Kampai! Holding our glasses high, we toasted once again in the beauteous garden of Ando Cloisonne on an almost surreal mid-summer night. Sweet fragrance of Asagao and the happy laughter of the children dangled in the air. Vivid memories flashed into my mind: savoring Coke chicken and home-made sushi in Nagoya, enjoying the moonlight at the New York Bar (featured in “Lost in Translation”) and fireworks in Tokyo, catching fireflies in Ukai Toriyama, chatting away with various ministers and ministers-to-be, discovering the land where Kirin beer flows like water, awe-struck by the speed of the Shinkansen and the TV for the future, uttering the prayer of love at Kiyomizu-dera, learning about the tragedy at Hiroshima, posing for pictures with live squid in our mouths, cheering Nagoya Dragons at the baseball game, laughing at the dry humor of the mayor of Nagoya, watching the graceful Mao-Chan Asada in the rink, playing Kendama and dodge ball with students at Fuzoku, cheering the sumo wrestlers, having dinner with the president of Chunichi Newspaper, witnessing the birth of a ceramic art piece, dreaming of Japan on the airplane. I closed my eyes, hoping to seal this moment forever.

I am lucky. While most travelers only delight themselves by parading past the glistering temples and skyscrapers, I have come to know Japan--a mystery to me for many years--in an incredibly unique way as a Kawamura fellow. I am very impressed by the rich traditions and cultures of Japan. It has been a big challenge in the course of development for many countries to reconcile tradition and modernity, and to strike a delicate balance. This was especially the case for Japan after the WWII. Yet while rebuilding the country under heavy western influence, Japan was able to preserve her unique cultural practices. Ando Cloisonne, as a representative of Japanese art, was founded more than one hundred years ago and is still prospering. Sumo wrestling, fireworks and Natsu-matsu-ri miraculously find their way into the vibrancy of modern city life. The visit to Gion imprinted me with a contemporary articulation of an age-old art; every polite gesture at public places constitutes a continuation of ancient good manners of the Japanese people. More importantly, Japanese people are proud of their heritage and traditions. I remember the enthusiasm of the owner of Inuyama castle when she showed us around. I remember how my host family proudly brought me to the place where we could make washi paper. Mass-production, ever-increasing salary, and dazzling technology alone will not bring real progress for the society. A definite sign of development is the proud recognition of the past while embracing the future.

Knowing prior to the fellowship that Japan is an economic and technological powerhouse, I tried to brace myself for this eye-opening experience. I am nonetheless surprised how much I learned during these five weeks. Attention to details has enabled the Japanese enterprises to reach pre-eminence in many industries. Even for world-renowned corporations such as Mitsubishi and Toyota, this has enabled them to improve upon seemingly minute aspects of their products and remain leaders in the industry. It was also remarkable how these companies are keenly aware of the environmental impacts of their operations. Toyota has invested heavily in manufacturing hybrid cars; Kirin beer is able to completely recycle the by-products in its factories. Observant of the existing problems and inconveniences and striving for expeditious usage of resources, Kawamura Electric’s All Light and NHK’s “super high-vision” TV and high-sensitivity and high-speed cameras allowed us to catch a glimpse of the future. This attention to detail is the key to the Japanese people’s creative energy and it is not only confined to the realm of business. The multi-level parking lots and bike racks, the myriad categories of recycling, the fancy bathroom set-up, women-only compartment in the train, and countless overpasses that facilitate the traffic flow all reveal to us that people have been keen observers in their daily lives and have carefully thought about improvements.