Letters to the Editor#2 A Letter from Mr. Mehdi Ali

 

  I am MEHDI ALI (a MEXT scholar) from Pakistan. I want to share the things that inspired me regarding Japan. Japan is very famous all around the world due to its technology and rich culture. We Pakistanis are very fond of Japanese automobiles and electronics appliances. As such things are comparatively more durable, have high quality and are more advanced. 

  In Japan many things are surprising as well as inspiring for me. One of them is the interest of Japanese people in old technologies, in particular the trends of cycling. Having no gender discrimination and irrespective of ages, Japanese people enjoy cycling. And a second example is the installation of phone booths at public places. This shows how they care and love about old inventions. Another surprising thing for me is the no protocol culture. Every official takes care of himself. For instance, at the very first days, I was very surprised to know that my supervisor Isshiki-sensei and his colleague Kimura-Sensei make their own coffee. The next inspiration for me was about Japanese people’s attitude towards religious activities. Usually, Japanese people are not restricted to their religion. On the other hand, they pay huge respect to other religions and beliefs. 

  Moreover, Japanese people have many unique and rich customs. One of them is the way of greeting that we often see bowing. Bowing* is an important tradition in Japan that applies to a wide variety of situations. They vary from slight bows when greeting one another to a rare deep kowtow for a profound apology. Another thing is the usage of the word “irasshaimase” which means welcome. The store or restaurant staff will say this every time a person comes in. The 2nd custom I like most is the celebration of Happy New Year by Japanese people. On New Year’s Eve, just before midnight, there is a Japanese cultural tradition of eating “toshikoshi soba” or soba noodles to greet the New Year. Eating the long soba noodles is said to be a prayer for having a long and fruitful life. The 3rd custom I like is the beautiful Sakura (Cherry Blossom) Viewing. Spring is all about seeing the cherry blossoms in Japan. They bloom from around the last days of March to the first week of April. Japanese as well as foreigners enjoy the beautiful cherry blossoms. One thing I see a lot in early spring are people having picnics under the flowering trees. People enjoy talking, eating, and overall having a good time under the cherry blossoms. 

  From my perspective we foreigners and Japanese both have many things to learn from each other. My message for Japanese students is that every foreigner belongs to a different culture. So, mixing with foreigners is an opportunity to learn about foreign cultures and from their experiences. And for foreign students, we are a bridge between our home countries and Japan. Let us try our best to strengthen this bridge.

 

* See, in this connection, an episode on “bowing” in Syria as told by CIPE’s faculty member in article 3, IE-IE Letters No.1, January 2020. (Editor)

http://www.fedu.uec.ac.jp/ieie/IE-interview-Naito.html