The Japanese Way – Part 3

A nation or country is strong, powerful and great if there is justice, honesty, dedication and passion for perfection. These are the qualities or characteristics I found in Japanese people. I used to look at their way of writing. The Japanese use three types of characters: Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji. Hiragana and Kanji are used for Japanese words but for foreign words they use Katakana. The writing styles are very difficult but the Japanese children are given training to use the right stroke. There is no chance for any mistake while placing the strokes. Probably that is a reasons that one finds cases of writer’s cramp. This factor needs some very scientific field studies. But it proves one thing and it is that the Japanese want to be as accurate as possible in whatever they want to do. They would not like to make mistakes. I remember the days when most of the machinery in earlier days used to come from the West. When we were kids, we used to ride bicycles made in UK or USA. Japanese machinery or electronic equipment was considered cheap and substandard. In those days, the Japanese machinery and equipment were smuggled via Pakistan’s Tribal Agencies. One of our professors in college bought a Japanese bicycle. Everybody discouraged him why he went for a Japanese make and not for a UK or US made bike. But then we all saw how Japanese machines became so popular that they captured the world market. Nowadays, ‘made in Japan’ means the item is perfect and accurate. The Japanese honesty, dedication and passion for perfection won the hearts of people of the world.

The Japanese love art and they appreciate Asian and Eastern culture and traditions. Since I was a foreign research student on a state scholarship funding, I was provided accommodation in a state-funded residential facility. There were students who had come from different countries of the world. It was a very beautiful multinational congregation of scholars from all over the world. There was an annual festival organized by residential facility’s administration to promote the attitude of affinity between foreign students and Japanese people. The resident students were asked to arrange a documentary movie representing their culture and traditions. I also brought a documentary film from Pakistan Consulate. To me it was not a very impressive film but that was the only documentary that I could get my hands on. While the Japanese people, who had come to attend the show, appreciated all the movies, the entire crowd in the theater stood up and gave a standing ovation to the movie representing Pakistan’s culture and traditions. Their attitude clearly indicated how passionately they enjoyed watching the Asian culture.

I visited the south of Japan which is full of beauties of nature. It was a great joy and fun staying in youth hostels. At youth hostels one gets the opportunity to meet visitors from various locations in Japan and the world. Mostly it was the Japanese people who I met from different areas of Japan. They like touring their own country. There was a tradition or practice I noticed in youth hostels in Japan which I never experienced in youth hostels in Canada. Every evening the residents/tourists got together in the main hall or the cafeteria and celebrated the evening sharing the thoughts and experiences of each other. It was amazing to notice their interest in Pakistan, its educational system, its culture and traditions. It had become my routine to give a lecture about Pakistan at every youth hostel I stayed during my visit to the south of Japan. I noticed that they were keenly interested in Pakistan because they wanted to learn and get awareness about a culture they were not familiar with before. It also indicated their humility. It indicated their keen interest in knowledge and education. The Japanese are a highly educated nation. I was surprised when I learnt that the educational statistics of Japan reveal hundred percent literacy rate. This 100% literacy rate was there even during world war-II. The Americans thought that the harsh and tough War attitude of Japanese showed a lack of humanitarian education. When a survey was conducted, the Americans were surprised to find that Japan already had 100 % literacy.

Fish is the most favorite and popular dish in Japan. The traditional Japanese way is to eat fish raw. Before I came to Japan I used to wonder how someone could eat raw fish but when I visited Japan I was amazed the way the Japanese prepared the raw fish. It’s an art in itself preparing the raw fish meal. The Japanese are past-masters in spreading the dining table and decorating it with verities of raw fish dishes. The presentation is colorfully amazing. In the recent past the Japanese restaurants have gained much popularity throughout the world. It has become a real treat to visit a Japanese restaurant. It would be injustice if I don’t mention the importance ‘fugu’ fish. Fugu is the Japanese name of a kind of puffer-fish and the dish prepared from it. Fugu is a very expensive and delicious fish but at the same time it is a fatal risk to health because it is loaded with a lethal poison ‘tetrodotoxin’ which is considered 1200 times more powerful than cyanide. Only the licensed cooks are allowed to prepare fugu. A cook has to undergo a three-year training course in the techniques of cutting and preparing fugu dish. It’s a very tough training process cleared by very few people. The liver, ovaries and skin of fugu are loaded with the poison and it’s the liver that is the most delicious part. There is a total ban on offering the liver to customers. But accidents do happen especially when a customer insists on eating the liver. A great Japanese Kabuki artist, Bando Mitsugoro VIII, known as the living legend of Japan, lost his life because he ate fugu liver. I was in Japan in those days and I could see how sad the Japanese people were that day.

The Japanese love gardens and are masters in growing and organizing awesome beautiful gardens. They have the skill and art to miniaturize huge, tall, thick trees. Chrysanthemum is their national and cultural flower and a visitor can find the loveliest varieties. I was surprised by the way the Japanese women carry the flower bouquets. They will always hold the bouquet upside down whereas we will always hold it with the flowers side up. I was told that by holding the bouquet in the Japanese way keeps the flowers fresh for a longer time. It’s a great experience to visit Japanese gardens.

Japan is full of beautiful and colorful Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. Buddhism and Shintoism are the two major religions. It is amazing to see how Shinto and Buddhist shrines and temples are built side by side. In some places one finds Shinto shrines inside a Buddhist temple and also vice-versa. At the entrance of temples and shrines, a visitor drops a coin in a box placed at the shrine, wash hands with the water and ladle provided, rings the gong to alert the attention of the heavenly powers, claps twice and then says a prayer. The very structure of the shrines, with exquisite red and orange colors, the wooden ladle, the pond with the water flowing out of the mouth of the dragon, the gong, the trees and shrubs and the monks and temple caretakers in their traditional garbs all together take one to a mystical realm indescribable in words.

The Japanese give great respect and regard to their guests. I was a guest in Japan and so were all the foreign students. All the students were their respected guests and were given great honor. Although Japan is a rich country it has a humble attitude towards all the people of the world. There is no arrogance, there is no pride. Japan is a dreamland, a beautiful country and a marvelous nation of amazing people.

Mumtaz Shah