Author: isheikacleare

In the Middlebury program, every weekend is a movie night where we all get together and watch a Japanese movie. One of the movies that we watched is a famous Japanese film called “Spirited Away”. It is an anime film released in 2001. It was written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. He is quite famous in Japan and is known around the world as an outstanding filmmaker and storyteller. Prior to learning Japanese, I did not watch much anime at all. I remember as a young teenager watching “Dragon Ball Z” on the Cartoon Network, but since that time if I watched an animation film at all it was usually Pixar, e.g. Finding Nemo, The Incredibles etc.

However, Japan is famous for “anime” which is a distinct form of animation films. Many of my fellow students are ardent fans of the genre and frequently discuss their favorite films, characters and directors. Their enthusiasm is an honest reflection of the powerful reach of Japanese culture. I was advised by many Japanese friends and even a few Japanese professors that the film “Spirited Away” was among the finest Japanese anime films even though it came out over two decades ago. In fact, it is Japan’s highest grossing box office film and it also won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

I really enjoyed watching this movie which follows the story of a ten-year-old girl who is moving with her family to a new neighborhood, but along the way is transported to a magical place where her parents are turned into pigs by a witch. She then goes to work for this witch in a bathhouse in order to return her parents to normal and to find a way back to the real world.

Along the way, the movie takes many unexpected twists and turns and is full of incredibly intriguing and eclectic characters. There are also many mystical elements in this coming-of-age story as it is infused with and relies heavily on Japanese Shintoism. It highlights the social tensions that exist between Japan’s traditional culture and its westernization and embrace of capitalism and consumption. This central message explains why the main character’s parents were originally transformed into pigs. They engaged in overconsumption of food as soon as they were transported to the mythical world.

Overall, I thought this was a very good film and I highly recommend it to those interested in finding a cinematic gateway into Japanese culture and society.

On Friday, July 8^th, we students awoke to the very shocking news that Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had been shot while campaigning out in public in Japan. We later learned that he died of his injuries. This event was so disturbing and extraordinary that those in charge of Middlebury’s Japanese language program felt the need to send out an email to all students and staff to address it. I really appreciated that they tried to capture and reflect our heavy emotions. Below is part of the content of that email:

“As many of you might already know, Abe Shinzo, the former Japanese prime minister, was fatally shot while delivering a campaign speech and was pronounced dead today at 5:03pm. In Japan, a country with extremely strict gun laws, this is a tragic occurrence, but beyond that, I think we can all commiserate with the feelings of helplessness attached to this form of violence. I am sure some of you are also shocked by this incident…The Japanese school faculty and staff alike send our deepest condolences to the family members of Abe Shinzo and keep them in our prayers.”

Throughout the day, we students discussed the matter amongst themselves. The most common sentiment was sheer surprise. One student said that because guns are so rare in Japan, the news was almost unbelievable. Our collective impression of Japan in terms of violence is that it is a relatively peaceful country where gun deaths are almost unheard of. Statistics reveal that this impression remains valid. Japanese firearm regulations are quite strict such that in all of 2018 only nine people died from firearms in Japan. Moreover, it was later revealed that Abe’s assassin used a homemade gun. So, the laws were able to keep him away from an even deadlier weapon.

While this event was incredibly tragic and sad, I still retain my impression that Japan is a generally safe place to live and that this was a violent and evil act committed by a single individual. I remain enthusiastic about my upcoming visit to Japan in 2023.

When speaking to the Japanese Senseis about their attitude towards the United States, they all generally had a positive attitude. All of the Senseis that I spoke with were quite familiar with the US because they are currently living and working/studying here and have done so before.   One of our Senseis is actually Japanese-American and was raised primarily in the United States. Therefore, in a way, he resides in both “worlds” and is able to see both the good and the bad in each. He did express some disappointment that occasionally when he visits Japan because he looks more “American” than Japanese, native Japanese people that he encounters in public (e.g., cashiers, etc.) are more likely to speak to him in English first even though he is fluent in Japanese. In America, that is less likely to happen.

Another Sensei talked about how she eventually became an American citizen after living and working in the US for so many years. She spoke positively of American society and its ability to more easily permit foreigners to acquire citizenship. Another Sensei talked about her experience of working in America for part of the year and then working in Japan for the rest of the year. She is a graduate student in Japan, but a Japanese teacher in the US. Her chief complaint was actually about taxes. She has to pay taxes in both countries so she views that as a burden and wishes there was a way to harmonize this process in such a way that would allow her to keep more of her paycheck. Another Sensei that I spoke with currently works as a lecturer at a US university and really loves the opportunities to travel to different states and visit different cities. She enjoys the variety of cultures and peoples that exist in America.

On July 7^th (七月七日)　the Tanabata (七夕) Festival is celebrated in Japan. It honors the romantic tale of Orihime and Hikoboshi. They are literally “star-crossed lovers” who are only able to meet each other on this day once a year in the Milky Way.　At the beginning of our first class on July 7th, our Sensei described the holiday to us while speaking in Japanese. According to her, the story is based on a legend that originated in China. In this story, there are two stars that are lovers: the star Vega (織姫 Orihime) and the star Altair (彦星 Hikoboshi). They are separated by the Milky Way and therefore can only see each other on July 7^th of each year. Our Sensei practically swooned at the telling of the story. In her estimation, it is a truly romantic story, because it talks about a patient, enduring kind of love. She then made a joke that she wishes she also had that kind of love and so the story gives her hope.

When I asked about how the couple got themselves into such an unfortunate situation, I learned a lot more about the details behind this romantic legend. Orihime is a princess who spends her time creating beautiful clothing for her father who is the kind of the sky (Tentei). As Orihime works she usually does so along the Milky Way which is referred to as “the Heavenly River”. On the other side of this “river” Hikoboshi works as a cow herder. Tentei knew that his daughter was sad and wanted her to find someone to love and so because he saw that Hikoboshi was such a hard worker he arranged for them to meet each other. They instantly fall in love and get married. Unfortunately, after Hikoboshi and Orihime get together they spend too much time together and end up falling behind in their duties.  This upsets Tentei especially because Orihime has less time to spend making garments for her father. So, to punish them he banishes Hikoboshi all the way to the other end of the galaxy.

However, finally giving into his daughter’s tears and pleas, Tentei permits them to reunite on the 7^th day of the 7^th month, but only if Orihime completes all her tasks. Tanabata itself translates to the 7^th evening. To celebrate this festival, Japanese people inscribe well-wishes on colorful paper strips called “tanzaku”. (短冊たんざく). Additionally, people also wish for clear skies on this day because if it rains the rising “river” may prevent the unification of these lovers.

My language learning journey this summer will take me not to a new country but to a new US state – Vermont. There, I will attend Middlebury College’s 8-week Japanese immersion course. While I will still be in the United States, I still believe that this immersion experience will be different from the usual classroom setting that I have known until now. First of all, Middlebury’s program is more intensive and stricter than regular class lessons. We students must sign a Language Pledge® which requires us to “use the target language as exclusively as possible”. Through the pledge, we commit to speaking, writing, listening, and reading only in Japanese. The speaking part is strictly enforced with minimal exceptions (e.g., health issues, family emergencies etc.). This is supposed to challenge us to communicate in Japanese as often as possible without slipping into English. It is supposed to be truly immersive. This is why I expect to use Japanese daily and frequently while I am at Middlebury.

I expect to use the target language and intercultural competences while talking with my Japanese professors. My intention is to learn as much as I can regarding how to talk about Japanese foreign policy. Students are required to make a final 5-minute presentation to the class at the end of the program. I plan to use that time to discuss my dissertation topic. This will challenge me to translate my topic into Japanese and help me to learn the somewhat abstract concepts related to my field.

I think this experience will help me to grow and change in many ways. I am a native English speaker and am only used to speaking Japanese in the classroom setting, but in this program, I will have to force myself out of my comfort zone and conduct all of my conversations in Japanese. I sometimes find it hard to do things that are unfamiliar to me, so this will be a great opportunity to improve my Japanese-speaking capabilities.