| ◆ Kyoto Interview Series ◆ | ||||
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| Q. What inspired you to come study in Japan?
A. I first came to Japan on five month business trip in 1986. At that time, I was working for a Chinese company and only knew of Japan as a tiny, yet advanced country. I was very impressed with the way the Japanese were able to adjust their environment in order to live comfortably. The Japanese train systems are a good example of this. I thought highly of the Japanese because they were very kind to me and were hard workers as well. These things made me want to learn more about Japan. In China, there are many good engineers but few opportunities for them to put their skills to use. I wanted to work for these engineers as a business liaison. I felt I could learn business skills from the Japanese in order to help resolve this situation. These factors inspired me to come study in Japan as well. Q. How did you feel about Japan when you began living here as a student? A. I thought Japan was good place, but I had many unpleasant experiences as well. While I was attending Japanese language school, I had a part-time job at a restaurant. There were some mean-spirited customers who would speak rudely to me when they were drunk. This was right after the Tian'anmen Incident(天安門事件), so some Japanese people had a negative image of China. I was a little shocked when these things happened. Q. Even though you had these sorts of difficult experiences, you decided to stay in Japan after graduating from school. Why is this? A. There were three steps that led me to where I am today. The first step was adapting to my surroundings during my first and second years at university. I took advantage of different opportunities to become more involved with the local community. As the second step, I joined the International Student Association (留学生会) at my school. The third step was taking the role of chairman for that group. After assuming this position of leadership, I organized many events for the 200 people that comprised the club. Furthermore, I participated in a forum for international students to study and interact with Japanese culture held in September of 1993. At that time I became friends with many people who were thinking seriously about their future. Through these experiences I realized that even though there were many talented international students living in Japan, there were few employment opportunities for these people to put their skills to use. Because I am Chinese, I decided to act as a liaison between Japan and China to create job opportunities for Chinese students who have studied in Japan. I was originally planning to return to my own country to start a business, but after encountering some difficulties, I decided to launch my business in Japan instead. I decided to base my business in Kyoto not only because of my social network here, but also because Kyoto is a hub of international student activity. As I expected, there are many skilled people amongst these exchange students living in Kyoto. My business currently only serves Chinese students, but it is my dream to expand my business for students of all nationalities. Q. Why did you decide to start this kind of business? Were you concerned about starting a business in the midst of a recession? A. I strongly felt that I had to make these opportunities available for talented International students who had experience living in two cultures. My company's name: 'Sedaikeishokatugakusha' (世代継承活学社) means "Passing on a legacy for use by future generations". I wanted to bring my dream to the next generation of students. I have had the experience of being an international student in Japan, and I believe this has helped me run my business. I have difficulties from time to time, but I have the support of my friends and social networks to help me through. Q. What difficulties do you face running your business? A. The fact that we are selling services rather than material goods is one of the most difficult points of running this sort of business. Sometimes it is difficult for our student employees to both concentrate on their studies and keep a job at the same time. We have deadlines to complete jobs for our clients, so we have to manage our schedule tightly in order to provide our services in a prompt fashion. I hope that the students will complete their tasks in a professional way. We are now planning a seminar to teach Japanese business manners to students working at Japanese companies so that they won't get in trouble due to etiquette mishaps. We are also creating a database of employment information to benefit these students. Q. What does international exchange mean to you? A. I think it is not enough to just read books and online articles concerning world matters. You have to go to the country where your interest lies in order to make friends and have your own experiences. Your personal experiences can prove beneficial to the next generation, since real experiences are bound to be very different from information presented by the media. Q. Do you have any advice for International students in Japan? A. Don't forget your dreams and believe yourself in order to make these dreams come true. You may experience all sorts of difficulties, you may meet good or bad people, but don't make decisions based on one experience alone. Look at the situation from a wider perspective. Q. Do you have any favorite proverbs? A. My favorite slogan is learn from past experiences" (温故知新) We need to listen to and respect the wisdom of our elders, and take their advice to heart. | ||||
| -N. Tamai | ||||
| The Sedaikeishokatsugakusha homepage can be seen here: http://www.katugaku.com (Chinese/Japanese only) | ||||
| ◆ Kyoto Wagashi Series ◆ | ||||
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| Ohagi was originally made within the home, but now can be easily purchased at sweet shops (和菓子屋さん) or convenience stores.
When I was a child, mothers used to cook ohagi with their children. First, the rice dumplings were made by boiling and then lightly mashing a mixture of regular and glutinous rice. The mashed rice mixture was shaped into balls which were then coated in bean jam, soybean flour (黄粉) or sesame seeds. Although the rice balls I made as a child were far from perfect, I had a fun time playing house and making the ohagi. Afterwards, we would offer the ohagi at our family's buddhist altar (お仏壇) and pray for the comfort of our ancestor's souls. This is one of the sweetest memories of my life. During the autumnal equinox, night and day are the same length. This period marks the end of summer and the coming of fall. | ||||
| -N. Suematsu | ||||
| Designed by S. Marui (HP Volunteer) | ||||
