by Eric Skier

Opinions Sep. 11, 2011 - 05:48AM JST ( 32 )

TOKYO —

Before I started practicing kendo, I was living in Japan, but ironically enough had little real interaction with the people. Whether it was work, spending time with friends or colleagues from various English-speaking countries, or going out and doing something on a day off, I had little real meaningful contact with the people and culture. And that was to continue for the first five or six years of my life here.

An immediate by-product of this cultural disconnect was that my language skills were OK, but not great. And more importantly, my ability to interact in a professional manner in Japan, in hindsight, was severely limited. Of course, I also had limited knowledge and sources of information about my adopted homeland, i.e., this was before the age of the Internet. There were the English newspapers and a few magazines (all in English), but I now realize that whether intentional or not, many media sources (regardless of language or setting) rely on stereotypes to get their message across.

As I have grown as an individual and traveled the world, I have come to sincerely hate that word – stereotype. And the reason why is quite simple: what do you do when someone you meet doesn’t fit a specific one?

I will use myself as an example. My great-grandparents on both sides of my family emigrated to the U.S. from Poland and the Ukraine, respectively, in the 1930s, and I am of Jewish descent. Sounds pretty boring until you understand that even though my family celebrated Jewish holidays, I was in fact raised Catholic. On top of that, my father was in the military, so we moved every three years. By the time I had entered high school, I had attended five different schools and learned, like many military brats will tell you, how to make friends quickly. So even though I am American, while I was growing up, I really didn’t consider myself from a particular hometown, religion, or cultural background. I was me – the new kid in class who always had to correct every teacher’s pronunciation of my family name (although it is spelled “skier” it is pronounced “skyer”).

Now what does this have to do with Japan? Well, when I started kendo, I obviously had more and more contact with the people, language and culture of Japan. I started to be asked questions and asking questions of others. I soon learned, as my friends from my dojo learned from me, that we are not all the same. And while the word gaijin is a term to describe anyone different from the Japanese, my sensei soon saw that I was more earnest about my practice/studies than many others. As such, no one in kendo circles has used that term in relation to me in a long, long time. For them, I am just “Eric” and I really like that.

On the other hand, I have learned that Japanese is a nationality and that’s about it. The men and women I practice with come from various walks of life with various religious, political, and everyday beliefs. Personally, I like to think of the people I practice with as the “weekend warriors.” While many are working full-time in various professions: dentist, lawyer, pharmacist, small business owner, banker, professor, systems engineer, drug researcher, rocket scientist, you name it, they all have one thing in common: they all practice kendo. In fact, unlike people who practice MMA, I doubt you could tell by looking at many of these people that they could seriously defend themselves if need be. One of my best friends is a grandmother of four (nearing 70), practices kendo four times a week, loves her first beer after practice followed by cold sake throughout the rest of a drinking session, and gives me a run for my money in the dojo.

Now don’t get me wrong, I still get the occasional newbie to our dojo who has to compliment me on how I can use chopsticks, or is shocked at the dirty joke I just said in perfect Japanese, but such an individual is cured of that usually after a few drinks. I am soon just “Eric” and that is just fine by me.

Returning to my previous comment about “my ability to interact in a professional manner” – through kendo I have learned to speak Japanese (when need be) in a more polite and appropriate manner, how to use the all-important “aisatsu,” how to bow correctly, and most importantly how to approach the people in Japan as individuals and to avoid stereotypes about them. They are not all the same and the sooner you realize this fact, the sooner you may be on your way to making more friends and a deeper connection to Japan. Want proof? When I married my better-half 15 years ago (almost to the day), she sent out and received a stack of over 100 “nengajo” (New Year greeting cards) and I had maybe one or two – from her parents and possibly another friend. I now send out over 300 a year and that is double of what my wife sends.

For those readers not familiar with nengajo, they are sent to people who mean something to someone and for people such as my wife; there is no worse insult than not posting a card to someone who has sent you one. She, as I am sure many in Japan are, is very careful when it comes to nengajo! So be it kendo, family, work, and so on, I like to think that the growing number of cards I send out and receive is a testament to my integration into Japanese society.

Want to learn more about Japan? I sincerely think you could do a lot worse than taking up a martial art. In addition to the benefits that I have mentioned in previous posts, it will help you avoid the stereotypes that abound about the many fascinating individuals that make up Japan. As always, thanks for reading. お疲れ様でした.

Author Infomation

Eric Skier

Eric M Skier has been living in Japan for 20 years. For 14 of those, he has been practicing kendo and is currently 5-dan. He is also the coach of a kendo club at a university in western Tokyo, where is an associate professor.