Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi
I think I don’t know of any other people or country around the world, who are so crazy about US culture than the Japanese. Even more than Iranians?! I don’t know of any other country around the world that ignores its own culture than Japan. Maybe it sounds cruel and unfair but I found this out by living in Japan for such a long time.
When you talk to Japanese in Japan and here in New York about their country and culture, you will be surprised, how much they don’t know about their own country. Often they don’t know anything about the things New Yorkers are interested in, such as Zen, Kabuki, Noh, Japanese fashion, martial arts vs samurai, Japanese politics and history, Toru Takemitsu, Butoh, Kiari, Japanese Classical music and many more things. Everything that is coming from outside interests them more than their own roots.
I can understand that especially young people are not interested or don’t like things of their own culture, but at least they should know about them. For example, I know of young Iranians, who are not into Persian Classical music, but they still know something about it and know the famous singer Mohamed Reza Shajarian, or young Indians, who are bored by Indian Classical music, do know Ravi Shankar and his music, Malians people, who love Salif Keita, still appreciate their own roots music.
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