My point of view on my work:
Today, Miyagi-kyoushi, my coworker with whom I share my office, reminded me yet again the nickname I've earned from my students: Kamijo the demon. They claim I'm cruel for throwing books and pelting them with chalk, but I claim they're ingrateful little brats who would rather waste their time, money, and energy on laptops and cellphones during class. Come to class to learn! Not to text! It's aggravating to me and those students who are there to learn, and it's insulting to the scholars of Classical Japanese Literature! Not only are they shaming themselves, their ancestors, but all of Japan's ancestors! Honestly...
Japanese literature is priceless. It preserves our unique culture and heritage in an art form - writing, painting; and the emotions and feelings of the authors who have poured their hearts into their work is like a perfume in a vial, waiting to be opened by the reader with an open mind and open heart. Oral tradition is not the same as literature. Words change over time with each retelling, and it loses the heart of the original. Only once can words be put down to paper. Only once can we paint our thoughts in kanji, and only once can we lay down the stroke within a character. There is no big pink eraser.
I prefer to read from the original rather than translations, and I prefer to use photographed copies of the original rather than reproductions, if the original cannot be accessed. This is why I learned Chinese, for a lot of classical Japanese literature was written in Chinese. This was done akin to the Western world, where Latin was the language of scholarly status.
I could go on, but Miyagi-kyoushi is looking over my shoulder... and I have a class in ten minutes. I will leave you with the statement that I'm passionate about Japanese literature. I hope to make tenure and become a full-fledged professor.
Until next time,
上條 弘樹
Japanese literature is priceless. It preserves our unique culture and heritage in an art form - writing, painting; and the emotions and feelings of the authors who have poured their hearts into their work is like a perfume in a vial, waiting to be opened by the reader with an open mind and open heart. Oral tradition is not the same as literature. Words change over time with each retelling, and it loses the heart of the original. Only once can words be put down to paper. Only once can we paint our thoughts in kanji, and only once can we lay down the stroke within a character. There is no big pink eraser.
I prefer to read from the original rather than translations, and I prefer to use photographed copies of the original rather than reproductions, if the original cannot be accessed. This is why I learned Chinese, for a lot of classical Japanese literature was written in Chinese. This was done akin to the Western world, where Latin was the language of scholarly status.
I could go on, but Miyagi-kyoushi is looking over my shoulder... and I have a class in ten minutes. I will leave you with the statement that I'm passionate about Japanese literature. I hope to make tenure and become a full-fledged professor.
Until next time,
上條 弘樹