Since this blog is devoted to the clarification of philosophical concepts related to the martial arts and specifically Japanese Karate-do, I feel it is fitting in this comeback post to start back somewhat slowly and first share with you my current feelings toward my relationship with Japan. Please allow me to back track.
I came to this country as part of my life's journey not much unlike how people find themselves, all of the sudden but not really all of the sudden, inside a dojo for the first time. When I first came to Japan I didn't think I would stay this long. I came to Japan for the first time in 1999 as an exchange student in my third year of university. That experience convinced me to come back to live and work here, but still I didn't think it would turn out the way it did.
My relationship with this country and its culture is deeply rooted in the study of Karate-do. That is to say, if I had never began practicing Karate-do back in the late 1980s, I would probably never have come to this country and certainly not in the capacity in which I did.
I came to Japan because I was searching for something. In my youth, I thought it was a search to understand the secrets of this mystical martial art. Later I realized that my search was actually for something far more personal; I was actually searching for the knowledge necessary to find myself.
People often ask me how I feel about Japan. The common question is: Do you like Japan? Sometimes I am even asked if I love Japan. (日本好きですか？または日本を愛していますか？) Over the years my answer to this question has changed. I was once infatuated with the idea of travelling to this country. Then I was intoxicated with the experiences I had after arriving. Then came the struggle to get by and the emotional growth that occurred as a result of feeling completely alone even among so many people. Finally, I found a strength that came from within and I was able to assume my place, once again or perhaps really for the first time, among others.
After living here for almost 20 years, I am no longer in what some may call my honeymoon phase of my relationship with this country. I am too old and weathered for that. But, like a father seeing the world anew through the eyes of his infant children, I am now able to look at Japan differently and see things in a new light. I can once again see the beauty and feel the power of this mysterious culture. I have delved more deeply into this culture, in some ways, more than anybody I know from my former Canadian life and yet, in other ways, I have not even scratched the surface of its potential.
I am looking forward to once again sharing my journey with you. I don't know how often I will be able to post, but I am still here and still learning so much and trying to conceptualize and articulate it all so that I can share it with you.
