IAmA white Englishman in his 40s who works for an 800 year old samurai clan in Japan. AMA

What do 800 year olds even talk about?

The old days of course! And how the younger generation are a bunch of workshy snowflakes.

What do you do in an average workday?

Depends really. My main job at Sengan-en most people arrive about 7:30 to 8:00 and clean up the grounds and the office. Then we have a morning meeting at 8:40, followed by a section meeting at 8:50 before starting work. I do a lot of work at my desk on websites, ticketing, digital marketing. I also go out and arrange and oversee video shoots, do media relations, meet tourism stakeholders. I also go on a lot of business trips to different regions of Japan to advise on their tourism content. I have lunch at my desk usually - often a bento my wife made for me. Don’t really take a lunch break. Work till about 7pm and head home or go training after that. When we are super busy working till 9pm or later is normal. Managers like me don’t get paid overtime by the way.

That is a long workday!

Yeah Japan is trying to sort out people working too much at the moment. Getting better than it was, but some people just don’t go home!!

I’ve heard about this before and I’m curious. You say “managers like you” don’t get paid overtime. Is this culture of overwork mostly concentrated in desk jobs? I know that Japanese executives tend to take more direct responsibility for their companies and I have a theory that this culture of overwork stems from this sense of responsibility combined with the outdated association of white collar jobs with upper management, and now that most people work desk jobs they all have to overwork themselves.

You are correct, mainly desk jobs. There's a lot of presenteeism in Japan. I work remotely a fair bit and even I feel I have to write more in our daily work diary to prove I'm pulling my weight. It's a strange social norm that Japan is trying to fix.

At our company the senior management tend to go home early to allow the other management staff to leave. I think we have finally nailed it but there are still those that linger on late into the night. Maybe they just don't want to go home.

I think we have finally nailed it but there are still those that linger on late into the night

You just described a 13.5 hour work day in your above post (7:30AM to 09:00PM).

Are you going to to keep pushing for less hours or is that just the best you think it's ever going to get?

(Reading this back I realise it sounds like a challenge. It's not, I'm just genuinely curious on your opinion of the way Japanese work culture is going. This is one of the most interesting AMA's for a long time.)

Over the last few years there has been a dedicated effort to reduce working hours generally in Japan. There was a "no zangyo" (no overtime) thing a few years back and things like Premium Friday in Tokyo which had some effect.

The culture is changing and work hours are getting shorter. Companies are also trying to improve productivity. Still kids go to school on Saturdays and go to cram school even on national holidays so there are still remnants of this in the education system.

Has there ever been talk of a state-mandated overtime pay? Seems like that would very much encourage companies to cut down hours, and if they don't at least the workers get paid for their long days.

There is already. Managers are not included though. Also the workers have to actually claim their overtime.

My company is pretty proactive with working hours and we've managed to slash overtime in the last few years for regular workers. At management level the change is a bit slower but getting there.

How does the pay compare to jobs in the West?

Japanese wages are generally lower than western countries. Per capita GDP is less than the UK.

You can take naps at your desk though and that's acceptable in Japan because it is considered you work so much overtime or something like that.

Some people take naps in the day and that is socially acceptable.

I can't even sleep at night in a bed so no fucking way I'm sleeping in the afternoon at a desk.

How often do you have to fight off evil ninja attacks?

Nightly. They are the bane of my existence.

Is your clan an friend to GI Joe snake eyes clan or an enemy of his clan?

Snake Eyes is our ally. Storm Shadow our nemesis.

Those hours are insane... I understand culturally it's typical in japan, but you mentioned you're gaijin... Im genuinely curious how you justify working like that and not receiving overtime pay.

After the second unpaid 14-hour day within a week I'd quit.

It's not everyday. You do get used to it. Nobody is actually forcing you to stay - this is the strange part.

Mind you our company now regulates time pretty well and most staff go home at 5:30 or 6pm. Takes me about 1.5x longer to write a report or answer emails in Japanese than a native speaker so that factors in as well.

Considering your long hours and little free time, would you describe your compensation as fair?

My priavte sector work is fair. Public sector work for the Prefecutre definitely not fair.

arrange and oversee video shoots, do media relations, meet tourism stakeholders. I also go on a lot of business trips to different regions of Japan to advise on their tourism content.

I watched your proof video, on which you describe arriving at the location, not finding it, then being kinda snubbed off as what are you doing here.

After your years of public relations work, how differently would an interested tourist be received?

Don't get me wrong Kagoshima people are incredibly open and welcoming. They are usually more than happy to show people around or help them out while travelling. Jigen-ryu is a slightly different matter, but if someone is genuinely interested they will of course be able to watch training and try it out. When you actually join you become their problem as they have to teach you. That's when they start to become standoffish. It's just the Japanese way of teaching though. Stick it out and one day you will find you are truly on the inside - in a way not really possible at work.

Digital marketing. Advertising via AMA. Boo

I think I’m being honest and answering questions put to me in as much detail as possible.

Would I like to have more people know about Kagoshima and what I’m trying to do here? Sure!

If you have a question I’d be more than happy to answer it.

Don't pay attention to that troll. You're doing an amazing service to the country of Japan and the Japanese culture. Greetings from a Greek in the Netherlands!

Thanks! Thought it might be of interest to do this since I guess I’ve had a fairly unusual experience.

Do your employers speak to you in English or do you speak to them in Japanese?

Also, after working there for 16 years, how is your home life? Do you live a Japanese lifestyle or an a semblance of an English lifestyle with what you have available in Japan?

I find this fascinating because here in Canada where there are a lot of immigrants, people that I’ve met have different kinds of home life. It’s mostly based off of what they have from their native lands making the best of what’s available to them.

All Japanese at work. Unless I’m dealing with overseas agents or media.

At home it’s a mix of both. Most meals are Japanese but breakfast is western. We also do Sunday roasts and English stuff from time to time. I speak English at home, wife and kids a mix of Japanese and English.

Kind of got a better idea of what it’s like to be an immigrant in a western country through this experience. Also less tolerance for people not willing to learn the culture and language of the country they choose to live in. Making the effort is totally necessary.

Awesome video and very interesting life. We are about the same age, and in the interview you said that before moving to Japan you neglected a lot of social obligations in favor of practicing with the sword. So is it safe to assume that while I was partying, you studied the blade, and while I was engaging in premarital sex, you studied the blade?

I’ve never neglected the pork sword or the steel one my friend. If there was training then I didn’t go out until it was done. After that though business as usual.

I was just pulling your leg mate, but I'm glad you're breaking the stereotype. Awesome stuff

This guy is my new role model.

What has your experience been like as a foreigner in Japan working in your field?

I work in tourism so there are a few foreigners around and we mainly deal with foreign visitors, but I have to do a lot of work with national and local government, and a number of private companies.

Can be tough being a foreigner, especially making your level of experience known and being respected fully for what you do. Communication issues always come up regardless of how good your Japanese is. Probably the most challenging part is the balance of maintaining your identity as a foreigner and fitting in in the Japanese work environment (my company is 150 Japanese people, a Taiwanese lady, and me).

Is the word "gaijin" as bad as the third Fast and Furious made us believe?

Not seen that movie but with all words I suppose it depends on how you say it.

What did you do before moving? Did you have anything lined up or were you just planning on taking a sabbatical that first year?

I've actually been trying to find work overseas, but it's been a struggle. I'm a mechanical engineer for medical devices and there really just doesn't seem to be room for any mech-e outside their homeland or social network, it's been a few demoralizing years of looking for this.

Went on the JET Programme and packed in my job. Was in IT working for a large ISP in Europe.

How did you feel about Tom Cruise portraying you in that movie? But seriously, what was the initiation process like and, after spending all this time with them, have any of your own cultural practices rubbed off on or been adopted by them?

Last Samurai was actually based on Saigo Takamori who was from Kagoshima. I asked his descendant what he thought of the movie and he said he liked it FWIW!

There are a few levels to joining Jigen-ryu. Being allowed to practice isn’t that hard to do, but becoming an official student of the Togo family takes about five years. They were pretty standoffish at first but if you work hard and show willingness to learn they will teach you.

Doing keppan (blood oath) was a very unique experience and one that most Japanese people would never be able to do. Can’t really explain the details more than in the video linked in the OP.

As for my influence on them? We put the website in English but took 10 years for them to agree to that. We do discuss things a lot more openly now. I had to earn their trust and maybe it’s just being in the inner circle of senior students but I think everyone is a bit more willing to discuss things than before.

Nice to e-meet you! I've followed a similar path as you have (though I don't think as badass as yours)

This is always my favorite question to ask anyone who's settled down in a foreign country: What is something about the culture that still leaves you flummoxed/shaking your head/staring after all these years?

Hey nice to meet you! For me I guess it’s the way Japanese people seem to take everything super personally and can’t seem to have a discussion. That or the lack of motivation when it comes to trying something new. Maybe fear of failure or standing out which I understand but it kind of gets on my nerves. Not everyone though certainly. There are some Japanese people pushing the boundaries in what they do just not all that common.

Super interesting answer. Yeah, I am also a very obvious outsider where I live as well, and I'm still flabbergasted that if I make the suggestion, it kind of gets dismissed, but then if someone who's a local makes the same suggestion, then they become agreeable. It doesn't happen too often, but when it does, I am still nonplussed about the whole situation.

But I also wanted to follow up with what you mean by taking things super personally? Do you mean like criticism? A light teasing or ribbing?

Mainly criticism. Are you in Japan as well?

Making locals think they had the idea you are suggesting is the trick. I have the same thing all the time!

China. I think a very similar, homogeneous culture kind of lends itself to these trappings. Yeah, criticism can be really hard here as well cuz you gotta beat around the bush so much before actually saying your piece. Luckily in professional settings, they do listen to me more, but I've still had pushback on some of the just silliest things, even 10 years into my career.

Ah makes sense. Similar culture in China isn’t it. Often makes me wonder how long I have to be here to become an insider. Probably not possible.

My profession is translatin. It's my job to be an insider and every single day I'm proven without a doubt that my journey is far from over. And of course, when it comes to acceptance as a whole, I feel that's unobtainable. It's too easy to be judged as an outsider based on how you look, so I just look for people to get to know me and accept me as I am, and that's good enough for me.

Wise words!

In some ways, the Chinese deal with change very well.

This is true I think. Very quick to implement new things unlike Japan. Speed is key for China, for Japan its reliability.

You don't have to answer this, if this is personal.

Interestingly just today I was chatting with someone about the difference in the meaning of loyalty in Japan and the West. I am given to believe that the Japanese being a collectivist society insist on extreme loyalty from their employees.

How is it in a clan? Being that they are traditional and will hold the same notions (or somewhat similar notions of honor) for many centuries, how would you say they'd want to see in you as an employee (loyal to the core, even disregarding self-interests). And as someone who grew up in an individualist society who'd think mindless loyalty is wrong, how'd you see your own loyalty.

This is a pretty tough question. Japanese society is certainly collectivist and people are really worried about how they will be perceived. This is often as strong as a sense of loyalty in making someone do something.

People say Japan is a complicated web of “giri” and they are not wrong. The roots of this are in neo Confucianism I think and founded in the Edo period. The smallest unit of responsibility was the family. You mess up and everyone gets punished. That meant family, friends, neighbors were all monitoring each other. No wonder people are stressed here.

As a westerner I always had the attitude that I don’t care what anyone thinks, but the reality is that as a member of Shimadzu and Jigen-ryu my actions reflect on my employer, teachers, and peers and that is something that I have to consider before doing anything.

I even thought for a while about doing this AMA and whether it would be OK or not considering my position!

That's a very strange notion to me, the idea that my actions reflect on those around me. I get the concept, but it feels very restricting. It feels almost like being suffocated, paralysis through analysis. Every decision HAS to be the right one.

Welcome to Japan!
Seriously it is very tiring. You do get used to it though.

I saw you on Tokyo Lens! You really showed him some fantastic places and I learned a lot from your explanations. There are great YouTubers in Japan, are there any that you like to watch?

Yeah thanks for watching! Norm makes great content and works really hard to keep producing quality videos.

Don’t watch too many YouTubers on Japan but Norm and Chris Broad I do watch.

Did this video with Chris at the end of his cycle of despair across Japan! He was utterly exhausted on and off camera. Feel bad about making him hit a tree trunk for an hour now.

I was wondering if you were the same guy from Journey Across Japan. Kudos on your work.

Thanks! Yeah that was me.

When they got in touch with me about Chris coming to Kagoshima I had no idea who he was. I only tended to watch British comedy on YouTube cause I’ve already got my fill of Japan. Chris Broad the cyclist is what I was told so I was expecting a Bradley Wiggins type to turn up in lycra and all that. Imagine my surprise!

Anyway great guy and absolutely killing it on YouTube with his cool new studio.

When they got in touch with me about Chris coming to Kagoshima I had no idea who he was. I only tended to watch British comedy on YouTube cause I’ve already got my fill of Japan. Chris Broad the cyclist is what I was told so I was expecting a Bradley Wiggins type to turn up in lycra and all that. Imagine my surprise!

Would you mind going into detail about how those things get organized?

A couple of friends told me a YouTuber was looking for something to do in Kagoshima so I sent over some ideas by email. Then Chris and Sharla turned up one day. That's literally it. Hung out and shot the training at the dojo and the onsen (the owner really did not care that we were filming in the middle of the afternoon). I think I phoned them the day before and went to explain, but because I've been going there for years they were totally cool with it.

We do a lot of work with TV at Sengan-en and its nothing like the rigmarole involved exchanging drafts of scripts or doing endless location scouts. Downside is with YouTube you never really know what you are going to get. Have to trust them a lot to be honest.

Please tell us if you've seen Dogen's videos, especially concerning your comment elsewhere about the finer points of Japanese meaning and pronunciation his shorts really do convey that in a funny way.

Thanks for doing this ama, I'm a bit of a Japanophile so am always envious but proud to see fellow Brits who've taken the jump to the other side of the world and make it work.

I've watched Dogen's videos before and his Japanese is very good. His scripts are very funny to me but less so to native Japanese speakers, but I'm not sure that is who he is aiming for. Lives up the road in Oita so should make a visit sometime.

curious: how did you get to be the director of overseas business for shimadzu? would you say your dedication to samurai training had anything to do with that?

I had been living here for 10 years already when Shimadzu headhunted me.

They knew me from Jigen-ryu of course but I think me taking part in their poetry recital called Kyokusui-no-en was a major turning point. I think I showed how serious I was about promoting the culture here by writing my own poem and brushing it in hentaigana.

Kyokusui-no-en

I had IT experience and the skills they needed to reach out to the western market so it was a good match. Admittedly they didn’t know what to do with me at first, but I took care of finding work for myself. After that worked hard and got promoted basically. Winning international awards for tourism also helped!

Way to follow your truth man! This is so cool!

Thanks!

We visited Kagoshima and Kyushu for two weeks when we visited my brother in law and his wife. Absolutely gorgeous area.

What do you find is the hardest part living and working in Japan?

Great to hear you have been out to Kagoshima! Hardest thing about living here is probably the endless battle of communication.

I speak, read and write Japanese pretty well but even now I make mistakes due to lack of communication. For example two days ago I gave a 90 minute presentation in Japanese to some important stakeholders using Zoom. Unfortunately the person who organized the meeting communicated with me in English and I misunderstood the requirements of the talk. His English is pretty good but the small nuances of what he was saying came across wrong and I prepared something that was different from what he was expecting. This kind of thing happens all the time, regardless of how well you can speak Japanese. The Korean ambassador to Japan once told me in perfect English “the language is an endless battle. Just be yourself and don’t try too hard to fit in. If you do try to be Japanese, you’ll only be as good as the worst Japanese employees and you will lose everything about you that is special.” Good advice.

Such wise advice from the ambassador. I immigrated to a new country as well and have my own struggles with lack of robust vocabulary and nuance in the local language.

A CEO I was tutoring gave me similar advice— that I may not have the language skills on the level of a local, but I am a native English speaker and have a deeper understanding of culture in the States than anyone else around. That’s my advantage. I think about that a lot and it’s significantly influenced my perspective professionally.

The balance is always tough isn't it. On one hand you want to show how much you fit in, understand and respect the language and culture. On the other hand you know if you spoke your own language you could have so much more eloquence and feeling to the way you speak. Always a hard choice.

Absolutely. You mentioned this before, we’re also so much funnier in our own languages! That always gets to me but it’s also an interesting challenge to find ways to be funny in the adopted language within the existing framework of our abilities, even if it’s not the same kind of humor you might expect from a native speaker. Encourages experimentation to get people to giggle which, as someone super into how language is built, can be really fun if I have the energy for it.

Totally agree. Being consistently funny in another language (even your native language) is very hard. Making people laugh now and then anyone can do - doing it on purpose is much harder.

How do you and your colleagues feel about foreigners and japanese people with neck and or face tattoos in your profession?

I don’t care about tattoos personally - your body, do with it as you will.

Generally speaking though any form of tattoo has a bad image in Japan - most people associate them with organized crime. Hot springs generally won’t let people with tattoos use the facilities, and the martial arts community which is to be honest a bit right leaning won’t be too accepting either.

Japan has a culture of tattoos but not mainstream and will almost certainly be a hinderance living here.

Mind you I do know a few Japanese people with insane tats as well.

What’s your favorite part of you day?

Probably finishing up work in the office and looking at the volcano Sakurajima on the walk back to the car park.

That or beers after training!

I stayed in Kagoshima briefly on a volunteer trip and watching Sakurajima launch huge ash clouds while the locals didn't react a bit was such a surreal, awesome, unexpected experience for me! (No one warned us it could happen so we all thought we were gonna die until our hosts started laughing 😂)

Haha yeah there was a 3,500 meter high eruption the other day and I didn’t even notice.

People in Fukuoka were asking me on Zoom “ARE YOU GUYS OK???”

Even in Japan Kagoshima people are weird. And I’m becoming one of them lol

I was on sakurajima about 10 years ago in an outdoor onsen and I was in a constant state of anxiety watching the volcano! Didn’t see an eruption in the 4 days I was in kagoshima but I noticed there was lots of street sweepers so I think there was an eruption shortly before I arrived.

Yeah eruptions happen fairly frequently but it’s been quiet this year. No need to worry really. The last major eruption in 1914 the wells on the volcano boiled and fish in the sea died before it erupted so you can tell a big one is coming.

Hi. Are there any particular core values at the heart of an 800 year old samurai clan that stand out? I imagine they have a strong work ethic.

Good question.

Kagoshima is located right at the southern part of Kyushu and is historically where any ships traveling up the coast of China would eventually reach if the headed towards Japan. In fact it’s the same place where the first Dutch and Portuguese traders made contact with Japan.

Because of this the Shimadzu were always aware of their vulnerability to the outside world. Their distance from the capital in Kyoto and later Edo meant they had pretty good autonomy over their own domain and basically ignored most of the Shogunate edicts that came down to them.

One example is how they leveraged Ryukyu (Okinawa) to trade with the outside world when all foreign trade was strictly banned by the Shogunate.

Essentially their willingness to forge their own way, to make use of skilled subordinates, to adapt to change, and as much as possible to stay out of politics left them in a strong position. Creating an environment where those under you can do their best is probably the key to this I think.

what are your favourite plants in the gardens?

I like the plum blossoms in February and irises in May. Samurai were fond of flowers and often used them as motifs on clothing and armour.

Wow, that's a great story! Nice to meet you!

I have two questions:

1. What made you to come to Japan, and how did you get this job?

2. Are you married to a japanese woman? And if answer is yes, have you ever been stumbled upon any cultural differences on the way?

Thank you!

Thanks for the comment.

1. Came to Japan because I practiced Japanese martial arts in the UK and wanted to study them in more depth in Japan. Had wanted to go to Japan since being a kid though.

2. Yeah my wife is Japanese and she’s currently cooking an English Sunday roast! Cultural issues not so many these days. Tends to be the small stuff. I make a sarcastic British joke and she doesn’t get it or she tries to make a British joke and it’s waaaaay too dark. Nobody laughs at my jokes in Japanese unfortunately. Seems comedy is the final frontier.

Dad jokes international shall rise again!

This is important historical work.

Out of curiosity, what would be an example of a British joke made by your wife that's way too dark?

She used to watch Brass Eye and thought that kind of humor would fly well with my mum.

Actually in tears thinking about this one.

For some reason I recalled an interview with Armando Ianucci about how they used to swap the storyboard cards for "Last of the Summer Wine" with fake ones they had made. His favourite was "Compo bursts puppy with cock".

As someone who practices swordsmanship, do you watch movies about sword fights and laugh at how fake they are, like tech people do with "hacker" movies or military people with war movies?

Yeah unfortunately this does happen. I got into Japanese martial arts from watching stuff like Shogun Assasin and the Kurosawa movies. Now a lot of the stuff I see looks kind of dumb.

Japanese TV is particularly bad actually. They have their own style of cinematic swordsmanship called “tate” which is actually very hard and needs a lot of skill to do but it’s certainly not effective or realistic swordsmanship.

Mind you if realistic sword work was used in movies they would be pretty boring I imagine.

Why can they be like the movies??

Movie fights have to be dramatic, exciting, and hopefully tell a story. Real fights tend to be messy, uncoordinated, and over quite quickly.

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I feel a sense of annoyance but at the same time know that it’s probably for the best.

All the best American actors are British though right?

Was japanese hard to learn?

Initially yes but I suppose it gets easier. Grammatically speaking Japanese is pretty uniform so learning basic conversation isn’t that hard. Reading and writing is a real chore but once you get the kanji down it’s not so bad.

Unfortunately now my Japanese is at a level where people pick apart the particular nuance of the words I use in presentations or when speaking. This is a whole new level of challenge and really stressful when talking about complicated topics.

How do you progress your Japanese studies past the initial stages while living in Japan? I'm about to do a grad program in Tokyo, studied Japanese for 3 years and did study abroad, but I'm kind of unsure how to go on with formally studying the language while I'm there.

I’ve never formally studied Japanese. Grammar can be a bit wonky I guess but better than most.

Put yourself in a position where you have to use the language. Jigen-ryu nobody was remotely interested in English or speaking it so had to learn Japanese to understand what was going on.

Make it necessary for yourself to learn or you won’t. Simple as that.

I gotta agree. You can study all you want, but using it day after day is the best way to memorize it, retain it, and use it comfortably. I can hear my Japanese improving after being there for a week, and then I lose it soon after coming home.

That eventually gets better though. At some point it just kind of sticks. Best to keep it sharp through practice though.

That's fascinating! Unfortunately I can't watch the interview right now (so I don't know if this is answered in it), but how did you find yourself in Japan? Was it a spur of the moment decision, a long time appreciation and planned idea? Also, how was it when you first moved there?

It was actually quite spur of the moment. Was working in IT in the UK and just felt like I wasn’t going anywhere. A friend had come back from Japan and suggested the JET Programme.

First application got sent to Northern Ireland and burned by Royal Mail apparently. I was stoned when I sent it and put the wrong postage on it seems.

Second one got through and I got placed in Kagoshima. Also stopped smoking weed.

When I first got here it was just HOT. The humidity was nuts. Kind of got used to it now but I remember that more than anything. Fun times though back then.

This is such a human response lol. I love this AMA.

Both my kids are obsessed with Japanese culture. My teenage son is several years into Japanese lessons in high school. I hope he gets a chance to visit sometime. Their year 12 trip was supposed to be Tokyo, but.. pandemic :(

E: I'm Australian.

Sorry to hear their trip got cancelled man. I hear rumors that the borders won’t be closed much longer, but probably have to wait for the present peak to pass. Keirendan applying pressure to the government at the moment. Hope they are able to get over here soon!

Thanks for responding!

The kids were pretry heartbroken but our family will get them over there eventually.

I had a friend in high school who was into hardcore swordsmanship. He was part Japanese (mum Japanese, Aussie dad).. used to do insane lesson hours. Moved to Japan as a translator, married a Japanese girl. Always seemed so fucking cool to me.

I wish I was fitter, I would love to get into swordsmanship. Always been a secret desire. The best I can do is being the home chef and obsessed with Japanese steel/knives.

Hah!

Well best of luck getting out here. Martial arts are a great way to learn some Japanese as well so highly recommended!

What year were you in the JET program there? I have a few good buddies who were in JET in Miyazaki circa late 90’s.

Ps. Tokyo-ite here.

Nice one! I came in later in 2005. Still a few of the 90s guy around here mainly working in private education or University.

No way! Is this the same family from the video game Total War: Shogun 2, the Shimazu Clan? I never really considered that the liniage was still going strong

Yeah this is the same Shimazu (we spell it Shimadzu as you can see here), now in their 32nd generation. If you're into the history stuff I wrote a few articles here.

Even Oda Nobunaga family is still going! Don’t expect the glorious estate etc though

Yep descendant is a figure skater. I know most of the other extant families as well through work. Interesting to have dinner with a bunch of names from Japanese history!

How is the KFC Christmas bucket?

Lol never had one. My Christmas dinners are a thing of legend and envy here in Kagoshima.

Could you explain? Why would it be legendary or envious?

Just we do a full English style Christmas dinner with a full roast chicken and crackers and all that. Not many people have an oven at home so they can't really do a meal like that at home. Put on Instagram every year so getting quite well known for our spread.

If you run into the foreigner hired by Choshu can only one of you leave or has a more modern, dance-off kind of setup been agreed?

I lived in various prefectures over five years and brought my Kendogu with me from the UK. Massive congratulations on realising the dream Mr. Bradshaw.

Thanks and great to hear about your musha shugyo!

If I run into a foreigner from Chosu we either fight to the death or slowly do the gaijin nod at each other and keep walking.

I'm northern so I can't help saying "hello" - usually just after passing by.

How northern we talking on a scale from "drinks Yorkshire tea" to "never seen without flatcap and whippet"

Ferret down trousers northern.

Have you played Ghost of Tsushima? If so, what were your impressions?

Yeah loved it. Some historical things annoyed me. Wearing waraji and sitting in seiza outside. Tatami in rooms despite not existing in this period. Uchigatana being the prevalent sword type. Too many one handed cuts and jumping. Basically Edo period look everyone is familiar with doesn’t fit the time period at all.

Did I create a badass ronin look with a dope straw hat? Fuck yes!

What's the difference between japanese swordmanship and european swordsmanship?

Not knowledgeable about Western swordsmanship apart from a bit of fencing in high school. From what I have seen of skilled HEMA practitioners there is a lot of overlap. Some very similar movements and angles of attack. Perhaps a bit more thrusting in western arts and use of the sword upside down (holding the blade and striking with the crossbar) is something that would never happen in Japan.

Would be interested to learn more about European treatises on swordsmanship actually!

Hi mate, where in England are you from? and have you ever noticed any similarities between England and Japan? Is there anything that reminds you of home or do the Japanese share anything that you might consider English or vise versa? Thanks!

From Sheffield originally. Yeah some similarities - stiff upper lip and that kind of thing. They like food more than we do, we like sports more than they do.

What do you eat in a day?

Had eggs benedict for breakfast and roast chicken for lunch today. Probably keihan (chicken stock poured over rice topped with shredded chicken, omelette, and mushrooms) for dinner!

hi alex, interesting job and video. i've got a couple of questions.

you said in the interview that you wouldn't get certified in jigenryu even after training for 10 years. how long does it take to become a full-fledged master? do you plan to open your own jigenryu school one day?

i see you and your wife run gotoku--was it difficult to set up your own consulting company?

i'm also interested in working in overseas business/tourism promotion, so i'd like to hear if you have any advice on where/how to gets started joining a similar company.

Jigen-ryu takes about 5 years to join as an official student, about 15 years to 1st dan and then anywhere up to like 40 years to achieve 4th dan which is menkyo kaiden. The only place to practice Jigen-ryu is at our dojo in Kagoshima City - we don't intend on opening any other schools and I won't ever open my own school.

I ran an English school for about 7 years previously so kind of knew how to do things. Better to get an accountant to help you out with the taxes and everything if you don't know the ins and outs.

Best advice is to get a set of skills nobody else has. I learned this the hard way through my own business but I'm sure there are better routes. Japanese people like precedent so proof of something you have done before is great. Bad time for tourism now but once things get moving again I expect some DMO positions or the like to open up.

How good is that Kagoshima Imo Shochu? Best drink in the country and I will fight anyone who says different. What is your favourite brand to drink?

Yeah shochu is great and spoiled for choice here. Check out Manzen Shuzo in Kirishima.

How do you stay so dedicated, so focused? What's the trick? BTW I just watched your interview and it's awesome sir. Appreciate it!

Thanks for the kind words! Don’t know really. I guess doing something you enjoy and always learning. I’m a curious person by nature and a bit obsessive about things I guess. It’s not always easy certainly, but I guess just doing what is in front of you to the best of your ability and then facing the next thing that comes in the same way.

You have to be of a certain mindset to want to beat a tree with a stick all day long I suppose!

Wow! Thanks sir! I'll try to implement your principle and stay focused on my field too.

Great! Takes time I guess.

Sometimes when you think you are making no progress you are actually learning a lot. If you keep at the grind will get something out of it eventually!

Am I correct in that you recently did a video with Norm from Tokyo Lens where you went through the gardens at around 6am?

If so, they were very nice and lots of interesting titbits of information about the buildings there and their history.

Yep that was me. Was a bit hungover I recall and 7-11 coffee wasn't doing the trick.

Then my mate Mitch did a walk through town with Norm the following day.

When you were a kid, did you ever picture yourself doing anything like what you are doing now? And what do you think your kid-self would say to you about it! I find it really interesting to draw connections between our sort of dreams as kids and adulthood. Thanks for doing this, such an interesting life!

No idea at all I would be doing a job like this when I was a kid. I used to love looking at books of swords and stuff when I was a kid. One was called “Arms and Armour” or something. Also Greek and Norse mythology. Splash of Star Wars and Tolkien as well. Probably would be amazed that I’ve come this far!

Hi from Osaka. You mention having lived here 16 years--what has been your journey to learning Japanese? Would you say your reading/writing has caught up to your comprehension/speaking?

Depends on what you need out of it. At first just chatting in bars was good enough for me. Could speak pretty good Japanese after five years or so.

Then as I got deeper into training I wanted to read the historical documents of the school. Also around this time was running my own business so needed to learn keigo otherwise people would hang up the phone on me.

Necessity is the mother of invention!

Have you read Shogun by James Clavell?

Yeah good book. TV show was alright as well.

How do you care for kids if you work from 7-7 on a good day? Is it just expected that one spouse stays home?

Sorry for such lame question, but as a working western mom, I am curious how this works on a societal level. Our daycares are open from 7 to 5...

Not a lame question at all. Basically there are two types of daycare - Hoikuen and Yochien. The former has less of an educational aspect and is basically daycare looking after the kids. Yochien is more like a kindergarten and has a more educational vibe.

Yochien tends to finish earlier with a bus to take the kids home but there is also an after care service where the kids can stay behind and get picked up by a parent.

Hoikuen really depends on the facility and there is a lot of variation. Some kids get picked up really late - like after 7pm. I've seen some people as late as 9pm. Others work nights and there are special Hoikuen that tend to that requirement - although it is a very small minority of people that do this.

"Tomo bataraki" (both parents working) is more and more common these days, but in the regions its still kind of expected that a mother will sacrifice her career for kids. Then there is all the PTA and neigbourhood association BS that women have to deal with down here. Very hard to break out of that cycle without being judged by society and gossiped about.

Certainly not easy for women here.

Do you ever miss England?

Yeah mainly going to the pub with a few mates for a laugh. Drinking in Japan is great but the banter is never quite the same.

How did you learn about or first discover Jigen-ryu? How much experience did you have with Iai before taking up Jigen-ryu and how much did it differ/overlap with your previous ryu?

From my own sensei I've heard stories of westerners moving to Japan and studying Iai, but that they all seem to need letters of introduction or similar. I've heard that anything other that the most prolific ryu are usually only practiced by families that would have historically been samurai families, and it can be quite a small social group because of that. What has your experience of it been?

Read about it Nihon no Kobudo book while on a seminar in Canada. Did Iai for about five years. Not much overlap to be honest, but understanding tenouchi and koshi helps.

Most traditional ryu are a small social group. Letters of introduction go a long way but aren't always necessary. If you introduce someone you are responsible for them so I am always wary of introducing people.

1. How is a Samurai clan different from Yakuza clan ?
   
2. And yubitsume still a thing ?

1. Yakuza are criminal gangs that do extortion, drug dealing, prostitution, etc to make money. Samurai were a historic societal warrior caste that served feudal lords called daimyo and for the most part were civil servants. The kind of person who works at your town hall. But wearing a giant sword.

2. Don’t know any Yakuza so not sure. I imagine some nutcases somewhere do it, but best not to stand out in an increasing hostile society to organized crime. The gang headquarters in Kagoshima all got shut down like 10 years ago.

Would you perform harakiri if your employer's asked nicely?

Haha not a chance.

Favourite type of ramen?

Shio?

Tantanmen is my absolute favourite though.

That was a very interesting interview!

I too wish to take a few years(2ish) off my usual life and live in Japan but what I'm most worried about is that I'm a vegetarian and living in Japan would be very tough for me food wise. Do you think it would be manageable for a vegetarian to live in Japan, where fish and meat is pretty core part of cuisine?

Thanks!

Recently there are loads more vegetarian options than there used to be. I would look into the region you are hoping to visit and see if there are any vegan or vegetarian restaurants. Getting in touch with that community makes a world of difference.

We have a few vegan restaurants here in Kagoshima and I personally know a few Japanese vegetarians as well.

Good luck with your journey!

Is the sword new or old? Who made the sword? How heavy is it? TIA

Which sword?

The one I own is an iaito - an unsharpened practice sword. Weight is 1.2kg and it was made by a Japanese company in Gifu.

My friend in the link below has a shitload of swords…

Lots of swords

You mentioned that you have practised 400 year old swordsmanship from that part of Japan. Were you also taught a hand to hand style of martial art? if so, was the training different from what you've seen?

Jigen-ryu only focuses on swordsmanship, though there is a small amount of grappling with an armed opponent.

There are a few unarmed styles here with Kurama Yoshin-ryu being one of the oldest. Japanese police arrest techniques were based on their curriculum in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Japanese traditional arts use very little striking compared to karate and much more joint manipulation. Not my specialist field so YMMV.

Does your mother's name happen to be Carrie?

No but if she was it would have a lot of cache with a certain demographic here in Japan.

She’s also not old enough to be my mum I’m sorry to say.

Where is a good place for food in Kagoshima?

Loads of them to be honest! Depends what you are after!

Japanese food Western food

What do you think western culture could learn from Japan, and vice versa? Also, what is the funniest thing you've seen while living there? Good luck- sounds like you've found a neat place for yourself!

Things to learn from the west - flexibility

Things to learn from Japan - sense of social responsibility

Funniest thing was a giant sign that said SERVICE CUNTER in a motorway service station.

That or a snack bar which is literally called HEIL!

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Came out here on the JET Programme back in 2005 speaking no Japanese and with no clue about Japan.

His did you got this gig? Also are they hiring?

Got headhunted. Not hiring at the moment though. When Covid settles down who knows!

Do you notice any racism towards foreigners?

Yeah a little bit but not the “go home” type. It’s very nuanced and polite so hard to tell it’s even there until it’s too late quite often.

What's it like to be a gaijin samurai?

Well I’m no samurai. Mind you I do work for the feudal lord’s family and practice swordsmanship…..

Seriously though who would want to be a samurai anyway? Pretty shit job if you ask me. Having to disembowel yourself if you make a mistake or piss off your superior. No thanks!!

Have you learned the legendary smithing techniques and would you be willing to share them?

Unfortunately no. And even if I did I wouldn’t share!

What is your favourite onigiri?

I like the basics. Umeboshi.

White or black Dragon Society?

Dark question. Neither. Toyama Mitsuru had a strong connection with Jigen-ryu though.

What does your skin color have to do with it?

Not a thing!

How is the mission of stealing the culture going brother man?

Yeah great embedded 16 years now and plenty of thievery going on. Actually worried I might be giving something back now.

Brilliant response, it seems others have taken my comment too seriously.

Sounds fantastic though! How did you ever get into that trade?

Yeah I got the vibe man. Pure luck and dumb determination really.