Living and Studying in Japan:
A Student's Perspective

During October 1991 and April 1993 I received a MEXT scholarship to study Zen Buddhism at Komazawa University in Tokyo as a research student. This was my third trip to Japan, albeit the longest that far, and I was modestly prepared linguistically, having studied Japanese at an American university for a year. I had also taken courses in Japanese history and culture, as well as lived in Japan for five months as part of an American university study group.

The first six months were spent improving on the language at the Osaka University of Foreign Studies. The atmosphere at the dormitory in which the MEXT students were housed was one of the highlights of my stay in Japan. Resembling a gathering of the United Nations, students from Nigeria, Mongolia, Norway etc. would have dinner and conversation in the dining hall. I had discussions and arguments with economists, architects, biologists and artists, all living under the same roof.


Life in Tokyo was different, as my companions were all Japanese, and mostly students and monks from Komazawa University. The professors were very open to my interests, and in the evening course on Chinese Zen Buddhism I met a (Japanese) monk who had lived in Volos for many years before deciding to take his vows. Joining a university martial arts club made me part of a community of young students who practiced and engaged in social activities together, and also introduced me to an important aspect of Japanese university life. The time spent in the company of these students was improved my spoken Japanese considerably, and I learned the language that young people use outside the lecture halls. My Japanese also had a chance to progress in the izakayas, little ‘tavernas' where over a glass of sake or a plate of mame beans, one's fellow patrons would engage in conversation that I often struggled to follow.

Being interested more in traditional rather than contemporary Japanese culture, I found countless pockets of beauty in the countryside, and friendly locals who were surprised that a foreigner would be interested in the local temples and villages. Yet I could not help but be fascinated by the popular culture of Tokyo, as seen in the neighborhoods of Harajuku and Shibuya. Overall, the most interesting developments in Japanese design I felt came from designers and artists who blended the traditional and the modern in an inspired way, as my friend Tomiyama-san, a traditional kimono maker who applied his techniques to contemporary furniture design.