Translation of Gackt's Fuurin Kazan blog entry~ October
Here's a translation of Gackt's latest entry in the Fuurin Kazan staff blog. The translations of the previous blog entries are here (May to September) and here (April) in case you missed them~
Enjoy!! :D
Please do not copy, take, redistribute, retranslate or repost this translation without my permission~ thanks!
10/30 Nagao Kagetora (Uesugi Kenshin) Gackt
“Asians” as a keyword
My dream is that “Asia will become one” and that “the people[1] will become one.” But when I say things like that, people will often think, “that’s impossible.” I guess it’s because my goal is just too big.
Still, just as Kagetora observed the dispute between vassals and lamented, “Generals from the same country are foolishly at war with each other,” I myself really wonder why fellow Asians must fight and hate each other.
I’ve been continuing my activities in Asia all this time, but I have never used the word “Japanese”. The way I put it is, “I am an ‘Asian’, and I am Japanese[2]; an Asian from Japan.” This word “Asian” is a keyword, and I believe it’d be great if this word would spread all across Asia.
In reality, it’s not politics that ties together and narrows the gap between countries or the hearts of the people who live in those countries. There’s no doubt that its culture. If we can accept each others’ culture, then we can accept the people who created that culture. Politics can then be based on that foundational relationship. I think the awareness of that fact is still weak, or in other words, the value of culture is being underestimated.
That’s why I want to continue using music and images to convey and to deliver this thing called culture. I believe that when the word “Asian” becomes a common keyword that everyone uses, the walls formed by countries will be crossed, and Asia and its people will become one.
Notes:
[1] minzoku (民族): nation; people; race; ethnic group.
[2] In this sentence, he actually says "I am an 'Asian', and I am a Japanese among Asians; an Asian from Japan." I shortened it just to make it read easier.
~~~
Translator comments:
It's nothing we haven't heard before from Gackt. I think we're all used to hearing about his desire to unite Asia, right? ^^ But I think it's important that his words are now reaching an even broader audience; not only Gackt fans or music fans, but people who watch Fuurin Kazan. And that would be a LOT of people. It's exciting to know that people from an older generation will be coming across articles in the paper where Gackt talks about culture overcoming barriers between Asian countries. Maybe they will pause to think about the importance of Taiga dramas, not just as a historical record, but as a way to share their history with other countries. And in turn, maybe they will become curious about the histories of their fellow Asians. It's easy to be a pessimist and say that culture and Gackt's speeches will never heal relations between Asians, but Gackt is taking on the much more difficult task of optimistically looking forward to, and helping to bring about, the day when Asia will become one. He has a commendable sense of purpose that never fails to amaze me.
Asia becoming one is not an impossible thing, but it will no doubt be difficult. I mean, look at America~ here, most people can't tell the difference between Chinese- Japanese-, Korean-, etc.- Americans. XD Well, we can tell the difference, but many cannot. We are grouped together as Asians, we are interchangeable on TV shows and movies. Some of us prefer to be called JA or CA or whatever we are, some don't care. But animosities run deep, and we learn things from our parents and relatives that are sometimes hard to unlearn. I guess hate can take several generations to disappear, if it ever does. But still, there is something there, something that ties us together. Something that makes us gravitate towards each other regardless of what part of Asia we are from. In certain ways, we think the same, and we have the same values and goals. I've always found it strange, this bond. And stranger still that even though I'm Japanese-American, all my best friends since middle school have been Chinese, Taiwanese, and from southeast Asia. Actually I never got along with other JAs~ I think it's because they were mostly 3rd and 4th generation, and too Americanized for my tastes. XD;; So anyway, I would love to chat with Gackt about this kind of stuff and see what he thinks about us Asians outside of Asia... It would be fascinating to hear what he has to say about the rest of the world becoming one as well. ^^
Enjoy!! :D
Please do not copy, take, redistribute, retranslate or repost this translation without my permission~ thanks!
10/30 Nagao Kagetora (Uesugi Kenshin) Gackt
“Asians” as a keyword
My dream is that “Asia will become one” and that “the people[1] will become one.” But when I say things like that, people will often think, “that’s impossible.” I guess it’s because my goal is just too big.
Still, just as Kagetora observed the dispute between vassals and lamented, “Generals from the same country are foolishly at war with each other,” I myself really wonder why fellow Asians must fight and hate each other.
I’ve been continuing my activities in Asia all this time, but I have never used the word “Japanese”. The way I put it is, “I am an ‘Asian’, and I am Japanese[2]; an Asian from Japan.” This word “Asian” is a keyword, and I believe it’d be great if this word would spread all across Asia.
In reality, it’s not politics that ties together and narrows the gap between countries or the hearts of the people who live in those countries. There’s no doubt that its culture. If we can accept each others’ culture, then we can accept the people who created that culture. Politics can then be based on that foundational relationship. I think the awareness of that fact is still weak, or in other words, the value of culture is being underestimated.
That’s why I want to continue using music and images to convey and to deliver this thing called culture. I believe that when the word “Asian” becomes a common keyword that everyone uses, the walls formed by countries will be crossed, and Asia and its people will become one.
Notes:
[1] minzoku (民族): nation; people; race; ethnic group.
[2] In this sentence, he actually says "I am an 'Asian', and I am a Japanese among Asians; an Asian from Japan." I shortened it just to make it read easier.
~~~
Translator comments:
It's nothing we haven't heard before from Gackt. I think we're all used to hearing about his desire to unite Asia, right? ^^ But I think it's important that his words are now reaching an even broader audience; not only Gackt fans or music fans, but people who watch Fuurin Kazan. And that would be a LOT of people. It's exciting to know that people from an older generation will be coming across articles in the paper where Gackt talks about culture overcoming barriers between Asian countries. Maybe they will pause to think about the importance of Taiga dramas, not just as a historical record, but as a way to share their history with other countries. And in turn, maybe they will become curious about the histories of their fellow Asians. It's easy to be a pessimist and say that culture and Gackt's speeches will never heal relations between Asians, but Gackt is taking on the much more difficult task of optimistically looking forward to, and helping to bring about, the day when Asia will become one. He has a commendable sense of purpose that never fails to amaze me.
Asia becoming one is not an impossible thing, but it will no doubt be difficult. I mean, look at America~ here, most people can't tell the difference between Chinese- Japanese-, Korean-, etc.- Americans. XD Well, we can tell the difference, but many cannot. We are grouped together as Asians, we are interchangeable on TV shows and movies. Some of us prefer to be called JA or CA or whatever we are, some don't care. But animosities run deep, and we learn things from our parents and relatives that are sometimes hard to unlearn. I guess hate can take several generations to disappear, if it ever does. But still, there is something there, something that ties us together. Something that makes us gravitate towards each other regardless of what part of Asia we are from. In certain ways, we think the same, and we have the same values and goals. I've always found it strange, this bond. And stranger still that even though I'm Japanese-American, all my best friends since middle school have been Chinese, Taiwanese, and from southeast Asia. Actually I never got along with other JAs~ I think it's because they were mostly 3rd and 4th generation, and too Americanized for my tastes. XD;; So anyway, I would love to chat with Gackt about this kind of stuff and see what he thinks about us Asians outside of Asia... It would be fascinating to hear what he has to say about the rest of the world becoming one as well. ^^