This review may contain spoilers
”The most important thing is what you have in your heart."
Just started this but seems like the contemporary modern Japan is clashing with the traditional. I’m interested in culture so this has got me hooked. Such an interesting study on what is happening to Japanese children in 2010 and now reflecting on Japan in 2021 and the Covid-19. I can see why the Japanese want the Olympics to carry on in spite of the pandemic. Have they become robots?It discusses how the calligraphy of the written letter convey feeling. I remember doing calligraphy with my class when I was teaching. Calligraphy has a freedom of expression not found so much in our cursive writing but it is possible to analyse that English text as well and get the feelings of the writer. The writing itself tells a story.
The Shodo competition is where you have to face your inner self you have to cooperate with your team mates. They want to take part in it. Their teacher gives them permission to enter. He is an out there extrovert with new and different ideas to the normal tradition Japanese. There is only three of them in the club. They need five people to be able to participate.
They go out recruiting. One a girl who wants to lose weight and a boy who like Shinko. The boy get in an accident breaks his leg and can’t participate. They need another member.These are the members of the club: Shinko Sumida, Takuya, Misato Satsukawa, Tohko Tenyru, Mimiko Iijima, Michiru Takamizawa came in at the end to make up the numbers but already a great calligraphter.
Their teacher(mr Yashiro) said”The most important thing is what you have in your heart. You can give a small light of hope for the world.”
Their first team practice is a shambles but so hilarious. Everyone has a story to tell. Shodo is a way of telling your story.
The education system has the herd mentality with no room for individuality or creativity. No wonder so many Japanese young people commit suicide when they cannot come up to the high academic standards no matter how hard they work. They say stay in the given box or you become a loser. How many times did I tell my children in my class “even if you are not clever or academic gifted, you have other talents. Pursue those. You are not a failure! You can speak two languages. You are bilingual. Bilingual speaker are divergent thinkers.” Sadly in this story in Japan. Divergent thinkers are not valued.
Get a bit sad near the end when comes the day of the Shodo Competition demonstrations. They were stunning in their creation of NO SURRENDER!
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