Monday, December 1, 2008

Family Interview Part 2


Due to length I cut my piece in half. This is the second half it follows directly the first. See below.

This next grouping is a combination of two questions: The first is about the compromising/ giving up of any values when moving to Canada, and I asked the kids about their parents and asked Uncle Touke about his own experience. The second part concerns the impression they have of Canadian culture, again I asked the kids about their parents and Touke about his own Impression.
Ian:
No (he didn’t give-up/compromise), most people in Japan would like to live in Canada for a while I think. I am sure he likes it (living here) a lot better then Japan or he wouldn’t be here.
Yuko:
No, but they have definitely had to acquire new skills, such as being assertive. Canadians have stronger opinions (if you want something you make it known), but Japanese people don’t (if you want something you hint at it and skirt around the topic and hope that the other person gets it). I am not quite sure (how her parents view Canadian culture). I know they like it here.
Kimi:
Definitely, he gave up his Japanese traditions and holidays. New years is a very big thing in Japan. He also had to learn more about the differences between the two cultures in terms of values i.e.- Canadian culture holding more individualized goals/values and Japanese culture having more of a common value/goal (w/in family, work etc). Kind of like the saying: “the nail that sticks out, gets hammered down”. He had to adapt and learn about this Canadian culture. I think he really enjoys living here! It probably feels more to him like a free culture… and that freedom puts less pressure on him (my dad), yet his work ethic is still unbelievable. Teaching styles are different from Japanese culture to here- and he has had to adapt to less of an authoritative instructor on Judo, to be more accepting of each individual in the class and how they learn. I think he enjoys interacting with people here and enjoys relaxing and downtime that this culture allows too! I think he probably misses the food most from Japan!
Touke:
I had to start thinking in a Canadian way about something’s. But I like Canada very much. I think Canadian culture is more relaxed than Japanese culture, also the population density of Canadian cities is much less here than in Japan. I miss the food so much. And I have some friends and family I like to visit when I go back.
I found the answers to these questions very interesting, especially since Touke is the father of Ian and Kimi you get to see if they are correct in what they feel he thinks about Canada and any compromises. Here adaptation seems to be key, and highlights that went entering a new country you do have to adjust to their value system. This again highlights some of the differences between our two cultures.

In this grouping, there are a few different questions going on. I will present the answers in the order I say the questions here. I asked Ian and Kimi if they felt they were taught the Japanese culture within the home. Ian I also asked if it was important for him to teach future children the culture. My Uncle Touke I asked the differences between how he was raised and his children were raised, I also asked him if it was important for him to teach them the Japanese culture. I asked Yuko if it will be important to teach her future children the Japanese culture.
Ian:
By my family in Japan when we were went to visit them, yes. (is where he was taught about the culture). I don’t know if I am qualified to do it (teach his future children). I would like to take my future children to go visit Japan sometime though. I think it is important.
Kimi:
Yes, (she was taught) helping with chores, not expecting things back influenced my work ethic and interactions with others… my respect for others.
Touke:
I was raised in a more strict environment. I think the importance of family is a similarity both cultures share, however, children have less input into the running of the household in Japan. They also have higher expectations put on them. Doing well in school is very important in Japan, it is less stressed in Canada. I thought it was important to bring them (Ian and Kimi) to Japan when I go visit relatives, and get a chance to see what Japan is like. But also, I want them to be at home in Canada. Also both my children Studied Judo, so they learned something of Japanese Culture from practicing a Japanese sport.
Yuko:
Yes, however this is a very difficult task, when one parent is of Japanese origin, and the other is not.
These answers tell me that although the Japanese culture is important to all of them, so is the Canadian perspective. It seems my cousins may be a bit caught, wanting to teach values in the future, but maybe not having the best well of knowledge to draw from. This is shown even by Yuko, Ian’s fiancĂ© who seems to suggest that Ian wouldn’t be a good source to help teach the Japanese culture, and in fact, in his answer he does state the same thing. Interesting to note is that in a question not included in this section Ian states that he does feel connected to the Japanese culture but is not sure why. While I talked to her on the phone, Kimi became confused over some of the values she was taught growing up. She labeled them as Japanese but said her mother (Canadian) had a hand in teaching them to her. I feel that these answers highlight just how tricky it can be to teach two cultures equally.

The last set of questions I am going to include in this part of the interview is one I asked my Uncle Touke and Yuko. I wanted to know from them if the Japanese culture (its morals, values and sensibilities) is completely unique and separate from Canadian culture.
Touke:
I think that there are always similarities across cultural lines, however there are unique values as well.
Yuko:
Yes, very unique. I can’t think of another culture that is similar to ours.
As you can see these answers are short but powerful! Our blog is about civilization exclusivity and this question really got to the heart of that; is the Japanese culture unique? As you can see while both agreed on uniqueness, they didn’t agree on the disagree. Yuko was much stronger in her opinion, while my Uncle reminded me that there are always some similarities along with the unique differences. Perhaps this has come with my Uncle's age and because he has lived in both Japan and Canada for a number of years.

I have presented for you my interview, with many different answers. Through them you can see differences between the Japanese and Canadian civilizations. As a student, you will have to make up your mind what these answers say about Civilization Exclusivity specifically. Personally I found that it shows that there is not one easy answer and that while some Japanese values are adapted into Canadian culture, others stay strong and singular.

I did not use all the questions gathered. Some will be presented in my Judo Interview to follow. If you would like to see the whole interview transcript please e-mail me at sgm3@sfu.ca and I will send you all the questions and answers.

Sara

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