Well, the other day I wrote a little text in Japanese about my personal view of the "identity" of the Japanese people (http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/thoacu/63114932.html)
I believe, it is precisely this "loss of identity" - you may call it also fuzziness - of the Japanese that led to this result.
In my field of activity = acupuncture, I have been trying to tell the Japanese people, patients, practitioners, leaders of organizations and I even wrote a letter to the government, that the Japanese should take more pride in their traditional skills, techniques, customs, achievements etc.
Here with the example of Judo (I started my own "martial arts life" with Judo) the TV shows something that looks MUCH more like wrestling than Judo to me. The Japanese (martial) "art" of Judo has been "westernized".
Then a commentator or a newspaper mentioned somewhere, that athlete XXX gave up his/her (!) adherence to certain ideals/concepts in order pursue "winning".
That is a shame.
At least to me. Forsaking the "way" to win a competition. For money and fame.
To my mind all "Olympia drivin" = meaning in the interest of "sports".
If Judo = the soft WAY, which is a part of elementary education throughout the country, where every prefecture has a state/prefecturally funded public practice hall = dojo
is allowed to be pushed down a road of mere atheltic competition .....
I believe the Japanese have lost - or rather forsaken themselves - an essential part of their spiritual heritage.
A very unfortunate trend that pervades many areas of life and makes me very sad.
But then again, many (Japanese) people would object: "What do YOU know. You are just another "gaijin" (= foreigner) who does not understand anything.
And they are probably right.
It is only, that I DO have this opinion of mine ....
