Something Different : Why am I learning Japanese ?

  

Hi all, hope everyone is doing well staying indoors and working from home. As we are all now locked indoors (which means I cannot do food reviews) and to break the monotony of the recipe posts, I have decided to answer one question that was frequently posed to me. I have initially cast it aside when preparing for my Q and A post (click here), as it will be a long answer and deserves a post on its own. And the question is: 

 Why am I learning Japanese? 

An exhibit from Ultraman Festival in 2018. Right at the childhood!

There are several reasons for this. As a young child, I was very into tokusatsu (特撮) , which directly translates to as "special effects". Shows that come to mind are Ultraman, Kamen Rider and Super Sentai. Yeap, I knew of spandex wearing colour coded warriors before Power Rangers became a thing. I watched it in awful Cantonese or Malay dubbing but it did the trick. And I was hooked. 

Pikachu Outbreak at Yokohama in 2018. How time flies. 

Then the first wave of anime started to come in. What I mean by first wave were the classics that we most non-Japanese have seen for the first time. Doraemon helm the charge, then came Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon and Slam Dunk. The coup de grace was Pokemon, and with that, like most of the young teens from the 90s, I was hooked to anime, whether it was dubbed into English or otherwise.  At the time I was not really into the language, as I was just into anime and they are in languages that I understand. But I believe it started from there. 

Laying the smackdown in Akihabara. 

And then there were video games during my early childhood and mid teens. With classics like the aforementioned Pokemon, Mario, Devil May Cry and Street Fighter coming from Japan, the curiousity slowly developed. I did not scratch that itch just yet at the time. But it was a contributing factor. 

What an amazing feel. Nothing compares to watching this live. 

The cultural colonization did not end there though. As most guys of my generation, I watched a lot of professional wrestling. In particular, WWF, which is WWE now and TNA, which is now called Impact. I grew up watching the wars between Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock, and the rise of John Cena and AJ Styles. But after a while things became stale and there was way too much drama and talking between matches. Outside interference, weapons, referee shenanigans made the product unpalatable at times. And I stopped watching American wrestling for a moment. Then when I discovered New Japan Pro-Wrestling, my interest rekindled.

Raise your flag!

Stiff strikes, competitive matches and decisive victories made everything so compelling. And Japanese fans! They are the best. Cheering and screaming, all while sitting down! And it was then I started picking up language nuances from the commentators and learning about the history of Japanese wrestling. And NJPW is the only promotion that I have watched a live event from. It is that good.

Old meets new. Zojoji with Tokyo Tower at the background. 

And then there was my trip to Tokyo back in 2017 with XH. After a week there, we both gained a great appreciation towards the culture,  its history and its people. So after our trip, we both signed up for Japanese classes in March 2018 and have been going ever since. At the time it was just a side hobby for personal satisfaction. Oh yea, in between all this, I picked up collecting and building Gundam plastic models. 

But it was in mid 2018 was when I decided to take it seriously. After the past Malaysian General Election, the then new Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir  made a visit to Japan, which is the first foreign power he visited, after being reelected. Say what you want about Abenomics and samurai bonds. But after seeing it in the news, I then feel like I need to step on it in terms of my language ability. And not long after, I passed the Level N5 JLPT exams. I hope to take another level this year. 

A bit tourist trappy, but Golden Gai is worth a visit. 

So as you may have figured it out, the passion for Japanese food was not even a motivator. But then as their food culture coincided with my interest in the language, it opened many doors for me in terms of flavours, green tea, and Strong Zero. And lots of street food. Most old fashion vendors who sell their goods on the cheap only speak Japanese. And to segue abit, this was a major factor as to why I can eat so well with so little when I travel there. 

Most English speaking places will have to train their staff with the language, thus increasing costs. Also, most English speaking places are more often than not, tourist trappy spots. As such, the chances of getting a "local price" dish is quite tough. So when people ask me what is the best way to save money for a trip to Japan? Speak the language!

There you have it folks, I hope I was able to answer the questions of some of you guys. Feel free to ask me any non-food related questions if you have any! And as always, take care and if you are now sitting at home with nothing to do, why not pick up a new language? 

Fyi: Just in case you are curious, the photo used for the header is from Lake Ashi in Hakone, where the gate of the local shrine, Hakone Shrine is located by the lake.