I have never even done a presentation like this in English before, but for some reason, I decided to do this one in Japanese. I’ll do my best. (Applause) I am a typical American country girl. I never ate real fish or rice until college, and I rode on an airplane for the first after I graduated. When I came to Japan when I was 23, I knew absolutely nothing about it. And I didn’t have any desire to study Japanese, either. My boyfriend told me, “Look, you really need to study the language,” But I told him, “No, I don’t. I’ll learn enough to get by just by living here. “ Four months after I came to Japan, I moved from my host family’s house to my own apartment. Since I live here, I took some dish soap when I introduced myself and take it as a gift to my neighbors like a Japanese. When I knocked on the door, a voice from inside said, “Who is it?” I thought “Oh great. " I worked hard memorizing the phrase, “Sorry for this insignificant gift,” but I had no idea how to answer this question. I thought for a minute before responding, I answered “The foreigner.” (Laughter) She came out to greet me with a smile and I gave her the dish soap, I then quickly returned to my boyfriend’s house and looked up the word “neighbor” in the dictionary. That was the first day I realized, “I really do have to study Japanese.” At that time, I was like this. I was wearing the frame of Japan but I couldn't see anything. But from that day, I committed myself to studying Japanese. In 2005, I passed Level One of the Japanese Language Proficiency Exam. I though that now I can put the lens of language in my glasses. I can see Japan a little bit better now. At the same time, I tried to adapt to Japanese culture. I had my three kids at a Japanese maternity clinic, and sent them all to Japanese schools. I also wrote several books about Japan. “Well, I have written books about Japan, so that must make me an expert.” So I put the lens of culture in my glasses, too. Because I now had both the lenses of language and culture in my glasses, I thought that I could see all that Japan was. But about a year and a half ago, I realized I really couldn’t see much at all. It was then that I met my best friend, Makiko. We are absolutely nothing alike. Makiko is a Buddhist from Kyoto. I am a Christian from rural America. We have very little in common, but somehow, we overcame our differences and became the best of friends. Yet, we often clashed over culture on issues such as raising kids and food. If I was such an expert on Japanese culture. I just couldn’t understand why we clashed like this. But one day, the answer came to me. Makiko was diligently studying Christianity. Why? Because she cared so much about me, she desperately wanted to understand the faith that was so important to me. She went with me to church and checked out books from the library about Christianity. She studied hard. I was really happy she was doing that, but one day, I had a life-changing realization. I didn’t have that same humble heart. I wasn’t interested at all in the things that were important to Makiko. I felt deep regret, and made a decision that day to change. After that, I went with her to temples and shrines, and we talked late into the night about Japanese history. But the thing that had more impact on my life than anything was cooking with Makiko. Everyone around me knows just how much I used to hate to cook. In fact, I am famous for it. So when I told my longtime friends that Makiko was teaching me to cook, I thought they were going to faint. (Laughter) To be honest, I wasn’t really all that interested in it. I knew that Makiko liked to cook, and I wanted to spend time with her. But little by little, I actually learned how to make things, and last year I made miso soup for the first time. Isn’t that hilarious? (Applause) I had lived in Japan for 16 years, and just last year I learned to make miso soup. Up until then, I ate that instant stuff. (Laughter) As we cooked together, we talked deeply about Japanese food culture. Through those conversations, I realized something important. Up until now, I had only understood the surface of Japanese culture. I had made no effort to understand the deeper things, things that I couldn't grasp or didn’t agree with. But you know what? Those are the most important things. That is the heart of Japan. That is the Japanese worldview. So, what exactly is worldview? I mean, it is not exactly a word that pops up often in daily life. There are probably people in this room that have never even said the word “worldview” once in their lives. So, let’s say it together now, “1-2-3 WORLDVIEW!” (Audience) “WORLDVIEW!” Good! Now you have said it once in your lives. (Laughter) To put it simply, worldview expresses how humans see the world. Human thought patterns and actions, and a country’s culture are all born out of worldview. But there are probably still people who are still unclear about what the difference between culture and worldview, so let me explain it in more detail. If you compare them to a house, culture is the visible part of the house. For example, the roof, the walls and the furniture. But there is a foundation under the house that you can’t see. That is worldview. Without the foundation of worldview, you cannot build the house of culture. Let me give you another example. Japanese people have a custom of sleeping with their children. That is culture. But why do they do that? Why don’t Americans sleep with their children? That is worldview. If you don’t understand the “why” of “worldview” you can’t understand the “what” of culture. I realized that I was wearing my glasses all wrong. It’s not that language fits in one lens and culture the other. Language and culture are both in the same lens. I must put it into the left side. The other lens is worldview, I must put it into the right side. Without the worldview lens you cannot see everything clearly. Let’s go back to talking about food. Last May, I went to a sports festival and ate lunch with my friend. I didn’t finish my rice ball. I left about a third of it. I realized that I should eat it, but it didn't bother me all that much. But my friend gave me a look. When I got home, I went back and forth with her on Facebook for an hour about that wasted rice ball. An hour! (Laughter) This is what she said to me. “Anne-chan, don’t you feel guilty? Don’t you value food?" I was perplexed. I mean, it was just a rice ball. I don’t get it! I couldn't understand her at all But the reason that I didn’t get it was that I didn’t grasp the Japanese worldview regarding food. So, let’s think about the word itadakimasu. Saying itadakimasu before meals is Japanese culture. I got that. But why do they say itadakimasu? That is worldview. I never really understood that. As a result, I always translated itadakimasu as “Let’s eat!” But think about it. Itadakimasu is not “Let’s eat” at all, is it? Itadikimasu means that you are partaking of life. You are saying thank you to the animals and plants that gave up their lives for you. But not only that- you are also expressing gratitude to those who planted it, harvested it, transported it, and prepared it. In other words, thanks to the hard work and cooperation of everyone and everything involved in the process of making food, we have the privilege of eating. We must value that privilege. And that includes not wasting a third of a rice ball. All of that is included in that one simple word of itadikimasu. (Applause) I never really understood that, so to be honest, I was not a person who valued food. I bought it, cooked it, and threw it away without really thinking. But not anymore. I don’t have the same worldview as most Japanese people. But valuing food is something that you should do regardless of your way of thinking or worldview. When I realized this, it changed my relationship with food. Up until now, there were so many foods I disliked, but now I can eat anything. Up until now, I hated fish, but now I can gut them. (Laughter) (Applause) Up until now, I couldn’t even make miso soup. But last year I made complex New Year’s dishes. Amazing, right? (Applause) But my greatest accomplishment of all is that I have overcome an eating disorder that I struggled with for 25 years. (Applause) How is it that I was able to grow so much in only a year? Because I now have a heart that seeks to understand the Japanese worldview. I have something that I want to say to you. Maybe you are studying a foreign language. Maybe you have the opportunity to go abroad. Please don’t be content with only understanding language and culture. If you seek to understand at a deeper level, the worldview, your life will be much more fulfilling. But you know what? You don’t even have to leave Japan. You are surrounded by people whose worldview is different from yours. Your boss. Friend. Co-worker. Mother. Wife, Child. I have a question for employees. Do you make an effort to understand your boss? Husbands, do you know what is important to your wives? Or are you thinking that your views are way too different so you give up without ever understanding? As I was preparing this presentation, I made a shocking realization. I was trying desperately to understand the Japanese worldview, yet I was making no effort at all to understand my rebellious daughter. I wasn’t interested in what was important to her. Once again, I was filled with regret. Once again, I made a decision. From that point on, I was going to make an effort to understand her. I would spend more time with her and listen to her. So, I want to challenge you to stop and think if maybe there are people around you like her. In order to grow, humans must always have a reflective and repentant heart. That's very important. My favorite slogan is from Eric Berne. “You cannot change others or the past. You can change yourself and the future.” Let’s think about this, and seek to grow as humans, and let’s try to really understand each other. Thank you very much. (Applause)
