月: 2019年4月

This week we had a very interesting event. Otemae welcomed a group of karate teachers to come and share their karate study with us. The teachers were from England, Ireland, Canada, Norway, Australia, and Indonesia. The main teacher is a karate teacher named Richard Amos, and he is a very famous teacher all over the world.

Richard Amos-Sensei and I have been friends for many years and I was very happy that his group came to Kagawa to visit. I am also very grateful to the Kurata Family, and the staff and teachers of Otemae to welcome the group here. It was a very fun time for the international teachers and they all said that they had a wonderful experience here with you. Thank you very much for being so patient and for participating in the session.

One very interesting thing about this exchange experience is that we all could see that these foreign people love Japan. Richard Amos, and all the teachers from around the world have a very strong feeling of love for Japanese life, Japanese customs, Japanese culture, and of course, Japanese karate. For the rest of their time here in Kagawa, they were very interested to experience Risturin Garden, Yashima, Zentsuji, and Naoshima.

Every year, more and more people come to Japan to experience Japanese culture and to see your country. So many people around the world have a deep respect for Japanese society, Japanese art and music, Japanese history, and of course for Japanese people too. People around the world look at you and say, “You are very lucky to be Japanese”.

Do you feel lucky? Do you feel special? Maybe you do not feel so special or important. But the truth is, you really are very lucky, and you are very important. You are important because of your own personal feelings and your own style, but also you are important because you are the next generation in Japan.

The wonderful parts of your culture that we see in art, history, music, karate, iaido, judo, tea ceremony, flower arrangement, kabuki and Noh, and language are for you. All of those wonderful things are your responsibility to keep strong and beautiful.

Maybe that is a heavy job too. But it is a job that you must think about. Japanese culture is unique and special. There is nothing like Japanese culture in any part of the world. There is only one Japan. So, you have a special job to keep Japanese traditions and Japanese culture strong. Of course you must learn about other cultures and language too, but it is very important for you to always know about your own country, and about the great art and culture that you have.

We saw a group of foreign people who love Japanese karate. They study and train in karate for many, many years. The training is hard, and the karate practice is not easy. But they do karate because it is beautiful, and it helps grow a strong character, and it helps a person become strong and ready to push forward in life.

This feeling of karate, of “budo” is a very important thing for Japan to keep strong and safe. You can do it, and you must do it. Japan is a leader in culture and art, so I hope you will think about that, and think about the parts of traditional Japan that should live forever.

All of it will be yours one day. What would you like to do?

This week, on April 15th we had the Universal Day of Culture. This holiday is celebrated in Canada, Brazil, Russia, Lithuania, Cuba, Italy, and Spain. Japan does not celebrate it yet, but I hope one day it does.

The Universal Day of Culture is a day when we remember that our feeling and identity are connected to our culture. It is from our culture that we understand our language, our music, our art, our buildings, and our human connections to other people.

But, what is culture? What is the meaning of the word culture?

To some people the word culture means, “our country” or “our way only”. Some people make a mistake by saying that culture is the same as saying what country you come from. But that idea is very small, and very limited.

The idea of culture is to find the mind and heart of a group of people in one place. For example, Japan is a country and Japan has a culture. The country is the land, the prefectures, the cities, the rivers, lakes, and mountains. Japan is the government, the economy, and the businesses. But Japanese culture is more. Culture is about how we think. Culture is about our feelings about art. Culture is about making a community and learning and growing.

Recently, some students from Otemae went to Canada to experience Canadian culture. They met homestay families. They went to restaurants and they went shopping. They met people. They made friends. They could try the food, listen to music, see art, and communicate with other people. I hope that they had a good time in my country’s culture. I hope that you got a good feeling and impression about Canada.

Now they are here at Otemae again and ready for this school year. And here at school you will learn a lot about culture. There is culture in your history class. There is culture in your music and art classes. There is culture to learn in your English classes. But there is also culture in clubs and after school activities. We learn about culture in our friendships, in our sports teams, and in talking with our classmates.

Culture is the thing that makes us better together. Culture is the education we need for the human heart.

Some people think that culture is only about the culture that you live in. But this is not true. In Canada we have a culture where people from many places come together and make a new culture. In Japan there is not the same amount of mixing of different people like Canada, but more and more we see diversity in Japanese society. There are double nation kids in many places. There are more people coming from other countries to live and work in Japanese society. Things are changing and our cultures will change and grow too.

But culture is not just about different countries around the world. There is a culture here at Otemae too. There is a culture of working hard, and studying hard, and making new friends, and trying new things. Otemae has a culture of education excellence. Otemae has a culture of supporting each other and making a good community.