I’ve never been to Japan, but somehow I feel like I’ve lived there for years. The country has touched every aspect of my life to some degree, and almost all of my interests and hobbies have a link to Japan.
From the time I read James Clavell’s excellent book Shogun, I have been enamoured with the culture and history of the place. I was no more than 12 or 13 at the time my mother picked it up for me, having seen the TV series herself in her childhood. I was sceptical but having just finished Lord of the Rings I was in need of something into which I could sink my adolescent teeth. Clavell managed to transport me to feudal Japan, making me feel like I was Blackthorne and like everything was happening to me. His attention to the details of daily life while developing a deep story of political manoeuvring and intrigue was the key to achieving that goal, but he somehow managed to shoehorn a love story, plenty of action, some comedy and a thorough cultural examination of Japan into the same book. Now granted, it was 1200+ pages, but it’s still an impressive achievement. Not many books I know can describe the ritual cha no yu ceremony one minute, then talk about two wizened samurai urinating off castle battlements the next. It gave birth to my desire to learn the Japanese language, at least to speak it. My complete lack of artistic talent will prevent me from ever learning to write it. If you haven’t read this book, you simply must.
Well that was an entertaining tangent. Clavell got me started down the Japanese path of samurai, ninja and honour, but it was the collectible card game Legend of the Five Rings that reawakened my interest. Whereas Magic: the Gathering hooked me on CCGs, L5R was the game that broadened my horizons and kept me interested when Magic started to get stale. I haven’t played in many years but from what I remember, it had multiple ways to win: conquer your opponent’s provinces, gain enough honour to petition the Emperor, assemble the Five Rings or dishonour your opponent. The game pitted different noble houses against each other, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. There were samurai and dragons and swords and spells and shugenja and ninja and…you get the idea. By avoiding otherworldly concepts like mana and using gold as your resource, and by tapping a previously unexplored vein of rich material, L5R earned itself a large following. The people behind the game went an extra mile in making it unique by having the results of tournaments actually affect the development of the game’s storyline. If you built a Crane deck and won a certain tournament, the story of the next expansion set would see Crane rise to power. The game also did its best to immerse you in Japan, as Clavell did. You “bowed” a card to use it, your samurai could duel each other and gain honour for winning (or lose honour for refusing the duel). Cards from certain Houses could not appear in decks of other houses…essentially, it was flavour central. I still have a boatload of cards somewhere, but alas nobody around here has ever heard of the game, let alone knows how to play it. Basically L5R kept me interested in collectible card games and gaming as a whole at a time when both were starting to feel very boring. It also expanded my horizons and showed me that other games were out there.
Most of you reading this will know of my love for professional wrestling. I’ve been an avid fan since I was 5, which is far too long for a grown man to be following a scripted sport. Know what? I don't care. It's an escape, it entertains me, it's harmless and you can't deny the athleticism of the performers. What a lot of people might not realize is the huge contribution that Japan has made to professional wrestling, and also the respect I have for Japanese wrestlers. Despite the language barrier, I immensely enjoy watching Japanese wrestling and have since I first saw it about 6 years ago. They eschew the drama and over-the-top kitsch of the US style and instead focus on making it look like a real fight as much as possible. More physical, more athletic and more visceral. Many wrestling purists (yes, they exist. Don't get me started) will tell you that it's the only professional wrestling worth watching. While I'm not that much of a snob, I will vouch for the quality of it.
There's more, of course. I love dragons, Japan has dragons. Japan is always at the cutting edge of technology, and I of course am a major technophile. The televisions, cellphones, games consoles and hi-tech gadgetry that have arisen from the Land of the Rising Sun are mind-boggling. Japan has awesome anime. I love awesome anime. Japan has sushi. I love awesome anime. The bottom line is that this is a country I've always wanted to visit, full of things I adore and a people I admire. I mean, this place got two atomic bombs dropped on it 65 years ago, and is now the third or fourth biggest economy in the world. It's also tiny compared with the likes of China, the US, Canada and Russia. The juxtaposition of the beautiful culture and traditions with the technology and development make it perfect for someone like me who loves the big city but sometimes needs to escape.
My heart wrenched watching the horrifying scenes from the earthquake. The fireballs soaring skyward were terrifying enough, but the waves caused by the tsunami creeping inexorably across the countryside and casually sweeping up everything in their path were the worst. Nothing stood a chance: cars, houses, boats, shops, anything. Mother Nature always wins, even when it means that everyone and everything else loses all they have. I know only a couple of people in Japan and very few people who were in danger from the tsunami, but I'm not ashamed to admit that it brought tears to my eyes. The scariest part of the whole thing was hearing about the small Pacific islands that could have been engulfed by the waves, not just badly damaged. Japan and the Japanese can and will recover, with time and help. And island that is literally swallowed by one of these devastating destructive forces...well, what can it do? What can the people there do if there is no high ground to which they can escape and there's no way to evacuate? And now Japan, a country which has already had more than its fair share of tragedy when it comes to radioactivity, is facing a potential meltdown that would dwarf the notorious Chernobyl disaster in size and scope.
We all have problems in our lives. Most of you will know that I've had more than my fair share of shit recently. You know what? None of it matters. Not one bit. I'm one person...we're talking about entire countries here. Put your lives into perspective; I know I have. I'd rather go through what I'm going through now than what our Japanese brothers and sisters are enduring.
I'm not writing this to encourage anyone to donate money or anything remotely like that. I'm just expressing. I love Japan, I love the Japanese culture, and my thoughts are with the Japanese people as they dig themselves out, brush themselves off and rebuild. When you have done so, I would love a fraction of your strength and resolve.
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