JSPS Fellow's Experiences in Japan
Mr Johannes Bauer
(Department of Mathematics, Imperial College London)
JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship for foreign Researchers (Short-Term)
Host institution: Kyoto Institute of Technology (February 2006 - May 2006)
Although I had had an interest in Japan for many years, mainly related to its prominent parts of the culture such as Zen-Buddhism and meditation, the board game iGo and martial arts, I never had much opportunity to actually get to know the country and its people. I found myself very grateful when I found out about the JSPS fellowships and the opportunity to conduct funded research in Japan. It was also very helpful for me that my research group in London already had a collaboration with a group at Osaka City University. Therefore, it was not difficult to set up a suitable research project and with excitement I started to prepare my stay in Japan by reading books about the country as well as studying the language in an intensive course.
For many things concerning the everyday life I did not know what was going to expect me in Japan. Having had seen mainly pictures of sightseeing places in the travel guides the experience in of the Japanese reality in the first couple of days was a bit of a surprise for me. Large Japanese cities, like Osaka at first sight do not display all the cultural richness, the beautiful design of temples and gardens, as in many stereotype pictures one might have in mind. Instead they appear like a vast densely inhabited land of busy and polite people and many buildings, grey, modern and in the evening with many flashy lights advertisements. The richness of the deep cultural as well as modern day Japanese life experience comes only with the time, when one gets to know people, places, the food and travels to places of interest. It would not be possible to give an exhaustive account in a short report like this. Of course, the everyday life there is not free of obstacles, for instance communication difficulties. But it is always possible to manage and it is a fantastic personal experience as well to master this.
Concerning the research project, the time was too short to finish all aspects, but I managed to carry out quite a lot of important work in collaboration with the group there, which could be used later for publications and conference presentations. Altogether, the three months I spent in Osaka were a rich and invaluable experience. Many aspects of the Japanese culture fascinated me and continue to do so.
At the JSPS Programme IntroductionEvent at Imperial College London on 22nd November 2006
