{"id":144,"date":"2007-06-07T13:16:02","date_gmt":"2007-06-07T17:16:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.hsc.edu\/international\/?p=144"},"modified":"2021-01-11T19:57:57","modified_gmt":"2021-01-11T19:57:57","slug":"reflections-on-japan-may-term-2007","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.hsc.edu\/international\/2007\/06\/07\/reflections-on-japan-may-term-2007\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections on Japan – May Term 2007"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>by Benjamin M. Brown \u201810<\/em><\/p>\n

(<\/em>At Kegon Fall – left to right, first row, sitting – Ben Brown ’10, David Bowen ’09 Second row, crouching –\u00a0Andrew Wolfe ’08, Wes Julian ’08, Richard Shelby ’08, Cory Cutler ’08, Warren Beth ’09 Third row, standing –\u00a0Clay Behl ’08, John Rothgeb ’08, Anson Bird ’08, Christian L\u2019Heureux ’08, Alex Modny ’08, Matthew Dubroff, Eric Dinmore)<\/span><\/p>\n

On a particularly dark night in May, twelve students embarked on a journey from Hampden-Sydney to the Land of the Rising Sun.\u00a0 With Professors Eric Dinmore and Matthew Dubroff leading this procession through Japan, a land of dragons, samurai heritage, and timeless tradition, the group departed from America and landed a day later at Kansai Airport. We arrived with high expectations and anticipation of the sites to be seen.<\/p>\n

From the airport in Osaka our journey began in Kyoto, a city where old ways meet the innovation of the present. The beauty and spiritual depth of Japan was revealed through encounters with the Golden and Silver Pavilions, ornate shrines, inspiring temples, and the many art forms that a person can spend a lifetime mastering.\u00a0 One almost felt as if he were dreaming when wandering through the culture that defines traditional Japan.\u00a0 Yet, everyone was reawakened periodically by the harsh reality that this trip was also an academic program, and reading, studying, and presentations broke the rhythm of an otherwise ebon flow.\u00a0 This responsibility to maintain academic awareness amidst so many awe-inspiring wonders and unbelievable opportunities in fact exemplifies the concept of giri-ninjo, or duty versus desire, a theme expressed in traditional Japanese arts.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Not forgetting that the traditional side of Japan coexists with a contemporary hustle and bustle that stops only when halted by a red crosswalk signal, the group conversed with locals and explored the restaurants and nightlife with wide eyes and a true Hampden-Sydney curiosity. This was especially true in Tokyo, where the present actually moves toward a wondrous and ever-evolving future.\u00a0 If ever there were a place that could be called a futuristic metropolis, Tokyo is that place.\u00a0 Few have ever witnessed such awareness of fashion, technology, and activity as the group came upon while in the city.\u00a0 In fact, by the time of the yakatabune harbor cruise and dinner that marked the end of the group\u2019s visit to Japan, each member, including the professors, could call claim to a very personal superlative accompanied by a memorable trinket and story to tell.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>From start to finish, there were many firsts on this journey.\u00a0 For some, this trip meant their first ride on an airplane, train, or subway.\u00a0 For others, it was an indulgence in new cuisines and countless new drinks from the many vending machines that lined the streets.\u00a0 For yet others, it was their first time simply reflecting internally and documenting their evolution as they reevaluated themselves throughout the journey.\u00a0 And further still, some took the true cultural plunge, from accidentally buying traditional undergarments, to singing uninhibited karaoke, to sumo wrestling in the subway, to getting lost on purpose simply to find themselves.\u00a0 But whatever the memory, the consensus in our culturally enlightened group is undoubtedly that this journey through Japan was unforgettable.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Mt. Fuji from the air: photgraph takem by Richard Shelby<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Benjamin M. Brown \u201810 (At Kegon Fall – left to right, first row, sitting – Ben Brown ’10, David Bowen ’09 Second row, crouching –\u00a0Andrew Wolfe ’08, Wes Julian ’08, Richard Shelby ’08, Cory Cutler ’08, Warren Beth ’09 Third row, standing –\u00a0Clay Behl ’08, John Rothgeb ’08, Anson Bird ’08, Christian L\u2019Heureux ’08, Alex Modny ’08, Matthew Dubroff, Eric Dinmore) On a particularly dark night in May, twelve students embarked on a journey from Hampden-Sydney to the Land of the Rising Sun.\u00a0 With Professors Eric Dinmore and Matthew Dubroff leading this procession through Japan, a land of dragons, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[16,40],"class_list":["post-144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-may-term","tag-brown","tag-japan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.hsc.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.hsc.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.hsc.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.hsc.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.hsc.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.hsc.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2742,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.hsc.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144\/revisions\/2742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.hsc.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.hsc.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.hsc.edu\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}