“When a language dies. We lose cultures, entire civilizations but also we lose people. We lose perspectives, ideas, opinions, most importantly we lose a unique way of being human.” Trevor English: “What Happens When a Language Dies and is Forgotten” It’s only been in the recent past, since Redress mainly, that I’ve been looking seriously...Continue reading
Author: Miki Maeba
Rekindling Memories
For many years, especially since retirement, I’ve made attempts to learn to speak Japanese and rekindle memories of listening and speaking with my mother. I knew I was missing something in my life I had to pursue. I enrolled in formal and informal language classes and acquired books on how to write hiragana. I had...Continue reading
Resilience
I’ve come to admire the shikataganai attitude to a degree. There’s a certain kind of stubbornness in that attitude to not be defeated in the face of the devastation. There’s a huge amount of resilience and determination that is borne out by how the Japanese community survived and established themselves wherever they were settled. No...Continue reading