HIDETAKA INO EXECUTIVE PRODUCER & WRITER - REDISCOVERING.JP "Why do I know so little about Japan?" This has been the question I have been asking myself for a long time, even though I have lived in Japan for over 30 years. I was born in the...See moreHIDETAKA INO EXECUTIVE PRODUCER & WRITER - REDISCOVERING.JP "Why do I know so little about Japan?" This has been the question I have been asking myself for a long time, even though I have lived in Japan for over 30 years. I was born in the Aichi countryside in 1983, with my family moving to Tokyo during my teenage years. I spent my middle school and high school years during the early years of the internet, when information and lifestyles radically transformed in ways that could never have been imagined before. The world was always connected, and I could get information at any time. One day when I was in East Africa on a business trip, I had a crisis of confidence and my sense of self was shaken. An acquaintance had mentioned how moved they had been by 'In Praise of Shadows' by Junichiro Tanizaki - a book I had never heard of at the time. In a fluster, I had Googled the name of the book on my mobile whilst trying to pretend that, of course, I knew about the book; a modern classic. I was ashamed of myself, and realised that no matter how much our internet-based society evolves, nothing can take the place of an intrinsic sense of identity. Ever since that moment, I have been travelling in Japan to meet people and gain a deeper understanding of what makes my country what it is. Today, many tourists visit Tokyo and Kyoto and believe that they have 'seen' Japan, but my desire is for everyone to discover the 'true' Japan through the daily lives and stories of four local people.
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