Japanese Studies at Whitman College
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Hokusai, Tekisuijuku
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Japanese Studies at Whitman College
Few would disagree that Kakushika Hokusai's (1760-1849) "Great Wave off Kanagawa" ranks as one the most popular images of Japan. As part of a series of woodblock prints by Hokusai entitled, "Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji," this print shows three small boats caught in a perfect storm, facing a colossal wave with menacing white claws breaking high above them. In fact, most people see only the sheer power of this gigantic wave, almost missing the small round heads of the boatmen and, in the background, Mt. Fuji standing calmly as Japan's universally accepted symbol. In the poster below, however, the residents of the 2003-2003 Tekisuijuku have placed themselves even higher than Mt. Fuji.
I believe that it was in the winter of 1989, that Kim Moriyama, the Resident Assistant of the Tekisuijuku (滴水塾), urged residents to copy Hokusai's "The Great Wave" onto the basement wall of the Otis Street Tekisuijuku. Since that time, a number of Tekisuijuku residents, for some unknown reason, have expressed an unusual attraction to Hokusai's wave. Last year, the Tek Residents of 2002-2003, created a poster, and they placed themselves in just the right position to catch Hokusai's "wave" and take it for a long ride.
During the late Edo period (mid 18th century), woodblock print artists created prints for the wealthy merchants and connoisseurs who gathered in fashionable places to view the moon, write and exchange poetry, play games, attend the theater, argue politics, and exchange gossip about courtesans who gained fame for their artistic talents as well as their beauty. Indeed, it was a time when the residents of Edo (present day Tokyo) cultivated all their senses and became elegant, intelligent, and witty connoisseurs of urban life.
Like the denizens of Hokusai's Edo, the 2002-2003 residents of the TEK allowed all their senses to come into play as they experienced the Whitman College world. In particular, they discovered that Whitman was not a place that could be vicariously understood. They quickly learned that to understand the Whitman world, they could not merely "think about it"; they had to walk and live it personally and physically. That is, they learned that to live at the Tekisuijuku, to study Japanese in Olin 304, to speak with Wakana Mizomae meant that they had to "be there." To live in this world was to sense and to know this world first hand. To live here did not mean simply to exist. It required them to develop practiced and skilled techniques. In Hokusai's time, this kind of active and engaged "living" became celebrated with three words: asobi (遊び, the ability to play), iki (いき, to act with discreet elegance and urbane polish), and tsu (通, to live with nonchalant sophistication and skill).
Whether you are interested in speaking Japanese, in playing tennis, in learning how to serve and drink ceremonial tea, in writing Japanese beautifully, in exploring Buddhist ways of thinking, feeling, and doing, I welcome you to Whitman's Hokusai-like world. Students in this photo have graduated and indeed the location of the Tekisuijuku has changed as well. We are now located on the corner of University and Stanton across the street from the amphitheater. In the photo, Diana Kusunoki, Christine Yang, and Lisa Johnson graduated in May, 2005. Diana and Christine live and work in Seattle. Lisa, who won the 2005 Carlstrom Award in Japanese Studies, works as a business analyst in the Seattle office of Deloitte Consulting. Kenta Nakano graduated from Doshisha University and works for Sharp Company in Osaka, Japan. Shawgi Silver also graduated and is pursuing work in the sciences. Laura Bartholomew taught English in Japan under the JET program. Lisa Dodobara, the 2003 Carlstrom Award Winner in Japanese Studies will start medical school in the Fall of 2006. Wakana Mizomae is now married to David Sprunger, former Tekisuijuku resident and currently the Manager of the Whitman College Multimedia Development Lab. She will return to Walla Walla as soon as she gets her permanent resident visa. The dog on the porch is Chie-chan who just died at the age of 18 in June, 2006. Riding in the front of the boat is Professor Akira Inoue, who served as a Visiting Instructor in Japanese during the fall semester, 2002. He is currently working with Professor Takemoto on a translation project. Professor Takemoto, thanks to Katy Myers, has pie all over his face.
For those of you who are new to Whitman's program in Japanese studies, let me welcome you: "Yōkoso" (ようこそ). I hope that your feet will lead you to the third floor of Olin and to my office, room 308. I look forward to seeing you, listening to your questions, and chatting about whatever nonsensical things that enter our minds. In any case, here's to asobi, iki, and tsu.
Akira R. Takemoto
Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures
Whitman College
Walla Walla, Wa. 99362
Acknowledgements:
Let me begin by thanking master calligrapher, Fujii Yoshiyasu for providing me with the calligraphy which graces this site. Fujii sensei has been a long time friend and supporter of the Japanese program at Whitman College. I also want to thank Elliot Anders for his help in designing and preparing this site.
