Chapter 2: Japan

"You are one crazy a** son of a b..." That's what's what I said to myself as I waited in the airport terminal for my Narita-bound flight out of the Los Angeles International Airport. The realization that I'd be leaving the country for the better part of my post-college life was dawning upon me. This would be my last time in the US for a very long period of time. Few words can describe the feeling of simultaneous excitement and sheer panic when one comes to such a realization. I was mentally torn in two opposite directions, and I all I could do was continue walking toward my plane. There's no turning back, and you know what...that's a good thing.

I'm beginning to embark on what must be the biggest (and craziest) move of my life- an indeterminately length stay in Japan with a perceived minimum number of years to stay and no maximum; a move to a country that I spent a maximum of 5 months in; a move to a culture I am only vaguely familiar with and with a language I haven't effectively spoken in 3 years; a move to a place where I have no job and no visa; and a move to a place where I am welcoming all of these challenges with a beginner's sense of confidence, excitement, and optimism. The number of possibilities and the unpredictability of my future is incredible- scary, but incredible. There are so many opportunities for failure, misdirection, personal decline, and yet opportunities to succeed, learn, and grow.

When I tell people that I'm going to Japan they say that's great. When I tell them I'm going without a job, without a visa, and not much more than a place to stay, the smile wipes from their face and they call me crazy. While I do admit that this move is pretty crazy, it's something that I've wanted and looked forward to ever since l ended my study abroad in Kyoto and Tokyo 3 years ago. To me, my next several years in Japan might be among the most meaningful in my post college life. Rather than list the seemingly endless number of possibilities of why, I'll just focus on two- culture and taiko.

I've wanted to study abroad in Japan ever since I was in high school. I finally got the opportunity to do it my junior year in college through Stanford's Kyoto SCTI study abroad program- a 5-month-long experience filled with Japanese studies, complete immersion into Japanese culture, and an internship in Tokyo. I gained so much from the experience and to this day, consider it the best experience of my life. It sounds melodramatic, I know, but it's in all honesty, completely true. However, there was one problem with the experience...it was too short. As quickly as I had boarded the plane, the experience ended, and I could only think of how I wanted to go back. Living in Japan gave me the unparalleled opportunity to experience the cultural part of me I only knew through hearsay and speculation. Growing up as a fourth-generation Japanese American provides a serious handicap to staying in touch with one's cultural roots. Exposure to Japanese culture is minimal, and that which is experienced has been filtered and watered down over four generations of brewing in America's melting pot. However, my experience in Japan only scratched the surface of my cultural understanding and my Japanese was only beginning to become comfortable. Living in Japan will be an opportunity to finish what I started and to fully discover and immerse myself in the cultural part of me long unknown and longing to be known.

The second reason probably seems like a no-brainer. Taiko. Duh. Japan is the birth-place of the art form I know, love, and want to pursue professionally. If taiko weren't a reason to go then this blog wouldn't even exist in the first place- this is, afterall, a blog about my experiences and trials toward "taiko enlightenment". But my reason for going to Japan to study taiko isn't quite as simple as just learning from the masters who helped shape the art form or gaining the necessary skills to feel comfortable pursuing this as a profession. While, yes, those reasons are included, one of the big reasons to study taiko in Japan is perspective. Yes, perspective. My taiko experience up until now has been primarily limited to kumi-daiko, the ensemble form of taiko most commonly seen and developed only 50 years ago. While I did have the fortune of experiencing some of the traditional and neo-traditional aspects of taiko while in Hawaii, really seeing the full view of traditional taiko that has influenced so much of Kenny Endo Sensei's music will give me the big taiko picture. I want to see and understand the broad spectrum of taiko that exists to map out where I can take the art form.

Having worked as a graphic designer and visual artist for many years (both professionally and not-so professionally), I've come to realize that researching what else exists in the realm of your art and design is an essential part to creating new ideas. Inspiration comes from many sources and often times existing work in your field can spring board new ideas or even more successful ones. Taiko is no different. As a musician, I've realized that the music I create is heavily influenced by the music I know, listen to, and understand. Having the broadest range of music that falls under such a category gives me more influences to draw upon for inspiration- ultimately giving me many colors to paint an expression of self through music that is new and unique.

So...this brings me back to the airplane, the plane ticket, and that simultaneous feeling of excitement and fear. Japan represents both of those to me. Fear of failure, of what I may discover, and of the challenges ahead, And yet... excitement for all of them and what I can learn from every failure, every discovery, and every challenge. Now, more than ever, I'm going into my next adventure with a beginner's mind.