I’ve lived in Japan now for over 16 years, half of it being in the Kanto (Saitama) region, and now the other half being in the Kansai(Hyogo) region. While living in Saitama, Japanese history often seemed to be a bit more removed from my actual day to day life. I lived in Souka草加 (famous for the origin of Senbei, Japanese rice crackers) and Koshigaya越谷, famous now for a large mall…and I’ve been around to some places of historical importance (Ashikaga, Nikko, Kamakura) though not with historical study in mind (those places were just a part of daily life).
Now I live in Kansai…I live in Kobe, have meetings in Takatsuki (Osaka), sometimes have to go to Kyoto and Nara for other meetings, have visited Omi, been near Sakai…and suddenly all the history (from around 1500) has become so much easier to comprehend. Having been to these concrete places gives me a mental map of areas, scenery, distances that makes reading history much easier. There is over a 500 year gap between then and now, but even so, there is something very permanent about land and location that gives me a loose connection to the past. I can now understand what people mean when they come back from Israel or Turkey and read the Bible again, finding it easier to picture and comprehend.
Anyhow, was reading a book with a chapter on the city of Sakai and found myself reading much faster since I didn’t have to get lost in vague, unfamiliar names…the names had become concrete and close to my experience. Perhaps this is also a lesson for communication and conveying ideas in general. Concrete, familiar terms and pictures are more easily digestible to us. An “apple” is more understandable than “food”. This is a lesson I need to remember for my own communication…
Quinby 