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Dr. Nosco
Professor; Department of Asian Studies
University of British Columbia
Mr. Kawabata
President
AK Travel Canada
1. Would you like to introduce yourself?
Mr. Kawabata:
My name is Masaaki Kawabata. I participated in JASC in 1971
in Hachioji and in 1972 at Harvard University in the United States. Currently I am in the tourism business, and I am also doing some filming coordination for Japanese TVs, for nature programs, and for other documentary programs. Mr. Nosco:
I am Peter Nosco. I participated in the same JASC conferences in Hachioji and in Cambridge in Massachusetts as did Masaaki. And I am a professor of Asian studies here at University of British Columbia. My specialty is the history of Japanese culture.
2. Could you share three most unforgettable JASC memories? Mr. Kawabata: Well, maybe I can talk from one memory, which I still have; we didn’t have time to sleep in either Hachioji or Cambridge because even after discussion or after dinner, the American students started asking me; “Why don’t we continue the discussion we had this afternoon?”
So, there was a very good and heated discussion, but we didn’t have much sleeping time. Every time I woke up, I
was very sleepy.
Also, when we visited the United States, we stayed at the
host families in each city we visited. They asked me so many questions. It’s
all about Japan, Japanese cultures, and Japanese politics. And I realized I
didn’t know anything about Japan. So, I still think the international
understanding starts from the understanding of our own culture. What was the most difficult question to answer? They would like to know the difference between Japan and
the United States. Then sometimes they asked me what the number of the seats in
the Diet is. I didn’t know the answer. So I couldn’t answer even that kind of
questions properly. I like Japanese history. So I could answer most of the questions about history, but I
thought I didn’t know anything about politics that in those days. Dr. Nosco: I think for me there are two memories that stand out from the JASC
experiences. After the Hachioji (23rd Conference), I and a group of
other JASCers from that conference took an informal trip in the direction of
Touhoku. We were on the over-night train. I think that train left from Ueno
Station out of Tokyo. On the way, in the middle of the night, there was a knock on the door. Someone from the
train was bringing us a telegram. We all wondered what this news could be. But
it was a telegram from our fellow JASCers back in Tokyo, wishing us a nice
trip. I think this day is the only time I’ve ever seen a telegram on a train.
This is a pleasant and exciting memory. The other memory is in 1972 meeting Dr. Reischauer. Because
of my interest in Japanese studies, that was a really extraordinary experience
to me. Do you remember anything you talked about with Dr.
Reischauer? Dr. Nosco: I remember he asked me about my interest in Japan. He was
very supportive of my studies of Japanese language and progresses I had been
making in my study so far. I remember him wishing me to do well. I think this
was a really gracious conversation. 3. Would you like to share any word of advice? Dr. Nosco: Yes. Maybe one or two words of advice. But I make only
one, because after a while professors talk too much. One bit of advice I would
say would be directed to the American JASCers. “Take this activity seriously
but not too seriously. Remember that you are students and that you are really
representing yourselves.” To some extent, you are representing your country.
One of the memories I have back in 1971 and 1972 is hearing so many Japanese
students saying things like “We, Japanese, this. We, Japanese, that.” Now the
American side was saying “We, Americans, this. We, Americans, that.” There is
no “We, Americans, this”. Both societies are much more diverse than the language like that suggests. So again, take this activity seriously so that you can get the best experience out of it. But not so seriously that it becomes a partisan occasion to exchange argumentative views. That’s not particularly helpful. Mr. Kawabata: There are so many good experiences we had, but the one I
still cherish is the friendship we made during the conference time. Peter and I
lost the contact for many years. After 30 some years, we received the alumni
directory, and then I found Peter’s name and contacted Peter. At the party held
at the Japanese Consulate in Vancouver, where we were both invited, (we met
each other without noticing we were JASC classmates. I was suspecting the guy
was Peter, though. After going back home, I called Peter at the phone number I
got from the directory, and we found we just had met at the party.) After 30
some years, we still can go back to those days when we were young. Peter lost
his hair, though. (Laughter) And, I lost my black hair. Still, we can share old
good memories. Would you like to continue the friendship with Dr. Nosco? Both Dr. Nosco and Mr. Kawabata:
Of course! Sure!
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