Manwa

 I want to say that I have been hard at work studying Japanese with such a passion that I could regal everyone with my new prowess, but I promised myself to tell the truth. 

I spent the last two days reading a Korean manwa called Return of the Shattered Constellation. It was fun to read if not very original. The story followed the same pattern as most of the other novels I’ve been reading recently; a man gets summoned to another world and is given a butload of powers and now has to go out and change his fate. 

Other than that it’s been the same. Manwa is fun and in some ways the stories are more interesting than Japanese manga; they are also new to me so I am enjoying that aspect. 

I promise myself to move back to other things soon. Maybe.

Making eggs

 Today I made scrambled eggs. I don’t think it’s my first time making them but I cannot for the life of me remember ever doing it before. When I asked my wife how to make them all I got was ‘Here we go again’ and an exasperated sigh. I am a bad cook. I have no confidence in what I’m doing and I need to follow a recipe to make the thing in question. 

This brings me to the exciting topic of today. I want to say I’ve spent the last few days too busy studying to blog but in truth I’ve just been lazy and working or doing housework. This morning my wife got up at 8 (I get up at 6) and took over an hour just to change her clothes. While she was doing that the TV showed a Day trader who was pulling in a ton of money everyday while sitting in front of a computer for 10 hours a day. She then had to admonish me and complain about my lack of skills and inability to actually do anything beyond teaching English when she spends most of the day sitting in front of the TV and complaining who tired she is. 

Now I don’t care what she says but it’s a common Japanese thing I’ve noticed. The housewife or homemaker wants the husband to work as hard as possible while they do the odd part time job to get some extra money and then complain that they don’t do enough. So my question is this; why don’t you try doing that? I’m not interested in day trading. I’ve tried computer programming but it is a little beyond me. I don’t mind cooking but I need a guide to follow. These are the things I need to be successful. Why don’t you do theses things? I already work about 7 hours a day, including travel, with no days off. I’m my free time I do try and improve myself but often just find myself too busy to care. 

So I guess I do care. Japan is difficult to get ahead as a foreigner. Having computer programming skills would be a big help. I’ve taken a few steps towards it but I can’t wrap my head around it. I guess that may be the next thing I should add to my skill bank to find the best possible job.

Sorry for the rant. 

Study

 Today I studied some vocabulary, watched an episode of an anime and read a few pages in a light novel. Just writing that sentence I can feel the boredom creeping down on me. That was so unexciting. 

I’m also going to read a biography of Katsu Kaishu. He is a man who played a huge role in the Meiji restoration but he’s also a man who I’ve never heard of before. He was a poor man who through perseverance and stubbornness crawled his way up to become the head of the earliest Tokugawa navy and influenced many famous men like Sakamoto Ryoma. 

When we learned about the Meiji restoration in school I think it was one sentence. In 1868 Satsuma and Choshu started a rebellion and overthrew the Bakufu starting the first representative government. It’s nice to know that there is actually a lot more to it than just that.

Day 1 What happened before and where am I going.

 I`ve been in this country for over 17 years and in that time I`ve had many experiences and setbacks. The biggest one being that I don`t speak Japanese. I have studied it on and off for over 20 years but after achieving a comfortable level I have let it go. I am sitting here at my computer wondering what happened to the dreams I had when I first came here? Where has everything gone?

When I first arrived in 2001 I wanted to explore everything. I arrived in July that year and I still remember taking the train from Kansai airport. Some high school girls took my picture when they found out I was new to this country. It wasn`t the last time someone took my picture but it has stuck with me for many years. When I arrived at my place I crashed then met my roommates later that evening. One was from Australia, the other from New Zealand. That first month I went to Nara city for Obon, saw the Daibutsu, watched the fireworks in Tondayabashi. It was a wonderful time.

After six months here I had visited many places in Kansai, gone to Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo and even Tokyo. I had started studying Japanese and even made my first big mistake. While trying to flirt with a girl I used the word Kawaiiso which has the stem kawaii - which means cute- and the suffix `so` - which means `looks like`. I said to her `anata wa kawaiiso` which I thought meant `You look cute.` However which really means `I pity you.` I didn`t know the `kawaiiso` has a special meaning of pitiful. 

I still grew and changed as I became more outgoing, made friends and had more adventures. Tried the Japanese language test and passed. My second year I moved into my own place and deepened my studies of Japanese. I was going to about 4 different classes a week. I even went to Cambodia by myself. However soon after that I also stopped having adventures and moved into a living in the country phase which is where I`ve been for the last 16 years. I still have the odd adventure but there is no reason to explore that temple. I`ve seen many just like it. I still go out, but usually to the supermarket to get the best deals. I still read manga, but mostly online English translations because they are cheaper. I never really watched TV before but now I know many of the talent`s names.

I will say getting married was in some ways the best and the worst thing to happen to me. The best because it`s given me a beautiful daughter and a wonderful (albeit sometimes angry wife).  It`s also let me experience the small details of this country. However it`s also stopped me from doing anything adventurous because I don`t have the money. I have been working as an English teacher but that is not a huge money making job. I have tried to find something else but I know from working as a teacher that I didn`t actually like teaching in a school so I haven`t tried that hard. I`ve also published a book but I know my mother has read it. I don`t think anyone else has.

So I`m stuck. I have achieved my dreams and have been living the nice life for many years but I have no future. Where do I go from here? 

My first step is to write this journal. I`ve tried writing a blog and posted things but I can never keep it up. I couldn`t think of interesting things to fill up the page. I tried writing book reviews and I may still do that but I don`t read to write a review. I need something to show I am moving forward even if it`s just a few paces at a time. I need something the show I am still trying to improve myself and achieve a better life. Even if it`s not very exciting. 

Here I am. Warts and all. I will try and write about things that come to me, general observations about Japan, my Japanese language journey, tips on teaching English. Basically, an online journal. Hopefully it moves me out of my funk and gets me engaged once more in the world rather than just existing.

Why is it so difficult to speak Japanese?

 I have been studying Japanese for over 24 years but I have plateaued at the intermediate level. In the last ten years after passing the Japanese Language Proficiency test for level N2 I have barely cracked a book. I have done almost nothing to improve my understanding. I bought book after book. Purchased Light Novels and manga. I can now watch TV and understand much of what is happening but I can`t speak it very well. Why?

Several reasons come to mind. One is my job. I teach English and for eight to ten hours every day that`s all I speak. If anything my understanding of English has gone down and I no longer understand as much as I used to, especially when it comes to new words like `woke`. The needs of the students outweigh my ability to improve my vocabulary so I try and use the easiest way to explain things and simplified vocabulary to not cause confusion.

Two, I tend to only read English books or translated English manga. In the past I`d only read Japanese manga but after finding some sites with fan translated stuff I enjoy just delving into the stories and no longer worry about trying to understand everything. That said I still read Japanese books but not as often.

Three, life just gets in the way. There are always so many things vying for your attention and as I get older I find that I no longer have the energy nor the time to spend on Japanese. I used to go to about four lessons a week when I was really active in studying. Now I`m lucky if I get an hour a week to sit and focus on it. In addition the demands of a family outweigh any other commitment. 

Fourth, using Japanese in Japan is not necessary. It makes life easier but even if you can`t speak it there will be enough people in public to help you get through most of the daily interactions that you will need to get through. In addition English is everywhere, even in the most rural areas. 

So why is this important. I don`t want to have my life defined by what I didn`t do. In the future I expect my life to get even harder but if I don`t do something now nothing will change. Studying is fun and I want to improve my understanding of the language. The only way I`m going to get ahead in anything however is to have a better understanding than I do now. I must go forward.

Besides some of the best things in Japan are still locked behind the wall of Japanese.

 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-63830490

The above is a link to a BBC article titles “Japan was the future but it’s stuck in the past.” I posted it to give a comment on it.

     Having lived in Japan for almost 2 decades I have seen a lot of the county’s ups and downs. It hasn`t always been an easy ride. For one thing my salary hasn`t risen in over 15 years but neither has my rent. I am still paying the same price I paid when I first moved to this country and that is so unlike Canada where both would increase year on year. 

    On to the question. Is Japan stuck in the past? I would have to say no and yes. 

    No. Technology has improved year on year in this country and they are on the cusp of developing even further innovations. Advances in food, heating and basic lifestyle technology continues faster than back home. I can go to my local clothing store, buy very warm clothing often called Heat-tech easily and cheaply. My internet speeds rival most of what I hear on the internet and I have an unlimited cap which is very cheap through the local TV company. 

    However all of this is limited to stuff. Politically, culturally, and socially they are still stuck in the past. ‘Nomi communication’ or the art of forming business alliances through beer is largely gone because of Covid 19 but it hasn’t disappeared. In addition as I mentioned my salary hasn’t risen in over 10 years but then neither have the prices. When I first came here one manga was about 420 yen. Today the same manga is about 450 yen. Some have risen, the least popular ones but many still are very cheap. 

     Back home in Canada most families have to be duo-income to afford to survive. Here the dream of the stay at home housewife is still quite strong. There is a patriarchal sense that the husband should make all the money and the wife support him. In fact tax laws usually punish the second income person by forcing people into a higher tax bracket. That is changing but often the wife works a small part time job to get some spending money in the past now to pay for their children’s education. 

     Education is very important in this country but it is only mandatory up until junior high school. After that it is optional. Most families send their kids to some sort of school because if they don’t the social stigma is quite huge. Private schools are out of the range of most low income families but they are the most popular. To get into either public or private schools you have to take a test and upon passing you have to spend your 3 years in an old building with outdated equipment if it’s public, and modern technology if it’s the cream of the private. In addition cram schools to force memorization of facts and numbers are necessary for passing the test not innovation or how well you can argue your position.

     So going back I agree that Japan is stuck in the past and it looks like there is no getting out of it. The current government wants to raise salaries, but so did Abe’s government. It didn’t work then and probably won’t happen now. Cronyism where a government employee retires and moves into a cushy position with the companies he used to oversee is still there and isn’t going away. 

      The future will probably have robots taking care of elderly people in packed retirement homes in the dead and empty communities where nobody else lives. The big cities will become technologically advanced and ultra convenient but the dream of returning to the countryside and spending their retirement in peaceful farming will continue for a while.

     To become competitive in the future Japan will have to build a new way of life. That will be difficult for a country so rooted in the past but it must be done.

      

Manga

 Manga is ubiquitous with the Japanese culture. It is everywhere and covers a huge range of genres. I however usually focus on fantasy.

Yomi no Tsugai, from the creator of Full Metal Alchemist. It mixes monsters and magic with helicopters and guns. The above is her newest work. It`s already on book 2.

The Hero is Dead

More fantasy. This time the hero is killed because he wanted to eat roast pork and fell into a simple trap. Now a daikon farmer must save the world one knee sock at a time.

The Old Man is Reincarnated as the Villainess.

A cute fantasy where a 56 year old man is hit by a car and is reincarnated into a game. He must try to escape but is held back from embracing his role by his very dadness. 

Let`s Buy Land and Cultivate in Another World.

Another transmigration manga. This time the main hero is thrust into a world and instead of given a powerful skill to stop the demon invasion he is given a farming talent. He then marries a mermaid and more strange people invade his world. This one plays out as more of a haram manga but still cute.

These are just some of the manga available. The pictures are dark because I took them myself with no background lighting. Sorry. Of course I left out one last quite popular manga.

Demon Slayer.

It`s already well known and finished. But a young boy must save his sister from the curse of being a demon.

(copied on Jan 6th 2023 from https://www.bookoff.co.jp/)

What ever genre you enjoy reading, be it drama, sci-fi, romance, etc. you`ll find it in Japan. The prices have started to rise so be sure to check out the local used book stores. `Book Off` is one of the biggest but there will be many other ones. Good luck and happy hunting.