October 04, 2003 - Instant Immersion

October 04, 2003

Slamming into the Language Barrier

You would think that with the time we had between jobs, we would be able to speak more Japanese than we do. Things that were so simple back home suddenly become major obstacles. Like asking for another cup of coffee, or where the post office is. There are plenty of books that will help you ask these questions. The problem is that they can't prepare you for the answers. If we can pick out two or three words from a reply, it's a major accomplishment.

There's also reading in Japanese. Japanese has about 46 basic sounds, and they've developed two different sets of characters to represent them. The first, hiragana, is used for some Japanese words and verb endings. It's very fluid and beautiful. Katana is more angular and is used to represent imported foreign words like "cohee" ("coffee"). We were able to learn these two scripts in about a month or so.

Then there's Kanji. Kanji is a script imported from China and is used for many nouns, verbs, and adjectives or other modifiers. There are about 6,000 characters, with 2,000 considered to be basic high school level. Each Kanji character can have several meanings and pronunciations.

What does all this come down to? You go out to buy laundry detergent, and come home with fabric softener because you can't read the label, and you don't speak enough Japanese to clearly communicate what it is you're looking for. Or, you come home with a bag of delicious looking candy, pop one in your mouth, and realize you just bought a bag of cough drops (even after you laughed at another account on the Internet of someone doing the exact same thing).

The Emperor's New Grove

On our first weekend, we decided to explore the heart of Tokyo. If you look at any map of the subway system, you'll notice that all of the lines flow around a central location. This is the Imperial Palace, home to the Japanese Emperor. The palace itself is closed to visitors except on New Years and the Emperor's birthday, but the Imperial East Gardens are open all the other days. Outside the gate, we could see many people walking, jogging, and pushing strollers as Tokyo traffic streamed by on the street. Stepping through the gate, we entered an oasis that seemed to shut out the noise and crowds of the city.

As we walked through the gardens, we noticed the sounds of several activities that we couldn't see or observe, because they are for the Emperor's pleasure only. We heard battlecries and the crack of wood on wood as the Imperial Guard practiced their swordplay. We could hear the dissonant tones of the sho and other instruments of the gagaku ensemble (Imperial Court music) as they practiced in the Imperial Music hall.

At the top of the hill, we found a long stretch of grass where people were enjoying picnics in the late summer weather. Across from this was the mound of an ancient tower. From the top of this mound, we experienced a panoramic view of the city. We explored some of the garden walks, and discovered one of the three remaining towers of the ancient palace. After the gardens closed, we crossed the street and enjoyed a beautiful sunset from the Wadakura Fountain Park.