Talking about Japan
I have just written a post in the 中級編 entitled ‘What do you want to say?’ - and I have been thinking about how important it is to learn a language with some purpose in mind. That is to say, it is important, even while you are still a beginner, to think deeply about what you want to say to people in a foreign land.
In the case of Japanese students of English, I had a conversation last night which got me thinking about what you could say. Last night I was talking to my father on the phone and we got to talking about the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima (we didn’t talk about Nagasaki), and from there about how Japanese people feel about America. To my surprise, my dad had no idea that Okinawa was only returned to the Japanese in 1973. And I am sure that most English people are not aware of this fact.
Anyone who has a little bit of historical knowledge about Japan will know that the war, the atomic bombs, the surrender and the American occupation deeply traumatized the Japanese psyche. But the fact is that most westerners who have not spent time in Japan do not know about this aspect of Japanese history. So, I would like to suggest that Japanese students of English try talking about their country’s history since the war when they go abroad. You should appeal to the people you meet about Japan’s true identity and the injustices it has experienced, the heavy penalty it paid for its role in the Second World War.
Particularly with regard to the American occupation, I think you will find many people ready to give you a sympathetic ear; certainly it goes against the grain for Japanese to feel sorry for themselves and to appeal for sympathy, but there is nothing wrong with talking about the recent past in order to deepen people’s understanding. As my conversation with my Dad last night made clear, the level of ignorance about Japan in the West is surprisingly high; but people ARE very interested to hear the true story ‘from the horse’s mouth’, so to speak.
[ NB. 'from the horse's mouth'というのは、「直接に」とか「一番確かな節から」とか「本人から」とかという意味です。]
Post a Comment