MEANINGFUL TRAVEL | HENRO | PILGRIMAGES IN JAPAN | SHIKOKU88
By SENSEISTEVE88 December 2023
'A mark of a lifelong learner is recognising that they can learn
something from everyone they meet' - Adam M. Grant
Tokyo ... a lot changed financially and culturally during the 'economic miracle'
My first visit to Japan was 'accidental' in 2003. See Henro: Ch.2 But my first 'exposure' to Japan was in the early 1970's.
My grandmother (fathers side) was racist. There is no sugar coating it. She was particularly articulate when it came to the Japanese. Living thru two World Wars can do that to a person sadly ... if they let it. To the best of my knowledge she never actually met a Japanese person, but she despised them just the same. Spending countless hours listening to Sydney talk back radio (her right-wing heroes being John Laws and Stan Zemanek) didn't help.
Nor did it help that between the post-World War II era and the end of the Cold War, Japan experienced a record period of economic growth referred to as the Japanese economic miracle. The 1970's saw Japan become a leading exporter of quality products to many western markets including Australia. These new consumables became a red rag to a bull for my Nanna!
I always felt uncomfortable when she fired up (regularly) during family get togethers. Nobody in the bloodline was ever buying a Hitachi TV or Toyo tyres et al if the matriarch had anything to do with it.
A boy of 10-12 doesn't know much about racism. What I took away from those early experiences was:
Find out more about these Japanese (they could be dangerous?);
A realisation that an aging woman full of hate was to be avoided whenever possible.
No surprise I was never a favourite grandchild!
My Nanna lived a fearful, insular life ...
and became an angry, mean-spirited person.
Lesson learned!
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