もくようびにわたしはげきをみます。It was based on a dialogue between the German philosopher Martin Heidegger and a にほんのがくせい。They discuss the notion of いき, which Heidegger's previous student, Count くき had described using both Western Aesthetics and Traditional Japanese Philosophy. The dialogue and the play both deal heavily with how much the Eastern and Western mind can communicate, and the threat that Western culture and intellectual theory will destroy more traditional Japanese notions. くき could understand Heidegger, but Heidegger could not understand いき because they spoke only in German, never in Japanese. Heidegger and the にほんごのがくせい discuss many fundamental differences between the cultures, such as how a traditional play のう differs fundamentally from realistic Western cinema.
Part of why I am studying にほんご is the hope that I can get as close to Japanese culture as I can. いきとむ obviously are worth understanding, but Heidegger was unable to cross the border imposed by language. In order to be comprehensible, the dialogue would have to be in にほんご rather than German. Right now I am stuck thinking in English, only borrowing terms still foreign to me (such as in this very blogpost). I hope that I can get closer to these notions through becoming proficient at the language.
On a less serious note, I have discovered Nujabes. Nujabes Hip Hop producerです。He died tragically last year, but there is still quite a lot of great music he left behind.
すごい ですね。The interaction between Western and Eastern philosophy is always tempting.
ReplyDeletewow what an interesting play synopsis. As a bilingual and crossing two cultures, I always think that when one side is more flexible, they are always the one forced to compromise, so they end up loosing out since they end up not using their dominant language. Isn't it ironic that when you are more competent, you sometimes end up with the short-end of the stick? This deviates from Heidegger, but its great that someone made a play about it! - すぎもと
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting. What's the title of the play? I don't know if Heidegger really could not understand いき. If he couldn't understand it, it is not clear that if it is only because of the language. It is hard to understand いき, but it is also hard to explain the concept of いき only by words. I believe that a truly universal idea can be understood in any language or even without a word...
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