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 TUC:
How long have you lived in Japan?
Jean: This year is my 28th anniversary!
TUC: What appeals most to you about Japan?
Jean: I love the fact that if you work hard and prove yourself to be
reliable, then other jobs come by word of mouth, and all kinds of amazing
opportunities present themselves. Every day brings a new surprise.
However, the greatest appeal is traditional Japanese culture. I love the
performing arts--theatre and music, traditional crafts, colours and designs, and
sounds--wind chimes, summer clogs, cicadas and other insects, frogs, sweet
potato vendors, the local fire prevention brigade clacking their wooden blocks
to remind you to be careful of fire, shamisen, koto and shakuhachi flutes, etc.
There is one sound I detest, though--the honking of the car horn at a Japanese
funeral when the hearse pulls away. For me it shatters the gravity of the
moment.
TUC: What are the most challenging aspects of living here?
Jean: The greatest challenge is reading the written language. I have
spent endless months and horrific amounts of money on lessons and books, but my
brain simply doesn't seem designed to grasp these squiggles. I will probably
struggle with it for the rest of my life.
Another challenge is to find balance within myself. I wanted to live in the Far
East from the age of eight and I am quite sure that God created me to live in
Japan. However, if He had wanted me to be Japanese, He would have had me born
here of Japanese parents, so my Englishness must have a meaning too. Sometimes I
lose sight of that. In my attempts to be absorbed into Japan and its culture,
perhaps I have rejected or 'thrown away' a lot of my Englishness, but recently I
have started to think I need to recover some of that and somehow achieve a
finer-tuned balancing act between being English and being 'Japanese'!
TUC: What do you like about your job? How do you incorporate your
Christian values into what you do?
Jean: I juggle several jobs including teaching, narrating, writing about
Japanese show business and culture, and kabuki commentating. They each appeal to
a different side of me--some I do alone, some one-on-one, some with groups of
people. I love trying to make students interested and excited about what I'm
teaching. I enjoy using my voice, and I like researching. I think I'm very lucky
to have the chance to meet and interview Japanese show business personalities,
although sometimes it can be disappointing when the real person doesn't match
his or her public image.
I try always to work diligently, even if no one is around to see me working. I
also pray by myself (and occasionally directly) for the people I meet in my work
such as actors or students, especially if I know they are experiencing some
problem, because I believe prayer makes a huge difference in people's lives.
Recently, I faced the moral dilemma of being asked to proofread a new horoscope
page in a publication I check every month. I told the magazine company that I
was not comfortable doing it and I was prepared for possible negative
consequences but happily they accepted my stance without question.
TUC: What's most important to you about TUC?
Jean: Despite having been in Japan so long, I have found that it is very
difficult for me to worship in Japanese. I still can't understand a lot of a
Japanese service and don't feel I'm participating spiritually. The most
important thing about TUC is that I can worship in English.
Another significant point for me is that Christians of all nations and
denominations worship together. I think we leave our doctrinal or liturgical
differences at the door and find what we can share rather than what divides us.
I know I have become much more broad-minded as a result of being exposed to
TUC's ecumenical atmosphere.
TUC: You've been an active member of TUC for many years now. In what ways
have you seen it change?
Jean: It is more welcoming, and there is greater openness to a variety of
worship styles and ministries, such as the Evening Praise Service and the Alpha
course. The demographics have changed, too. There are more Japanese and other
Asian attendees and fewer Westerners than in the past; the current mix is very
comfortable for me.
TUC: Where has God been most noticeable to you in your life?
Jean: I can honestly say that my life is a living testimony to God's
faithfulness every single day. I have no family or relatives, so, although I've
never been married, I am like the "widows and orphans" the Bible speaks
of--women and children who have no male or parental support of any kind, and yet
God always provides for my needs and guides me. I'm always excited to see what
He's going to do next!
Specifically, I can also say God has been most noticeable in helping me get rid
of addictive and self-destructive behaviour patterns. I really am a new creation
compared to what I was like in the past.
TUC: What is your favourite verse from the Bible or piece of Christian
writing and why?
Jean: My favourite verse is Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all your
heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him
and He shall direct thy paths." (You can see I learned it a long time ago, when
the only version of the Bible in English was the King James Version!). This
verse is my lifeblood! I truly believe that God has, does and will direct my
paths. My job is to do the trusting. I used to think I was really good at
trusting God, but I now realize that this verse is sometimes as much of a
challenge as it is a comfort!
TUC: What are the most memorable things that have happened to you in
Japan?
Jean: So many things have happened in 28 years! Here are just a few:
1) Soon after I arrived I became a devoted fan of a singer I saw on TV! Over the
years, not only have I met him dozens of times, but I became his teacher and
interpreter on several of his overseas tours, and then a friend. It's a miracle
in progress!
2) I am not at all a "sporty" type of person and the prospect of hard physical
exertion brings me out in a sweat of fear! So the achievement of climbing Mt.
Fuji (at night) and watching the sunrise from the summit epitomizes my greatest
body-over-mind achievement!.
3) Receiving great emotional and spiritual healing and freedom. Some years ago I
met a pastor from Canada who was visiting Japan for a few days. He prayed for me
specifically that I would grow to understand God's love for me as well as for
release from emotional pain from the past. I felt nothing at the time, but
another pastor friend said that I was like a plant that had not been watered for
a long time. The prayer was 'water' that had sunk straight in. Over a period of
four years I received more prayer and gradually I felt the Holy Spirit
'softening' and healing me. I felt lighter, more joyful, closer to Jesus than
before and a beginning awareness and acceptance of God's love for me.
4) Teaching a student who had a very bad facial scar how to use makeup to hide
it, and then watching this same, now- stunning girl in a kimono come over to
greet me at her graduation party with tears in her eyes.
5) God opening the door for me to become a commentator for the traditional
kabuki theatre, and my coming to a much deeper understanding about my mission
for being in Japan and its connection with the tradional arts world.
6) My last one is cheating a bit, because it didn't happen to me in Japan, but
in the summer of 2003 I fulfilled my lifetime dream of touching, stroking and
feeding a real panda. I had mentioned my dream to a group of my students, one of
whom was Chinese. By some remarkable chance her hometown was where the panda
breeding research facilities are and she told me that she wanted to take me
there to fulfil my dream. She did, and it was one of the most wonderful
experiences of my life.
I have also visited every panda in Japan! In addition to Ueno Zoo, there are two
pandas at Oji Zoo near Osaka and six at Adventureworld in Wakayama Prefecture.
To any panda lovers at TUC--please make yourself known to me!
TUC: What would you be doing if you weren't living in Japan?
Jean: I cannot imagine! Perhaps living in another country in Asia?
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