"Turning Japanese"

I chose to read "Turning Japanese" by David Mura for my non-fiction assignment. This is a story about the year David Mura spent in Japan and his quest to figure out his identity. Mura is a Sansei, or a 3rd generation Japanese-American, who goes to Japan to try and discover what it means to be Japanese. He grew up in Minnesota and only really knew American culture. He discusses throughout the book his confusion about his identity. He knows his grandparents came to America from Japan, but he has a hard time relating to the Japanese side of him. Mura is a poet and was able to spend that year in Japan after being granted a fellowship through the U.S./Japan Creative Artist Exchange. He looked at it as a big opportunity to "turn" more Japanese.

The story began with Mura discussing his earlier college years, and his apprehensions about travelling. He liked the familiar and found being in a new place uncomfortable. He stated, "A true landlocked Midwesterner, I wanted to read about the world. But go there? Never." When he got to Japan, he really just wanted to fit in. He didn't want to appear American since he was Japanese and thought he needed to blend in. He felt a little guility about not knowing very much Japanese, which is quite understandable. I really liked how honest Mura was with expressing his first thoughts about Japan as it gave the reader a good glimpse of how awkward Mura must have first felt.

As the story progresses, Mura comes to enjoy Japan more than America in many aspects. He dabbles in all sorts of activities that he wouldn't have tried back in the states. He's fascinated with Butoh and Noh dancing and starts taking lessons from a man named Ono. I found these dances fascinating to read about because they're so differernt from anything you'll find in America. Mura's wife, Susie, who also travelled to Japan, enjoys Tea Ceremony's because of their calming nature. I overall enjoyed reading about Mura's various adventures and all the places he travels to. He talks about living in Tokyo, visiting the Shamans at the Osore-zan mountain, and seeing the rural fishing village his grandparents had come from. I would love to visit Japan one day, so it was interesting to read about all these contrasting places.

The more time Mura spent in Japan, the more he began to relate with the Japanese people. He noticed several traits in himself that are common in many Japanese such as politeness and not showing criticism. It was also quite interesting to read about all the different people Mura met during that year. Each person contributed something new to Mura's life and had a unique personality that was fun to read about.

"Turning Japanese" was an enjoyable memoir to read mostly because the Japanese culture is so different from our own and seeing what everyday Japanese life is like was very interesting and revealing.