U Shinryo - Faculty Interview
Participant Profile
U Shinryo
Japanese Language and Culture1982: Graduated from the Department of Japanese Language and Literature, Faculty of Foreign Languages, Nankai University, Tianjin 1984: Began working at the Japanese Language Department, Dalian University of Foreign Languages 1988: Came to Japan 1992: Completed the Master's Program at the Graduate School of Letters, Waseda University 1996: Completed coursework for the Doctoral Programs at the Graduate School of Letters, Waseda University 1996: Became an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Economics, ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡, and has held his current position since 2002 2002: Visiting Researcher at the Center for East Asian Studies, UCLA, for one year 2012: Guest Professor at the Department of History, Fudan University, China, for one year 2016: Retired *Profile and position are as of the time of the interview.
U Shinryo
Japanese Language and Culture1982: Graduated from the Department of Japanese Language and Literature, Faculty of Foreign Languages, Nankai University, Tianjin 1984: Began working at the Japanese Language Department, Dalian University of Foreign Languages 1988: Came to Japan 1992: Completed the Master's Program at the Graduate School of Letters, Waseda University 1996: Completed coursework for the Doctoral Programs at the Graduate School of Letters, Waseda University 1996: Became an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Economics, ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡, and has held his current position since 2002 2002: Visiting Researcher at the Center for East Asian Studies, UCLA, for one year 2012: Guest Professor at the Department of History, Fudan University, China, for one year 2016: Retired *Profile and position are as of the time of the interview.
Where Japan's True Strength Lies¡ªWhat I Have Seen and Thought in the Field of Japanese University Education
In September 1988, I left my teaching position at Dalian University of Foreign Languages and came to Japan. My plan was to study in Japan for several years to improve my Japanese ability, then return to Dalian to devote myself to Japanese language education. I also came to solve a question I had: after the modern era began (following the Opium Wars), why was Japan the only country in Asia able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the great powers?
I became a full-time faculty member at the Faculty of Economics, ÎçÒ¹¾ç³¡ in 1996, so I gave up on returning to Dalian University of Foreign Languages, but the question of why Japan became the only great power in Asia remained. I am now in my 28th year of living in Japan, and I would like to take this opportunity to share the results of my long search for an answer to this mystery.
Triggered by the Qing dynasty's defeat in the Opium War (1840), the great powers rushed to East Asia to secure their interests in the dynasty. Japan, watching the tragic state of the Qing dynasty from the sidelines, realized it could not compete with the great powers under the shogunate system and did not want to become a "second Qing." It therefore carried out the Meiji Restoration, implementing what Mr. Yukichi Fukuzawa called "external civilization," including the "abolition of feudal domains and establishment of prefectures," "equality of the four social classes," the "family register system," and the "conscription system."
Until the shogunate period, Japan was a self-sufficient agricultural society with few shortages. However, when it tried to shift to an industrial society modeled on the Western powers, its weakness¡ªa scarcity of underground resources¡ªwas exposed. As it was an era of survival of the fittest, Japan defeated the Qing dynasty in the "Sino-Japanese War" and then Russia in the "Russo-Japanese War," thereby achieving its political goal of joining the great powers.
Through the "promotion of education," the Meiji government implemented what Mr. Yukichi Fukuzawa called "internal civilization" by accepting and disseminating Western civilization, enlightening the people, developing human resources, and fundamentally renewing the public mindset, thereby raising the overall quality of the Japanese people. Although Japan is poor in underground resources, it created human resources through education: Japanese people with specialized knowledge.
After the Industrial Revolution, the use of machine power transformed great voyages from the adventures of explorers into a practical means of transportation: maritime shipping. Japan skillfully utilized its geographical advantages, procuring inexpensive raw materials from neighboring countries. Japanese engineers with specialized knowledge promoted "industrial development," turned those raw materials into products, and sold them overseas with the brand value of "MADE IN JAPAN," realizing Mr. Yukichi Fukuzawa's long-cherished wish for a "trading nation."
I believe Japan's strength also owes much to the Japanese characteristics fostered by its unique geographical environment, as well as its distinctive ethnic composition, history, and cultural traditions, such as "groupism," "diligence," "earnestness," "humility," and "shame culture."
Japan's emphasis on foreign language education is also significant. While learning the language of a target country, it goes without saying that they also grasp its history, culture, and customs, and are quick to catch new trends, adopting a stance of "know your enemy and know yourself."
The reason for Japan's post-World War II reconstruction, its high-speed recovery from the ruins of war to rise as the world's second-largest economic power, was that despite its defeat, its people with specialized knowledge remained.
Conclusion: I believe the main driving force behind Japan's true strength lies in its proper implementation of education. The benefits of the "promotion of education" and the emphasis on knowledge after the Meiji Restoration continue to this day. The world has now moved from the era of "iron is the state" of the last century to an era where perhaps "high-tech is the state." The importance of education has taken on an even more critical role.
Living in Japan for many years, I have tried to convey to my students what I have come to understand and the truths I know while solving my own questions. I can only hope that this message has reached them.
(Interview conducted in January 2016)