In data de 23 iunie, Cercul „Prietenii Japoniei” a organizat cea de a doua
intalnire a lunii, fiind o intalnire in care am putut sa descoperim natura
japoneza, atitudinea japonezilor fata de aceasta si cateva aspecte ale vietii
rurale din Japonia, prin intermediul unei proiectii de film japonez, numit
„Amida-do Dayori”, in engleza „Letter from the Mountain”.
La inceputul intalnirii am avut un moment de prezentari, in care, pe langa
numele si interesele participantilor, am putut afla si animalul preferat al
fiecaruia. A fost un moment interesant, care ne-a ajutat sa ne cunoastem
altfel, oarecum indirect, prin aceasta reflexie a personalitatii fiecaruia in
animalul preferat.
Dupa momentul introductiv am inceput vizionarea filmului. Filmul descrie o
perioada de aproximativ un an, din viata unui cuplu casatorit, Takao si Michiko
Ueda, in jurul varstei de 45 de ani, cuplu care alege sa renunte la viata
alerta de la oras si sa se retraga intr-o zona mai linistita, la sat. Acolo
experimenteaza o noua viata, in comuniune cu natura, intalnesc oameni de la
sat, batrani, care traiesc acolo poate de cand se stiu. Experienta este una
benefica pentru cuplu, Michiko, doctorita de meserie, vindecandu-se de o boala
provocata de stresul de la oras.
Pe parcursul povestii intervine si un caz medical pe care dna Michiko
reuseste sa il rezolve. O tanara din sat, Sayuri, care obisnuia sa publice articole
pe care le numea „Scrisori de pe Munte”, constand in cuvintele spuse de batrana
satului in varsta de 96 de ani, dna Ume, are o tumora la gat pe care dna
Michiko incearca sa o vindece. Aceasta reuseste in cele din urma, iar in
finalul filmului, toti patru se reintalnesc la casa batranei, cuplul alegand sa
duca in continuare o viata linistita acolo si sa devina si ei stramosi.
Filmul a fost atat unul linistitor
pentru public, cat si plin de invataturi, dar si de elemente de cultura
japoneza. In film au fost prezente cateva dansuri rituale japoneze shinto,
festivalul Obon, cand stramosii se crede ca revin printre oameni pentru cateva
zile, lucru sarbatorit de catre japonezi, care isi respecta stramosii. De
asemenea cuplul japonez era unul atipic, asa cum am aflat mai detaliat dupa
incheierea filmului, in general barbatul fiind cel sustinut moral de catre
femeie, nu invers. In schimb, in film, barbatul era un scriitor, care isi
sustinea sotia din punct de vedere moral, sotie care era doctor, o meserie mult
mai pretentioasa. Cu toate acestea ei se iubesc foarte mult si pot reprezenta
un model pentru societate.
S-a discutat mult pe baza
filmului, iar la finalul intalnirii cu totii ne-am intors la casele noastre cu
dorinta de a ne apropia mai mult de natura, si cu multe cunostinte noi despre
cultura japoneza.
***********English Version bellow:**************
On 23rd of June, Japan’s Friends
Club organized the second meeting of the month. In this meeting we discovered
the Japanese nature, the Japanese’s attitude towards nature and some aspects of
the rural life in Japan, by means of the movie “Amida-do Dayori” or “Letter
from the Mountain”, in English.
At the start of the meeting we had a moment of
introduction, when, besides introducing ourselves, we could also find out the
favourite animal of each of us. It was an interesting moment and that way we
could also get to know each other better, through the reflection of our own
personality in our favourite animal.
After the introductory moment, we started
watching the movie. It was a movie describing a period of about one year in the
life of a married couple, Takao and Michiko Ueda, which were about 45 years
old. The couple decides to give up the busy life in the city and retreat to a
more peaceful area, in the countryside. There, they have the experience of a
new life, in the nature, meeting people who perhaps lived there forever. The
experience was good for the couple, Michiko, who was a doctor, even getting
cured of a condition caused by the stress she had been going through in the
city.
During the story a medical case also comes up,
which Ms. Michiko manages to solve. A young girl in the village, Sayuri, who
used to publish articles which she called “Letter from the Mountain”, which
were the words spoken by Mrs. Ume, the village’s oldest woman, 96 years old,
has a tumour in her throat, which Ms. Michiko tries to cure. She succeeds in
the end, everyone meeting up at the old woman’s house at the end of the movie.
The couple chooses to continue living a peaceful life there and become
ancestors themselves.
The movie was both relaxing and full of wisdom
for the public, the action happening in a Japanese characteristic setting. In
the movie, there were some ritual Shinto Japanese dances, the Obon Festival,
when it is thought that the ancestors return among the living for a few days,
which is celebrated, as Japanese always respected their ancestors. Also, the
Japanese couple was uncommon, as we found out at the end of the movie.
Generally, the man is the one who gets moral support from the wife. In this
case, the man is a writer, who morally sustained his wife, who was a respected
doctor. However, they love each other very much, representing a model for the
society.
We kept discussing a lot about the movie, and
at the of the meeting we all returned home with the wish to get closer to the
nature and with a lot more knowledge about Japanese culture.