これは使いまわし用。

[Additional Essay] :  My Contribution as a Japanese

          “It just has a power, a creative power. There is an aesthetic in the way that you live your lives, and a great beauty in that.”

Tom Cruise answered in an interview after starring in The Last Samurai. I heard this and thought that Japanese culture is now spreading to the western hemisphere little by little. While the strong spirit of warriors and samurais of Japan is becoming famous worldwide, the delicate and soft aesthetic Japanese possess is not understood by many people. Through growing up in Japan, I have learned that the Japanese have a keen sense of beauty, especially in reference to songs and nature. I strongly felt this while working on a film project during my high school career.

         April 2002, our class was discussing what kind of movie to make for the upcoming school festival. I suggested basing the story on a famous Japanese classic Ise Monogatari (Azumakudari), one of my favorite works written in the Heian era, and shifting the scenes to modern time. This story takes the pattern of Utamonogatari (tales composed alternatively with short texts and waka poems) and intertwines the beauty of Japanese nature with poems and songs. The songs are weaved into the scenery in such a sensitive way that the reader can imagine the setting clearly and sometimes can even smell the same smell as the character.

         When editing, I used modern songs instead of old Japanese poems, and wove it carefully into the story like in the original tale. This Japanese classic taught me that, by interweaving images of nature with carefully chosen back ground music, everything would freshly come to life. As a result, I successfully conveyed the unfading Japanese culture of the 8th century to modern people living in 2002.

         The Japanese sense of beauty is timeless. I think it can transcend national borders as well. People in the western hemisphere often say that Japanese culture is too subtle and complex to understand. Artistically, Japanese often blur things and inject seemingly irrelevant images like flowers and other things in nature. We intertwine songs and music with the story. Japanese try to be indirect and cherish moods and feelings. This might be frustrating in the world of business, but in the world of art, I think it is one of the most important elements.

         My future dream is to someday create a film from a Japanese perspective, eventually introducing this culture of Japan to the world. I believe that students that spend their college life in the diverse environment of your school would be interested and open to learning about the deep beauty of the Japanese culture I bring. I am sure I can offer a new perspective as a student who has spent most of the life in the environment of Japan.