Process Description
With the experience of two successful interviews, I felt kind of relaxed and careless, considered the last interview would go smoothly as the first two interviews. So I did not prepare so much except the printed paper with the questions and recording pen. Of course, the most important thing that needed to be prepared was finding the interviewee. Facebook is really a good social tool. I had been keeping contacting one of my Japanese friends through it since the first interview homework was assigned. She was the first Japanese friend came to my mind. I left message on her facebook and told her about my interview homework. She was interested in it and would like to help me. But she was so busy with her exams and jobs, we set up several times to meet, but either she did not have time or I had other things to do, so we missed the appointments. Fortunately, we finally had time to meet in the library for my last interview. Although she had severe cold at that night we met, she coughed all the time, which disturbed our interview.
Personal Review:
My third interviewee’s name is Azusa Nishimura from Japan. She also came to St Cloud state university at same semester as me. She transferred from another American university, and got used to here quickly due to previous experience in America. So at the first semester she helped me a lot to overcome the culture shock. She is an easy going and courteous girl, and the most familiar one among the three interviewees. That interview was supposed to be very successful. However, the cough she had kept interrupting us. She barely completed one sentence, so she did not say so much. Considering her health, I decided to finish the interview earlier, and let her go home to have some rest.
Although the third interview was not as successful as the first two interviews, we still had fun. The responses that she gave to me were almost similar with the first two interviewees, since questions and country they come from were also the same. Such as education system, government form, popular sports, even their recommendations of interesting place were all Kyoto. I think their answers truly represented Japanese culture. My understanding of Japan are improved and corrected by those interviewees. In addition, the interview homework has given me opportunities to make friends and get in touch with them.
Country Report:
Everybody has his/her own reasons to love one country, of course I am no exception. I grew up with Japanese movies, TV drama and music, which influenced me a lot. The last country report has already introduced the basic knowledge about Japan, today I will focus on Japanese entertainment, such as movies, TV dramas, animation and music.
Movies:
The cinema of Japan has a history that spans more than 100 years. “Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world, as of 2009 the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. Movies have been produced in Japan since 1897, when the foreign cameramen arrived.”(1) In the United States, Japan has won the Academy Award for the Best Foreign Language Film four times, again more than any other country in Asia.
The Ring Image source from
The Grudge: Image source: http://img3.douban.com/view/photo/thumb/public/p1002241885.jpg
Love Letter: image source from: http://img3.douban.com/view/photo/thumb/public/p449897379.jpg
Image source from: http://img1.douban.com/view/photo/thumb/public/p634019904.jpg
Anime:
Anime is the term for Japanese animated cartoons. It is the most important reason for boys to love Japan. In Halloween, you can see many American teenagers dress up as the characters from Anime.
“Both hand-drawn and computer-animated anime exist. It is used in television series, films video, video games, commercials, and internet-based releases, and represents most, if not all, genres of fiction. As the market for anime increased in Japan, it also gained popularity in East and Southeast Asia. Anime is currently popular in many different regions around the world (2).”
One of the famous of directors is Hayao Miyazaki. He is a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. In his work fill of the pure animation, and make people feel as if back to childhood.
Spirited Away: Image source from:http://img1.douban.com/view/photo/thumb/public/p616754020.jpg
The music of Japan includes a wide array of performers in distinct styles both traditional and modern. Japan is the second largest music market in the world, behind the United States, and most of the market is dominated by Japanese artists (3).
“There are several types of traditional, Japanese music (hogaku). Some of the most important ones are listed below:
- Gagaku:
Ancient court music from China and Korea. It is the oldest type of Japanese, traditional music. - Biwagaku:
Music played with the Biwa, a kind of guitar with four strings. - Nohgaku:
Music played during Noh performances. It basically consists of a chorus, the Hayashi flute, the Tsuzumi drum, and other instruments. - Sokyoku:
Music played with the Koto, a type of zither with 13 strings. Later also accompanied by Shamisen and Shakuhachi. - Shakuhachi:
Music played with the Shakuhachi, a bamboo flute that is about 55 cm long. The name of the flute is its length expressed in shaku an old Japanese unit of length. - Shamisenongaku:
Music played with the Shamisen, a kind of guitar with only three strings. Kabuki and Bunraku performances are accompanied by the shamisen. - Minyo:
Japanese folk songs. (4)”
Joe Hisaishi is one of the famous Japanese musicians. “He is best known for hiswork with animator Hayao Miyazaki, having composed scores for many of his films including Castle in the Sky (1986), My neighbor Totoro(1988),Princess Mononoke (1977), Spirited Away (2001), Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) and Ponyo on the Cliff by the See (2008). He is also recognized for many soundtracks he has provide filmmakers, such as Kikujiro (1999), Kids Return (1996) and Ocean Heaven (2010) (5)”
Sound track of Castle in the Sky please click here
Japanese TV dramas:
Japanese TV dramas were really popular in China back to ten years ago before the American and Korean TV dramas were brought to China. But Japanese TV dramas still have tones of loyal fans including me.
“Television drama), also called dorama are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. All major TV networks in Japan produce a variety of drama series including murder romance, comedy, detective stories, horror, and many others. For special occasions, there may also be a one- or two-episode drama with a specific theme, such as a drama produced in 2007 for the 60-year anniversary of the end of World War II.
Japanese drama series are broadcast in three-month seasons, with new dramas airing each season. The majority of dramas are aired week-days in the evenings around 9:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m., or even 11:00 p.m. Dramas shown in the morning or afternoon are generally broadcast on a daily basis, and episodes of the same drama can be aired every day for several months, such as NHK's asadora, or morning dramas. The evening dramas, however, air weekly and are usually nine to twelve episodes long, though sometimes there will be an epilogue special made after the final episode if the drama has been a huge success.
Japan has four television seasons: Winter (January–March), Spring (April–June), Summer (July–September), and Autumn or Fall (October–December). Some series may start in another month though it may still be counted as a series of a specific season. (6)”
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A Sleeping Forest Image source from:
Operation Love image source from: http://img3.douban.com/view/photo/thumb/public/p471332165.jpg
Works Cited:
Interview transcriptions:
Interviewer: Hanqiong Chen
Date: 11/15/2011
Me: What is your name? And where are you from?
Azusa: My name is Azusa Nishimura, and I am from Japan.
Me: What is your major and which grade are you in?
Azusa: My major is international business, and I am sophomore.
Me: I know you are transform student.
Azusa: Yes, I transformed from another American university in other state. I transferred 50 credits from my previous college.
Me: Can you describe the education system of your country?
Azusa: Oh, We have elementary school, middle school, high school and university. And before elementary school, we have nursery school, kindergarten and preschool, but nursery school and preschool are optional.
Me: Same as Chinese education. How has your culture influences your people/family values?
Azusa: (cough~~~~) Excuse me!!! (Keep coughing) I am sorry I do not know.
Me: It’s ok. And what is the form of government in your country?
Azusa: The government of Japan is a constitutional monarchy where the power of the Emperor is very limited, just a symbol of Japan.
Me: Can you tell me one thing that makes you proud of your country?
Azusa: High technology. I am proud of high technology we developed. (Cough)
Me: If I want to take trip to Japan, can you recommend some places or sites to me or other tourists?
Azusa: Kyoto, you can see beautiful view about traditional Japan, like temples.
Me: Oh, I see. Now I am really interested in Kyoto. Which season is the best time to visit Japan?
Azusa: Spring.
Me: What is the weather like in your hometown?
Azusa: Of course we have four seasons, spring, summer, autumn and winter. It snows in winter, but not so much, it well be melted soon.
Me: What festivals do you celebrate in your country?
Azusa: We celebrate Christmas and New Year. (Cough)
Me: What are the most popular sports in your country?
Azusa: Baseball and volleyball.
Me: Which one do you like better?
Azusa: Volleyball. (Cough)
Me: What's a traditional food in your country?
Azusa: Sushi and Tempura.
Me: what do most women do after they get married in your country? (House or working?)
Azusa: My mother’s generation had a trend of being housewives, but now our generation, most Japanese girls choose to work after they get married. (Cough)
Me: That was my last question, you had better go back home and have some rest, and thank you for your help.
Azusa: You are welcome.
