ChanomiTalk

I really enjoyed the Japanese film “The Twilight Samurai”. Not only was the plot interesting, but also I was able to learn about Japanese history and culture, and in so doing, erase a few stereotypes from my head.

I, like most westerners, thought that samurai were analogous to European knights or warriors in that they existed to fight. However, the eponymous twilight samurai, though he is a skilled warrior, leads a life that bears no relation to combat. He farms a meager plot of land and works as a record-keeper for the local ruler. When he is called to fight, he goes only out of fear of what would happen should he refuse an order from his superiors.

Beyond simply a realistic portrayal of the samurai, we are given through this film a picture of what life was like at the end of the Edo period. Though the movie doesn’t present general information in the way that a history text would, I think it conveys more effectively a sense of what happened leading up to the Meiji restoration. Cultural changes are always grounded in the common man, after all.

Today I met up with my friend Rod for breakfast. I made three new acquaintances as well, all of whom were Japanese teachers. However, as I have found to be the case quite often, they didn’t want to speak in Japanese. Rod and I are accustomed to conversing in Japanese, but I felt a little rude doing so even though presumably everyone at the table could understand us. When I invited one of the teachers to join us, she said she didn’t want to embarrass herself in front of the natural-sounding Japanese that Rod and I were speaking. At one point I did speak with one of them. She has a Master’s degree in Japanese, but she was still not very motivated to practice. I wonder what the problem is?

Recently I’ve been making efforts to find work outside of teaching and education. Last week, for example, I went to a networking event in order to find opportunities to use my language skills to translate or interpret. I met someone named Sam who works at a financial planning company. He told me of a potential client of his who spoke only Japanese, and he’s planning on using me as an interpreter during the introductory meeting with this person. Because gaining experience is the most important thing, I offered to do this for free, but if Sam wants to use me on a regular basis, I am considering whether or not I should ask for a fee. He might not be able to pay me that much. The first thing I should do, however, is study the vocabulary I will need, like “liabilities”, “assets” and so on.