stay tuned to the AJET
mailing lists for updates on our latest projects.
As a third-year ALT, I’ve decided to extend this
mindset to my personal endeavors as well. After
two years in Japan and far too many years of studying the language and culture, I found myself in a bit
of a comfort zone. The new and exciting element of
Japan had worn off; I could have easily let myself
slip into a very routine daily existence. That was
until I realized that my area of Hyogo-ken would be
welcoming an overwhelming amount of new JETs
this year. Almost everyone I had spent the first two
years of my JET career with is now gone and replaced by fresh new faces filled with an amazing
energy. Helping them get used to life here restored
my sense of adventure and has put me on the right
track for my third and final year. It also emphasized
that sitting back and letting the year pass by is no
longer an option.
Our first trip together as a new JET community was
just a small example of my renewed attitude for the
year ahead. Once the welcome parties settled down,
we headed to Mt. Daisen, the mini-Fuji in Tottori
prefecture, to take a leisurely hike together. We
soon found out that the mountain shouldn’t be described as mini-anything, and that our day was not
going to involve the word leisurely or any of its synonyms. We headed for the summit and after hours
of slipping, groaning, trying to balance on shaky
legs and taking unexpected detours we made it up
and down in one piece. Sure, it took a lot of effort
and a bit of pain, but looking back now
I only seem to remember the gorgeous
views, the lively conversations, the
constant laughter, the silly games and
of course the feeling of accomplishment. I consider that day the first of
many personal challenges I expect to
conquer in the year ahead.
So what does any of that have to do
with you? For you first-years, take
every challenge you can get. Living in
Japan is not always easy, but is living
anywhere else a piece of cake? Your
first year will pass quickly and there’s
a lot for you to do in the next ten
months. Older JETs feeling comfortable might want
let yourselves be inspired by our new counterparts
and continue to challenge yourselves. What’s the
sense of living in an exciting place like Japan and
settling for a run-of-the-mill daily routine?
Give AJET a challenge, too. If there is something
you feel AJET should be researching, organizing,
promoting or doing, drop us a line. We’ll do everything we can to accommodate your request or help
you with a concern or problem. I don’t expect your
challenges to be easy, but then, neither was that
day on Mt. Daisen. The AJET National Council is
ready and waiting to be tested. Until then, enjoy
the fall weather and abundance of three-day weekends.
BY AMANDA CORNAGLIA, AJET NATIONAL COUNCIL CHAIR
September/October 2003
K
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Reports to CLAIR and MEXT
The National Council is in the final stages of preparing the reports
we will submit to CLAIR and MEXT at our meeting November 10-11.
The report topics and authors are as follows:
-JET Perceptions of Organizations in the JET
Programme (Dave Cowland-Cooper, Block 8 Representative): What JETs think of AJET, CLAIR and MEXT and
their visions for the programme’s future
-The CLAIR Language Course (Vivian Beebe, CIR/SEA
Representative): The course from the CIR point of view,
the issue of ALTs being barred from the upper-level
courses, and the efficacy of the course in general
-Nenkyu (Jaysie Dambach, Block 3 Representative): The
issue of JETs being forced to take nenkyu against their
will, specifically after traveling during the SARS epidemic
-Accent Discrimination (Emily Plum, Block 11 Representative): The issue of JETs being asked by schools to
modify their native accents in the classroom
-Current Projects of the AJET National Council
(Amanda Cornaglia, AJET Chair)
Surveys on these topics were sent via prefectural e-mail lists in late
September. Although polling is closed, if you have any last-minute
feedback please contact the report’s author (see www.ajet.net). We
will also be following up on last May’s reports and discussing several
other issues amongst ourselves, including study leave for JETs, a
potential JET TEFL course, and the issue of full information disclosure during the recontracting process. If there are any other topics
you would like us to address, please let us know! And look for the
results of the meeting to be posted on www.ajet.net in late November.
New Members & Tatami Timeshare
We recently finished entering all the new-member information gleaned at Tokyo into our database. We are now putting the finishing
touches on Tatami Timeshare, which should
be in your hands shortly. Get ready to travel!
We have also dispersed funds to the prefectural chapters and the nationality and special
interest groups, so they should be using those
monies to plan some great activities for you.
We are very excited to say that a high percentage of new JETs joined NAJET and signed
up for many of the affiliated groups. Our membership now stands at almost 4,000 — nearly
two-thirds of JET Programme participants.
That’s a lot of bargaining power!
AJET NEWS
Orientations
Summer is always a busy period for the National
AJET council and this year was no exception. After
the renewer’s conferences in late May and early June,
the council was busy preparing for the arrival of new
JETs from overseas. This included preparation of our
new Tokyo Pocket Guide, which was a great success this year (if you’d like a copy let us know!). We
also prepared workshops, information fairs and much
more. The council hopes that though our efforts questions were answered, useful information was provided and that everyone left Tokyo feeling a strong
support network was there if needed. New JETs, don’t
forget that if you ever have questions or problems,
please contact your block representative at
[email protected] (replacing “??” with your block
number). We want to hear from you!
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6
AJET Across Japan
block watch
BY EMILY PLUM
Block 11 Representative
Miyazaki Bonchi Festival
We all know that what new JETs want to do on
their first weekend in Japan is dress up in yukata
and happi and dance around free and happy in the
streets after having dipped their toes in one of the
most fabulous waterfalls anywhere. This year
Miyazaki AJET teamed up with the Miyakonojo Area
International Association to
make sure our
new
JETs
could do just
that! After the
first ever JET
City Tour, we
stopped at
Sekino Falls,
one of Japan’s
top 100. We
had
lunch
while sitting on
the biggest
Miyazaki JETs take in the beauty of one of
potholes in the
Japan’s top 100 waterfalls on an AJETworld! After
sponsored excursion. All photos by E. Plum.
that thrilling
experience, we continued to the Bonchi Festival
and learned to dance, traditional-style, in the street.
Block 11 AJET News
“Let’s get together and it’ll be alright”
– Bob Marley
This was the theme of the Block 11 AJET meeting held this summer, where representatives from
AJET Kagoshima, Kumamoto, and Miyazaki got
together to make a plan to support each other’s
AJET chapters. Prefectural Representatives
Ellen, Sam, Jason and their chapter members
are working hard to organize interesting events
this year, so please come on down and enjoy
the South with us!
Kagoshima Prefecture
Kagoshima AJET has recently undergone some
radical restructuring, and the chapter is in the
process of making a Web site to provide teaching guides ... continued next page
Community Involvement
Through Martial Arts
A great way to get involved with your local community is to join a martial arts dojo. These organizations offer JETs a chance to not only learn
interesting and useful skills, but also to get to
know local people on a personal level. My husband and I have been practicing karate under
the instruction of Shihan (Master) Hirakawa for
almost two years now. I can definitely say that
becoming a member of the Miyakonojo Shoreikan Goju-ryu Karate Dojo has been one of the
best experiences I have had in Japan.
Hirakawa-sensei’s style of karate emphasizes
karate as a lifestyle which includes non-violence,
compassion and friendship with others. Because
of the strong belief in our dojo that karate can
serve not simply as a sport, but as a means of
enhancing personal growth and spirituality, our
fellow dojo members have become like a new
family to us here in Japan – Hirakawa-sensei
and his wife, Michiko-san, like our mother and
father, and the dojo itself like our home. In addition to teaching us karate, Sensei and Michikosan often take us and other members of the dojo
to numerous onsen, parks, festivals and to restaurants that we would never otherwise have the
opportunity to go to, such as an all-natural woodfire soba place in the mountains. As Hirakawasensei is also a Buddhist monk and healer, during these times the conversation may center
around anything from the philosophy of cosmic
energy and Buhddist thought to technical aspects of the eight basic Goju-ryu karate kata.
Most of my good friends in Japan I have made
through my connection with the dojo, not only
during practice, enkai, and outings, but also
through special trips ...continued next page
September/October 2003
Block 11 news, continued
... personal support and an in-depth guide to living
in Kagoshima. The chapter also introduced a
mentor program to coincide with the arrival of new
JETs and help them with any difficulties they
encountered. Kagoshima AJET is utilizing the
prefecture’s beauty with events and tours planned
throughout the year, starting with an island trip to
Tanegashima planned for the fall. For more
information contact PR Ellen Wan at
[email protected].
Kumamoto Prefecture
Kumamoto has a new leadership team this year
and is looking to offer exciting and interesting
events to all its members. One of the most
famous is the Hash Run – a race through the
forest for drinkers with a running problem. For
more information, please contact PR Jason
Wians at [email protected]
Martial arts, continued
...such as when Hirakawa-Sensei and Michikosan took a group from our dojo to Okinawa so
that we could learn first-hand about the birthplace
of karate. We toured historical places, visited local friends of the Hirakawa family, went snorkeling and swimming, and even woke up early to
practice zazen meditation and karate on the
Okinawa beach.
Our dojo is unique in our area because the members are from so many different places in the world.
The group included people from Australia, Canada,
China, England, Japan, Sri Lanka, the U.S. and
Wales. The things we all share are a love of peace
and harmony and a commitment to physical and
mental self-improvement through karate. This connection bonds us and allows us to become close
friends, even if we do not fully understand each
others’ languages or cultures.
To find out more about how to join a martial arts
dojo, contact your local international center.
Miyazaki Prefecture
Miyazaki has a long history of being one of the
most active AJET chapters in Japan. This year
will be no exception with upcoming events
including Cheesy Discos for charity, festival
dancing and a city-wide scavenger hunt, plus
SCUBA diving, hiking, rock climbing, soccer, and
volleyball events. Please contact PR Sam Ruano
at [email protected].
Do You Like Natto?
By Jennifer Zyren
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8
AJET Across Japan
Two
perspectives
on being
foreign in
Japan
The Invisible Gaijin
BY DORON KLEMER
I had been warned about it even before I applied to
JET. My best friend, Chris, was constantly being
stopped on the street in Okinawa and hassled for
autographs, photos and a few words of Ingrish. Even
the Oita Board of Education promised in its welcome
letter that in the smaller, more-paddy-fields-thanpeople areas of Oita we would be treated “like film
stars” and chased around as if we were The Lord
God David Beckham Himself.
Upon hearing that I was being posted to Sakanoichi,
one of only seven towns in the entire country without
a single karaoke bar, I could already picture it: the
throngs of people scrabbling to get a look at the
Comedy Gaijin, or, as Chris warned happened far
more often, simply having their brains give up on them
in the face of such uncomputable information and
standing there, open-mouthed, until ten minutes or
so after I had left. It might get frustrating after a while,
I imagined, but I thought I could handle loads of
people finding me interesting and wanting to talk to
me. “It’s about bloody time,” I thought.
rookie card in mint condition. And after a fortnight of
anonymity in Oita, I finally had the chance to take
center stage with my fellow high school JETS at a
summer seminar. My “cheezu” smile was practiced to
perfection, and my autographing wrist was surprisingly
strong. Bring ‘em on.
Nothing. Maybe it’s because I’m not black. Or Hawaiian. Or blonde. Or don’t have breasts larger than mosquito bites. Or look like Harry-sodding-Potter. Whatever the reason, a fantastic weekend was only marginally spoiled by a total absence of photographic requests from the kids, even those in my own group,
who went chasing after Dai or Joel or Rindsay at the
first opportunity.
To prove my point to the disbelieving JETs, all buried
under piles of autograph-hunters, I did a lap of the hall
on the last evening, forcing my way through hordes of
disposable-camera paparazzi and returned, unscathed
and unphotographed. Nada.
Then, it finally happened. One of the students made
straight for me, brandishing her Kodak and squealing,
“Dolon, Dolon, photo, photo.”
Finally, I thought, I stand out, I’m a freak, I’m wanted!
Nothing. Maybe it’s because there’s already a JET
in Sakanoichi, and there have been two there for
years, that another pale-faced, big-eyed foreigner
holds no interest for them. Maybe it’s because I’m
not six feet tall and blonde, like Chris is (although
“blonde” is giving him the benefit of the doubt; he
was looking far more ginger last time I saw him, but
the effect on the Japanese nervous system is equally
disastrous). Whatever the reason, I arrived in my new
hometown with a whimper, not a camera crew or
autograph book in sight. Arse.
Never mind, I thought, the kids will be impressed
and help boost my self-confidence, bless their little
cotton socks. They’ll surely treasure a snapshot with
any gaijin as if it were a 1987 Topps John Elway
“Take photo me of me and Adamu!”
I’m kidding myself. I resisted the urge to force-feed the
film to her, took the photo and retired to my bunk to
ponder my mundanity. Just because I’m short and have
dark hair, surely they don’t mistake me for one of them?
This was the only conclusion I could come to, and it
has since been confirmed by the fact that not only has
nothing changed since then, but I must be the only
person (despite years of practice at the all-you-caneat 9.99 Sunday afternoon Chinese buffet ), who has
never been told, “You can use chopsticks!”
I am the invisible gaijin. All you who resent your
fame, read my tale, and weep.
September/October 2003
The Gaijin Stare
BY PETER DAWSON
Have you ever had that experience when you are walking down a street in Japan and suddenly your eyes
meet those of a passing stranger? And for a few seconds on a crowded city sidewalk, amidst the crush of
passing humanity, there is a moment of silent understanding?
This is what I call the “Gaijin Stare.” We must have all
done it hundreds of times – those brief moments of
silent recognition between complete strangers. The only
thing that you have in
common is that you
are both gaijin.
It is an essential part
of the experience of
being a foreigner in
Japan; I know of no
other country where
foreigners encounter something similar. It is an experience that unites
people whether
they are from
America or
Africa or
Afghanistan. It
does not matter
if they are suitwearing
businessmen
or English
teachers, or if
they are handing
out flyers for a nightclub in Shinjuku
or selling jewelry on the street.
In that passing moment there is a kind of unconscious
shared recognition of what it is to be a gaijin that transcends all other considerations. The stare is pregnant
with the questions that gaijin usually ask each other
when they first meet: “What are you doing in Japan?
How long have you been here? Do you like living here?
Do you speak Japanese?” in a similar way to that in
which they have been asked a thousand times by Japanese people if they can eat natto or use chopsticks.
The stare is a unique feature of life for long-time residents of Japan, even in a reasonably diverse city like
Tokyo. While in other countries you are just a foreigner,
Japan has a name that specifies you as non-Japanese. It seems only natural that part of the effect of
this is the shared recognition shown in the gaijin stare.
9
It is as if you have all become members of a secret
society, and although you may never even speak, you
can instantly recognize each other on the street.
For people living in Japan who have had these conversations a thousand times, unlike those passing through
on a tourist itinerary, they are to be avoided at all costs.
Long-time residents of Tokyo often try to discourage
these kinds of boring encounters by listening to a
Walkman while striding purposively through the
crowded streets and avoiding any eye contact with
other gaijin that could possibly turn into a conversation.
But for people who have only recently arrived in Japan,
these conversations could prove to be a lifeline as they
make their ways amongst the crowds of
Japanese who all too often treat them
as
strange
aliens speaking
an incomprehensible language.
These chance
conversations provide the newcomer
with a rare opportunity to speak English easily and fluently.
The “Gaijin Stare” is
one of the most common and everyday examples of the way in
which Japan still has a
long way to go to overcome its fundamental
nervousness around foreigners. A glance followed by a second of eye
contact is often enough to
convey the feeling of what it is to be a minority in Japan – to be initially judged not on your character, but
by the fact that you are from outside the country and
will therefore always remain an outsider. To be addressed by complete strangers as a gaijin, as if all
foreigners and their cultures are reducible to this sterile label.
So next time your eyes meet those of a fellow gaijin
on a crowded street, don’t keep walking. Take a few
minutes to exchange a few words. But don’t ask the
usual superficial questions. Instead, try to reflect on
the reasons why two complete strangers have taken
time out of their days to stop and talk.
You might just learn something about living in Japan.
10
AJET Across Japan
Lawson Language
By Peter Dawson
“Good morning Lawson.” “Hello Lawson-san!” My students cheerfully call
out to me in the school corridor. They are able to manage these sentences
in English. Despite this, the Japanese Teachers of English don’t seem to
approve.
My family name is Dawson. But my students have taken to calling me
Lawson-san or just Lawson or sometimes even Mr. Lawson, after the chain
of 24-hour convenience stores that are common throughout Japan.
The students already know how to pronounce Lawson and they find it endlessly amusing to call me
Lawson instead of Dawson. I don’t mind, as long as they are speaking English. At the start of a class
warm-up exercise I can always make the class laugh by letting them call me Lawson. Although I don’t
pretend to understand the Japanese sense of humor, the students always find this hilarious.
The JTEs, however, do not approve – and their disapproval may be the source of the students’ amusement. By calling me Lawson instead of Dawson-san, the students are being disrespectful by the JTEs’
standards. In my first weeks at my school I was largely unaware of this, especially since the JTE never
told me directly. As I was unable to speak Japanese, the simple verbal play on the word “Lawson” was one
of the few ways in which I was able to communicate with the students and make them laugh. To me, this
was more important than any implied disrespect on the part of the students.
So in my initial eagerness to communicate with the students using ingrained Western values, which at
the time I didn’t even give a second thought to, I used this simple word association to try and establish a
relationship with the students. For all my attempts to be “culturally aware” I was entirely blind to the JTEs’
concerns over the disrespect implied when they called me “Lawson.”
It is entirely different to read in a language book that “-san” is used as a term of respect in Japan and to
feel this intuitively as part of a living language. At first, I saw language as a means of trying to establish a
genuine relationship with the students, while the JTE saw language as serving a social function in indicating the respect that should be given to a teacher. Of course things are never quite as simple as this binary
distinction suggests.
This was one of the first instances in which I realized how much the Japanese language is bound up with
all kinds of subtle social distinctions. Which is not to say that similar social distinctions don’t also play a
role in language in the West; only in a society like Japan it appears that these distinctions are much more
oblique and implicit.
To take the argument further you could say that to use any language, like English or Japanese, is to be
condemned to evaluate. The simple choice of one word over another implies an inherent value judgement.
You make distinctions and judgements as soon as you open your mouth or type a word on a page.
The kinds of judgements you make depend on your particular culture. Western communication styles
emphasize “genuine” human relationships (by our standards); whereas Japanese emphasizes social
distinctions. An objective language of pure description is the dream of mathematics and science, while
the language of human relationships is always full of hidden evaluations and distinctions. So, since I am
in Japan, call me “Dawson-san.”
But yet, my students still shout out as they grab their bags, put on their outdoor trainers and frantically
hurry to their after-school clubs: “Good evening Lawson-san.” “Goodbye Lawson-san.” Somehow language always has a way of subverting and revolting against these distinctions and playing, with a child
like wonder, with the “fixed” meanings of things.
September/October 2003
Reflections Upon Returning
By Derrick Simpson-Anderson
We hear a lot of talk about the effects of culture
shock and reverse culture shock. But for many
second- and third-years that have made the pilgrimage back to your home countries and then returned
to continue your JET experience, you may sympathize with an experience I call “culture backlash.”
After a summer visit home, I found myself in a
culture-shock regression that made me say, “Whoa!
Why didn’t it hit like that last year?” It was more
emotionally taxing to return to Japan to start my
second year than it was to originally come out to
Japan for the first time.
The unknown mystique of my life in Japan has long
dissolved and has settled into a familiar rhythm of
rituals and ruts, which made it impossible for me to
return to Japan with the same bright-eyed genkiness
I had as a first-year. Don’t get me wrong — I returned with the utmost enthusiasm to reunite with
everyone I made bonds with throughout the year and
to approach my job with a newfound sense of
seasoned veteranship.
The change in my perception of Japan is more
comparable to the differences between my adult
perception of Christmas and my juvenile perception
of it. As an adult my appreciation and love for the
holidays is sincere, in that I find it cathartic to
reconnect and spend time with my loved ones;
however, I’m not overwhelmed with the same anxiety
and curiosity that I held as a child. Long gone are
the days of wonder, when I was filled with the
anticipation of what Santa would bring; in the same
way long gone are the days of anticipating what my
prefecture would be like, or whether my supervisor
and staff would be cool or scary, or whether the
children would try to kancho me or not. I instead
approach my life with a strategic energy geared
towards using the past year’s experiences to
improve upon my overall JET experience.
In addition to the loss of the “wonderland” luster,
there is the realization of the emotional stress of
being separated from my loved ones. As predictable
as certain stresses may have seemed, the conceptual preparation for a year away from my “home
base” of Jersey City and NYC proved to pale in
comparison to how it all actually affected me.
Revisiting family and friends brought back a myriad
of memories and emotions that had been dormant
for a year.
In my first experience living abroad I had become
accustomed to being out of arm’s reach of my most
intimate creature comforts. Of course I developed
new ones. For example, dancing my cares away at
the Miyazaki hot spot “Kurabu Bito Kurabu” versus
ten-dollar Tuesdays at Copa Cabana; or an occasional dinner with my neighbors, the Sugimotos,
versus Sunday grub with the parents and my little
sisters. However, I stilled longed for a bit of nostalgia, as would anyone in a similar situation. The
ability to tangibly “reach out and touch” various
people, sights, sounds tastes and smells of my
being, reasserted a savor that’s unavailable in Japan.
As a result of being deprived of that essence for a
year, it was more emotional to re-uproot knowing
what I’d be missing
Although I would not forfeit my experience in the JET
program and would rank it as one of my most
significant, I dealt with the huge burden of feeling
that I was never quite 100 percent “me” in my new
Japanese environment. Despite the relationships I
developed throughout my first year, I’ve found
difficulties expressing specific aspects of my identity
in an environment and to an audience that was
unfamiliar with them.
Essentially, certain the parts of my identity aren’t
understood or received well, if at all, by my Japanese social network. Upon returning to the U.S., I
was once again surrounded by a social circle which
not only understood this side of me, but could
receive and accept it. This furthered the challenge of
once again leaving those who I perceive as knowing
me better than anyone else.
I can’t and won’t complain at all about the blessing
of being able to delve into such a unique cultural
experience. I’ve learned so much in my time in
Japan and have so much more to gain. In part, my
time here has taught me to further appreciate all that
I associate with “back home,” which leads me to my
original point. Leaving the Chill Town and Big Apple
and moving across the globe reasserted my appreciation for all that has made me “me.” Upon returning
to my overpopulated subway, I reattached to Jersey
City and NYC with an even more galvanized bond,
which made it more tearful to leave it behind once
more.
Derrick Simpson-Anderson is the vice chair of the AJET
National Council.
11
12
AJET Across Japan
sushi love
By A Sushi Lover, Anonymous
I am in love with sushi. Unabashedly. And with passion. My life has not been the same since I discovered the stuff, and I believe my life could not go on without it. At least – what a dreary, dull, unlivable
life I imagine it would be. There is nothing quite like raw, fresh, flavorful, succulent fish flesh, pillowed
atop a bit of rice, dipped in a bit of soy. It is an unfathomably sensual experience, and one that I have
certainly never had with any other kind of food. It is breathtaking, it is exquisite, it is quite possibly the
closest you could come to pure passion with a food group.
My love affair began casually, even timidly, but soon escalated to a
craving need. Now, I just can’t get enough of it. I
could probably eat sushi everyday. I could
definitely marry a sushi chef. And
don’t doubt that I wouldn’t. Of
course, there is a real
danger of this happening,
considering the amount of
time I spend in sushi bars.
Sushi is like sex to me.
Pleasurable, driven by a craving
need, dangerous at times, new
and exciting, full of exquisite
sensations and mindblowingly
wonderful.
Do you question my sanity?
Perhaps I should as well. But where
would I be in this world without
sushi? The Japanese do a lot of
strange things, but I tell you, I love
them simply for inventing something as unique and wonderful as a fresh slice of raw fish atop a little
piece of rice. Who would have even thought to try uncooked fish? How crazy they must have been! It
makes no difference now; I revere him or her as a savior for enhancing my life in such a passionate
way. There is something about the art of it, and the color of it, and the simplicity of it, and the taste
and texture of it, about the way you eat it, and the way it’s made, that quite simply makes it the most
wonderful food on the planet. Truly, my last meal before execution would be a platter of raw fresh fish
flesh.
There is perhaps nothing I will miss more about Japan than my friend the sushi man. I often thought
that if I could take only one thing with me, it might be a sushi chef. I might as well marry him, to
ensure he would stay by my side, and fill my desire to devour this exquisite art form from dawn to
dusk daily. That, my friend, is why I must leave Japan: to get away from this addiction and these crazy
ideas. I warn you, try the stuff, and you too may begin a dangerous liaison.
Of course, a bit of caution – there is nothing worse in this world then cheap, bad, funky or ill-prepared
sushi. A taste of it can put you off to the wonders that might have been if you had only tried something
as dreamily wonderful as the really tasty stuff. Indeed, there is nothing better. I know it sounds
strange, I know I sound silly, but that’s what love will do to you. I am in love with sushi, and my life will
never be the same again.
Sushi lovers around the world can indulge their obsession online at www.stickyrice.com.
September/October 2003
online
GREAT WEB SITES TO CHECK OUT
The Quirky Japan Homepage — www3.tky.3web.ne.jp/~edjacob/intro.htm
This is the editor’s choice for one of the most interesting Japan sites. Ed Jacob, author of JapanZine’s
“Seldom Asked Questions About Japan” column, answers to all those burning inquiries you never knew you
had about Japan’s oddities, explains topics from fringe groups to useless employees, plus tells you where
not to go on your next vacation — “Conformists, puritans and package tourists not welcome.”
WWWJDIC — www.aa.tufs.ac.jp/~jwb/wwwjdic.html
The most useful, most accurate online Japanese-English dictionary out there. WWWJDIC was developed by
Jim Breen, a professor at Monash University in Australia. It allows word lookup in roman letters, katakana,
hiragana and kanji; kanji lookup by a couple different methods; and translation of words in Japanese text via
cut-and-paste. Lucky DoCoMo users can even access it from your keitai!
International Tourism Center of Japan — www.itcj.or.jp
Japan Quick-Easy Hotel Plan — shop.knt.co.jp/quick/hotel/index.htm
Japanese Inn Group — www.jpinn.com
Don’t speak enough Japanese to make a hotel reservation? Tired of asking sempai and supervisors to plan
your vacation for you? Try the three useful sites above all allow you to search for hotels and ryokan and make
reservations online — in English! The International Tourism Center specializes in budget hotels and ryokan,
while the Quick-Easy Hotel Plan offers budget and regular hotels. The Japanese Inn Group offers ryokan
only. Happy trails!
John’s Shaken FAQ — www.ymcajapan.org/yokohama/eng/bus-col/shaken/shaken1.htm
The car owners among us tremble with fear at the very mention of the word shaken (annual car inspection).
How much will it cost? How long will it take? Will I make it out alive? This site, written from the personal
perspective of a car owner, will help ease your mind. And for the mechanically inclined, it even gives tips on a
do-it-yourself inspection that could cost you less than 10,000 yen.
Happatai’s “Yatta!” Video — www.slackstreet.com/content/20011029.htm
If you’re a fan of singing, dancing, mostly-naked Japanese men (who isn’t?) then you’ll love the video for
“Yatta!” by the made-for-TV comedy-slash-singing group Happatai. This one has been making the circuit of
Weblogs and e-mail forwards, and it earned Happatai enough overseas notoriety that American comedian
Jimmy Kimmel invited the group to appear on his talk show. The site above features English lyrics; if you can
read Japanese and want the real story behind Happatai, check out www.ponycanyon.co.jp/video/
happa_index.html.
The Kanji SITE — www.kanjisite.com
There are a lot of kanji study sites out there, but this one stands out for its great interactive format and ease
of use for beginners.The Kanji SITE is aimed primarily at people who are studying for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, so the kanji are organized according to the syllabi for Levels 4, 3 and 2 of that test.
Study compounds or individual kanji — no need for flashcards with this site around!
The Internet TESL Journal — iteslj.org
This one is a perenially helpful resource for TESL/TEFL teachers, and as such many ALTs may have discovered it by now. But just in case, we wanted to mention it here. Each month, a new online edition provides
teaching techniques, lesson plans and theory-based articles. With content designed to be of “immediate
practical use,” you’re sure to find something you can use on this site even though it isn’t specific to Japan.
Search the archives for eight years’ worth of great ESL/EFL ideas!
13
14
AJET Across Japan
the palpable artifacts of memory
I‘ve never met him face to face. Yet, I want to tell you about him, what
little I do know. You see, no one has ever introduced me to him. He
died before I was even born. I’ve only met him quite by accident; yet
perhaps I alone know more of him than anyone else living right now.
But I don’t even know his name.
His father, who was a carpenter, built the house where he grew up,
in a little village outside of Asahi-cho. From the windows of this
house, he could see terraced rice fields lying at the base of a single
low mountain. Perhaps he worked in one of these fields when he
was a young man, or watched his neighbors as they did so. Sometime in his youth, he joined the navy. Healthy, strong, young, he
seemed proud to be able to serve his country.
There are albums of fading sepia photos, taken during his training,
which shows him smiling with friends, training with weapons,
relaxing under cherry trees. There are cut-outs of his favorite
actresses, and perhaps girls he had crushes on. I’ve seen the
grammar school notebooks in which he and his sister drew pictures
and colored, brilliant with crayon even after so many years. I’ve seen
the notebooks he wrote in, his ID card, and a small pin in a purple
velvet case. I’ve seen his formal photograph, fallen from the wall,
with the words, in Japanese, “Killed in battle.”
He couldn’t have been much older than I am now. Under other
circumstances, I might have smiled at him as I passed him on the
street. I try to imagine if my grandfather, also a sailor in the very
same war, had been the one killed instead of this Japanese man.
My mother, and therefore I, would never have been born. And this
nameless Japanese man, so brave, so handsome in his photographs, would have been the one to live, marry, and have a family –
and a granddaughter, just my age, who would be living today.
Jessica Drexler
Instead, I, an American, from the country against which he fought
and at whose hands he died some 50 odd years ago, am the one
who finds him again, who fingers the mementos of his life, lying
forgotten and discarded in the crumbling old farmhouse in which his
young life was lived.
We met because a Japanese friend of mine knew an elderly woman
who had told him about some property she was trying to sell in a
neighboring town. There was a deserted house on the property that
September/October 2003
she was going to have torn down. My friend had
asked her if he could go through it and see what was
left inside, and she gave him permission to do
anything he wanted with the house until it was torn
down. My friend happened to know that I get excited
about that kind of thing — rummaging through
wreckage as it were — and so one
early Saturday morning we went to the
house to see what we could find.
The two-story house tilted to one side,
its windows and doorways gaping
wide, and one entire side of the
house had already fallen in. The
tatami floors were sunken in places,
and light peeped through a few
holes in the tiled roof and the first
floor’s ceiling. The staircase had
rotted away, but we borrowed a
ladder and climbed up to the
second floor.
Bundles of twigs for
starting fires were
still stacked in
one corner, along
with three crates
which contained
multiple settings of
a simple black
laquerware set,
perhaps used at a
large gathering of
some kind, a marriage, or a funeral. In
the next room were a
few empty chests and
two cabinets with
drawers. These were tucked into a corner away from
the hole in the ceiling and the one in the floor below
it, and a few ratty and tattered kimono and a couple
of bug-eaten scrolls were all that we found within.
Downstairs, one room had a pile of old futon, rotting,
which had fallen through the floor. Another room was
open on one side to the elements, yet a small chest
of drawers held some albums and assorted yellowed
papers. In the opposite corner was a huge black
laquered cabinet which contained the family’s
Buddhist altar.
After we pried the rusty and creaking hinges open,
the inside glimmered in the dim house with elaborate
gilded gold carvings, candlesticks, an incense burner
and other Buddhist paraphernalia. Candles and
matches waited inside for the prayers for the dead
who had been forgotten. How many years had it been
sealed? It was like opening a glimmering sarcopha-
gus. The faint aroma of incense was still noticeable. When we touched the gilded carvings they
broke off in our hands, the untreated wood to
which they had been attached having long ago
been consumed by insects.
In the main room was a large open-pit
fireplace. Shelves still
contained
cracked
tea
cups,
bowls
and tiny
sake
cups.
Piles of
trash
cluttered
the
corners:
empty
glass
bottles, old
clothes,
newspapers,
rusty pans
and broken
gardening
and woodworking
equipment.
After the son’s
death and the
father’s eventual
passing, the
house sat
empty, seemingly just as it had been left. A faded calendar still
hung on the wall, a half used soy sauce container
left on the counter; the left-over wreckage of lives
once lived and lost.
We sifted through the fading memorabilia, piecing
together forgotten lives and wondering about
those we never knew, yet brushing against the
remains of what once tied them so closely to this
world: mementos, the palpable artifacts of
memory.
Jessica Drexler is the editor of JETFuel,
the magazine of Fukui AJET.
15
16
AJET Across Japan
books
Hokkaido Highway Blues
Hitchhiking Japan
Will Ferguson
Canongate 2003, 344 pages
A by-product of Japan’s English-teaching phenomenon
and a widely-acclaimed “classic” of the travel-writing
genre, Canadian Will Ferguson’s Hokkaido Highway
Blues is an account of the author’s hitch-hiking odyssey along the length of Japan, following the cherry
blossom front as it swept up from the south.
In general I am irritated by blurbs on book covers that
proclaim “Hunter Thompson meets Jamie Oliver spliced
with Jane Austen,” as though readers are unable to
appreciate a book on its own terms. However, in this
case two comparisons are apt: if you are a fan of Bill
Bryson’s travelogues, you will appreciate Ferguson’s
somewhat peevish attitude to Japan and the tone of
aggrieved mockery that pervades Hokkaido Highway
Blues. The other travel writer who came to mind while
reading this was Paul Theroux, whose wan pursuit of
the Russian train hostesses in The Great Railway Bazaar finds an echo in Ferguson’s equally unsuccessful amorous exploits.
In one of many monologues on the state of the realm,
Ferguson describes the foreign resident’s attitude to
Japan as “a pendulum of emotion, alternating between
attraction and repulsion, affection and anger – back
and forth.” Ferguson’s book inspired a similar reaction in me – I was alternately amused by the accuracy
of some of his descriptions and annoyed by his attitude to the country— setting his expectations low and
celebrating with a tirade when those low expectations
were met or exceeded.
I found myself analysing Hokkaido Highway Blues with
the supercritical eye of the one-time Japanophile, the
attitude referred to by English author David Mitchell
as “you’re standing in my Japan.” In one instance,
Ferguson sourly remarks as he hitches out of Niigata
city, “I had a sore butt as well, and so I should; I had
been royally screwed by Niigata.” There are many more
examples of the sometimes patronising approach
Ferguson takes to his subjects: the inhabitants of the
cities he passes through. We’ve all experienced Japanese street parties, and shared a moment of drunken
BY MATTHEW PEDDIE
bonhomie as in this festival in Uwajima: “A man yelled
‘Hey, foreigner!’ and came over to present me with a
can of beer. ‘For you, Mr. Foreigner. Japanese beer.
Number one! Japan is an international country!’ and he
returned amid hoots and laughter to his circle of friends.”
Maybe if you don’t drink beer, you would have done as
the author did next: “I dropped the can, unopened, into
the first garbage bin I came upon.” However, Will
Ferguson is not averse to beer, and dedicates a few
chapters throughout this book to the pursuit of alcohol, which makes his smug dismissal of this act of
cameraderie somewhat galling.
Many of the familiar things Will Ferguson describes in
Hokkaido Highway Blues will strike a chord with ALTs:
the inside yet perpetually outside experience of the
foreigner in Japan; parties and their aftermaths; the
recreational pursuit of pretty girls (or pretty boys); the
cosmetic use of the English language with unintentionally hilarious results; unasked for acts of generosity; and most of all the ambivalent nationalism that runs
in the blood of almost every Japanese. It is these descriptions that make Hokkaido Highway Blues worth
reading.
Ultimately, however, I found myself unsympathetic to
the author as he bludgeons his way through the “true
heart of Japan,” cadging rides and mocking the attitudes of those who help him, penning the occasional
mawkish haiku or zen-hued “insight.” Ferguson wants
to experience Japan on a deeper level than that of the
mere traveler – he wants to be accepted by his hosts,
but at the same time he reserves the right to laugh at
their follies.
But to be fair, the “blues” in the title indicates the tenor
the author takes in this book. Reading it may help alleviate some of the inevitable stress that arises when
dealing with the less pleasant bureaucratic aspects of
your life in Japan.
Read any good Japanrelated books lately?
Tell your fellow JETs about it!
Submit reviews to
[email protected]
September/October 2003
Samurai William
The adventurer who unlocked Japan
Giles Milton
Sceptre 2003, 399 pages
If Hokkaido Highway Blues’ protagonist comes across
as ultimately baffled by his six years in Japan, the
hero of Giles Milton’s Samurai William is the exact
opposite. One of the surprising aspects of Japanese
history Samurai William illustrates is the extent to
which the West (principally England, Portugal and
Holland in this case) was aware of Japan, and the
amount of contact those countries had with Japan as
early as the middle of the sixteenth century.
Giles Milton’s genius is in bringing to life a character
several centuries old and making his adventures far
from home seem vivid enough to be happening now.
He is assisted a great deal by the facts, which on their
own make for a breathtaking tale of adventure and resourcefulness as William Adams, age 32 in the year
1598, embarks on a voyage “that held the prospect of
plunder and booty.” Milton spices up the tale with wellinformed conjecture (“[William Adams] must have been
a bear of a man – tough as salt pork and bred to survive hardship”) and suitably swashbuckling use of language.
Adams, although an Englishman, was sailing with a
Dutch-organised merchant expedition that was attempting to establish lucrative trading links with the
relatively untapped wealth of the Far East. Untapped
as the East was, it was also relatively uncharted, so it
was a minor miracle in itself that after an heroic seajourney of two years, when the original crew had been
whittled down to a starving half, Adams and his men
arrived in Japan in 1600. They weren’t the first Westerners to set foot in Japan, as for half a century Portuguese Jesuit Missionaries had been established and
attempting to subvert the native beliefs of the locals.
You might have thought the odd corn-fed Jehova’s
Witness or pair of Mormons you sometimes see
pedalling earnestly along the footpath in your average
Japanese metropolis was an incongruous sight, but
as this book shows, missionaries have a long history
in Japan.
The precedent for foreigners behaving as they do in
Japan (and not always to the credit of their home countries) seems to have been set early. Another explorer
reportedly commented upon making a visit to Japan
that it offered “the means of gratifying the passion for
sexual indulgence, just as it abounds in every other
vice” and Milton backs this theory up, claiming that a
17
subsequent English crew sent to establish a trading
post in Japan “were delighted to enter into liaisons
with the local wenches.”
Contemporary Western inhabitants of Japan may be
amused, as I was, to read that some aspects of the
foreigner’s life in Japan today are the same as they
were 400 years ago. Consider this excerpt on Richard
Cocks, the English captain of the trading outpost:
“Cocks, whose success with English women had been
woeful, took a shine to a girl called Matinga, who became his mistress.” ALTs will also be interested to
note that in the early 1600s in Japan, “Drunkenness
… was a way of life.” Milton goes on to describe a
familiar aspect of Japanese society, and the predictable foreign reaction to it: “Many Japanese saw nothing wrong in drinking themselves into oblivion and would
continue their revelries until no one was left standing.
It was one of the few Japanese customs that was eagerly adopted by the English, and the only one at which
they truly excelled.”
Amongst all of this bad behaviour is the story of how
William Adams adapted to the customs of his adoptive country: becoming fluent in the language, gaining
the trust and eventually the respect of one of the local
lords, and rising to a position of considerable power in
his court. Just how attuned “Samurai” Williams became to the ways of Japan, and how correspondingly
out of touch he was with the culture he left behind can
be seen when he was called to mediate between
Cocks’ newly landed band of English and the Japanese. Milton reports that Adams was appalled by the
direct approach of the English in demanding to speak
with the shogun himself, but in typical Japanese fashion, when the English became too rude Adams discreetly absented himself rather than directly refusing
to do the English bidding.
In this day of fairly instantaneous travel between continents on journeys spanning vast oceans, it’s hard
not to become blasé about travel itself. We consider it
the greatest discomfort to spend fourteen or so hours
in an aircraft, captive to bland movies and even blander
food. Milton’s book recreates the actual terror, real discomfort and undreamed of wonders that attended on
the people voyaging those same vast distances 400
years ago. Samurai William is a fascinating testament
to the resourcefulness of one of those adventurers,
and an interesting insight into the meeting of cultures
that began in Japan so long ago and is still in process
today.
Matthew Peddie is a former ALT who lived
and worked in Niigata Prefecture for two
years.
18
AJET Across Japan
Updated 2003-04 AJET National Council
Chair:
News & Updates
Amanda Cornaglia, [email protected]
Vice-Chair:
Derrick Simpson-Anderson
[email protected]
Treasurer:
Jason Wians, [email protected]
Block 1:
Keith Bendall, [email protected]
Block 2:
Danola Dorasamy, [email protected]
Block 3:
Jaysie Dambach, [email protected]
Block 4:
Jamie Shah, [email protected]
Block 5:
Debbie Ostapa, [email protected]
Block 6:
Rhiannon Jennings, [email protected]
Block 7:
Brooke Eplee, [email protected]
Block 8:
Dave Cowland-Cooper, [email protected]
Block 9:
Steve Woerner, [email protected]
Block 10:
Lindsay Marsh, [email protected]
Block 11:
Emily Plum, [email protected]
CIR/SEA Rep:
Vivian Beebe, [email protected]
Database Admin.:
Ryan McDonald, [email protected]
Interpreter:
Since our last issue staff changes have been
made in National AJET; please refer to the
updated contacts (left). No matter your problem, we are happy to help in any way we can.
Two New Books About JET
Amanda Poynter, a Fukushima ALT, is compiling
a new book to assist prospective JETs in their
decision to join the JET Programme. She is
accepting essays (approx. 5,000 words) that are a
personal account of your JET Programme experience. “We want to cover as many different scenarios as possible — the good, the bad and the
ugly,” Poynter said. “This book will be for all those
prospective JETs whose questions are always answered with that annoying mantra ‘Every situation
is different.’”
Poynter’s aim is represent JETs from all countries,
walks of life, ages and situations — “So if you have
anything to say, be it a broad topic or an isolated
event, then please put pen to paper!” Entries should
be e-mailed to [email protected] by Dec.
12, 2003. Poynter reserves the right to edit entries
and entries will not be returned. Include full contact details including name, location, nationality,
age and number of years on the Programme.
Adam Chapin, [email protected]
Publications Liaison:
Rhiannon Jennings
[email protected]
Advertising Editor:
Webmaster:
Changes to NAJET staff
Yves Laforge, [email protected]
Ian Smith-Dahl, [email protected]
Systems Admin.: Jason Lee, [email protected]
SIG/NG Liaison:
Jaysie Dambach, [email protected]
Corporate Liaison:
Brooke Eplee, [email protected]
Marketing/Sales Liaison:
Another new book about the JET Programme, written and edited by former JETs and JTEs, is “Getting Both Feet Wet: Experiences inside The
JET Program.” With seven essays by former JETs,
seven essays by Japanese who have worked with
JETs and a message from Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi, the book presents a well-rounded view of
the Programme. It claims to “help relieve pressure
on the JET who feels imprisoned in a small town
and in a hostile atmosphere” and also to be “great
for deflating those who think they discovered and
are about to remake Japan.” To order or for more
information, see imcbook.net.
Lindsay Marsh
[email protected]
JETs of African Descent
Guidebook/Report Liaison:
Dave Cowland-Cooper
[email protected]
A new group has formed to provide support for
JETs of African descent. For more information,
see groups.yahoo.com/group/JETS_AD.
September/October 2003
The 5th International Translation Competition
2003-2004, Shizuoka, Japan
If you can read Japanese and have a strong desire to promote greater understanding of Japanese literature and
culture around the world, this is an opportunity to fulfill that desire by exercising your writing skills.
You could also win as much as a million yen and a year’s scholarship to study in Japan.
Deadline: December 10, 2004
To obtain an application form, see www1.sphere.ne.jp/shizuoka
19
parting shot
The colorful produce of Hokkaido’s waters is offered
for sale on the streets of Otaru-shi. By A. Atkinson.
If you’d like your photo to appear here, please submit it in JPEG or GIF format to [email protected].