Why Japan?

Over the months, and perhaps years, countless people have asked me the same question- ‘Why do you like japan so much?’ I have given the same answer thousands of times. Now I think its time I put it down properly in written. So that everyone can read about my thoughts and feelings when it comes to the Land of the rising sun, Nihon or Nippon.

I guess I started watching anime when I was in class 1 or so. The show was called Ninja Robots, and it aired on cartoon network. I still remember the characters- Joe Maya, Cybertron, and so on. I got fascinated by seeing the robots battle it out for the survival of the earth and intergalactic space wars. But the thing which impressed me the most was not the technical genius of the Japanese animation, but the concept of good versus evil which is very common in most Japanese anime. In many of such serials, the hero has to train and learn to fight, before rising up the ranks to face a legendary evil foe. In many instances, the villain was once the disciple of a famous guru, or sensei[teacher in Japanese]. But he ended up betraying his people and chose to follow the dark side. The Hero has to learn to fight, to protect his friends, family and work as a team.

As I grew up, I was introduced to several other anime, and the once which enthralled me were DragonballZ, Pokemon, Cardcaptor Sakura, Digimon, Inuyasha, Samurai X, Naruto, Bleach, Death Note, Full Metal Alchemist and Fairy Tail(the only anime I am watching at present) to name a few. Needless to say, I became an anime and manga(Japanese comics) fan. I started reading a lot about Japan and the Japanese way of living/culture. I read the popular book on the Japanese style of management- ‘Made in Japan’, the autobiography of the Sony founder, Akio Morita. What impressed me the most, was to see the spirit of unity amongst the Japanese people. They have a ruthless Never Say Die attitude, and they will continue to fight back in spite of facing several hardships. Their country was nuked in 1945, yet within 20 years they were ready to host the Olympics. They have faced countless earthquakes and tsunamis over the years, yet after each disaster, they continue to rebuild and work together in harmony. They are ready to die for their country, and even within organizations, people consider each other to be part of the same family.

The Japanese are incredibly well disciplined and polite. Many are soft spoken and do not raise their voice even if they are angry. They will systematically do their work, stand patiently in queues when required, and will help each other out in times of crisis. No wonder that Japan has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. People can rely upon each other any time. They are also good natured, simple, down to earth people, though they have mastered technology to create unique, innovative devices. The Japanese transport system is known to be amongst the best in the world.

Samurai and Ninja movies have always fascinated me. Most Japanese people will have some association with sword fighting or martial arts or sumo[their national sport]. Though the movies are generally for entertainment purpose only, it is quite interesting to read about the history of the samurais, the Meiji Revolution in the 19th century, and the formation of Japan as it is today.

I know some basic amount of Japanese, and intend to learn it completely within the next two years. I do hope that I can work in Japan in the future.
I can keep on writing on and on about Japan and the Japanese people, but will prefer to end here. As is widely known, they have a strict code of honour, ,and they do their best to preserve it. Am patiently waiting for the day when I get to visit this amazing country.