Japan is an island country, consisting of the four main islands of Honshu, the home of eighty percent of the population, Hokkaido, Shikoku and Kyushu.  Okinawa, another large island in the archipelago, is south of the other islands and officially became a prefecture of Japan in 1879.  Because Japan is detached from the Asian mainland, it has been physically isolated through history yet has nevertheless been strongly influenced by the rest of Asia.  It is often speculated that as a result of this geographical separation, the Japanese have a strong sense of cohesion and nationalism which prompts them to offer their loyalty to the country or their group rather than to the needs of the individual.  In recent years, most influences have come from the West, yet despite outward similarities to Western countries, Japan is still basically very Japanese.

In addition to physical isolation, the move by the Tokugawa Shogun in 1639 to cut off Japan from the rest of the world resulted in the intended effect - it maintained a stable society which remained largely oblivious to heated transitions occurring in other parts of the world.  Only when Commodore Matthew Perry sailed to Japan in 1853 and coerced the Shogunate to implement the creation of an American consulate did Japan agree to open the country to international trade and foreign influences.

Other countries eventually secured footholds in Japan from that time and since the conclusion of the Second World War, Japan has undergone prodigious economic, social and societal transition.  A rather large percentage of Japanese students, as compared with their counterparts in the U.S. and Europe, go on to institutions of higher learning.  Japanese are the world’s most frequent travelers; they are on a par with Scandinavians as the world’s longest living people; they have the most efficient and rapid train system, the largest steel production corporation and their electronics and automobile sectors remain a dominant force on the international commercial scene.

Japan, however, holds on to its unique cultural heritage perhaps more than most other countries.  People still relish even the small area a modest garden allows and, despite a critical scarcity of space, use the garden for viewing rather than for more practical purposes such as raising vegetables or for family recreation.  The majority of young Japanese women, no matter how modern, study flower arrangement or tea ceremony; which are traditionally related to the etiquette required for women being groomed for marriage.  Even now many marriages continue to be forged by so-called “omiai,” or arranged marriage procedures.

Japan is a land of opposites.  The frenetic daily world is delicately balanced against the timeless cadence of the tea ceremony.  Cartels are an established form of business enterprise yet companies race against each other to develop new and innovative products to market.  A stone’s throw away from streets crowded with automobiles and pedestrians one can be virtually isolated in the contemplation of a Zen garden.

Japan cannot be experienced from a distance or from beyond its waters;  as Japan ineluctably assumes its role as a key player in the global arena, it must be understood, preferably by a hands-on experience, by anyone who has any inkling to work from a global perspective.

MORE ABOUT KYOTO -

As previously mentioned, Kyoto is a beautiful city, surrounded by mountains.  Its suburbs of Arashiyama in the West and Ohara in the East are spectacular in terms of seasonal beauty and cultural points of interest. In autumn the flaming maple leaves charge the city, while in spring the cherry blossoms envelop the town in their fleeting splendor.  Holy Mount Hiei looms in the East as the ageless Kamo River flows beneath a network of seasoned bridges through the center of Kyoto.  On August 16 each year, the Chinese characters inscribed into the hills are set ablaze to guide the souls of the departed back to the other shore after a temporary visit for the Buddhist Obon holiday.

Kyoto also has an active night life.  In the downtown area, drinking establishments abound which cater to everyone from the Japanese businessman seeking to be entertained in the traditional style by geisha or maiko to American style bars and pubs in which expatriates, foreign students and their Japanese counterparts gather to dance, drink and party. 

From every perspective,  Kyoto is one of Japan’s prime cultural treasures.  A visiting student must be careful not to be drawn to too many of Kyoto’s offerings lest he or she finds that one semester or even a year is hardly enough to taste its seemingly endless possibilities. Since most of the arts available for study in Kyoto take time and patience to understand, let alone to master, it is recommended that the student attempt to choose carefully and focus clearly on whatever cultural or academic offering he or she would like to pursue.

Global College
1-287 Akasaka-cho
Kinugasa, Kita-ku
Kyoto 603 Japan
Phone: 011-81-75-462-7271
Fax: 011-81-75-462 7242
E-Mail: fwcjapan@mbox.kyoto-inet.or.jp
Web: http://friends-world.org/eastasiacenter

Kyoto, Japan is 13 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.
9:00am in New York City = 10:00pm in Kyoto, Japan
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