The first interview

First interview

Interview preparation:

The first of my interview is talking about Japan. Japan is one of the countries which I am most interested in. Japan is the neighbor country of my home country China. These two countries have a good relationship and communication through the former history. I love watching Japan comics a lot like Slam Dunk and One Piece. Some of the comics witness the growth of my childhood. For example the Slam Dunk makes me crazy about the basketball. Also I love the culture from Japan such as the life style and the sense of fashion. So I want to interview a friend from Japan to learn more about this country Japan.

The person I interview:

Miki is an international student from Japan. She came to the United States in the same semester as me. We have some communication before about the life in the United States and the difference between here and our home countries. I always ask her some question about her home country to compare between the sense of Japan in my mind and the “real” Japan. She is also interested in China and its ancient history.

The report of country Japan:

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".

Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands.

The four largest islands are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, together comprising about ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. Honshū's Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.

Japan comics:

Slam Dunk is a sports-themed manga series written by Takehiko Inoue about a basketball team from Shōhoku High School. It was first serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump in Japan from 1990 to 1996 and had also been adapted into an anime series by Toei Animation which had been broadcast worldwide, enjoying much popularity particularly in Japan, several other Asian countries and Europe. Inoue later used basketball as a central theme in two subsequent manga titles: Buzzer Beater and Real. In 2010, Inoue received special commendations from the Japan Basketball Association for helping popularize basketball in Japan.

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One Piece:

One Piece is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since August 4, 1997; the individual chapters are being published in tankōbon volumes by Shueisha, with the first released on December 24, 1997, and the 67th volume released as of August 2012. One Piece follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy, a young man whose body gains the properties of rubber after inadvertently eating a devil's fruit, and his diverse crew of pirates, named the Straw Hat Pirates. Luffy explores the ocean in search of the world's ultimate treasure known as the One Piece and to become the next Pirate King. Along his journey, Luffy makes several friends and battles a wide variety of villains, many of whom try to kill the Straw Hats.

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Japan Street Fashion:

Japan began to emulate Western fashion during the middle of the 19th century. By the beginning of the 21st century, this emulation has formed street fashion, a fashion style in which the wearer customizes outfits by adopting a mixture of current and traditional trends. Such clothes are generally home-made with the use of material purchased at stores.

At present, there are many styles of dress in Japan, created from a mix of both local and foreign labels. Some of these styles are extreme and avant-garde, similar to the haute couture seen on European catwalks. The rise and fall of many of these trends has been chronicled by Shoichi Aoki since 1997 in the fashion magazine FRUiTS, which is a notable magazine for the promotion of street fashion in Japan.

More recently, Japanese hip-hop, which has long been present among underground Tokyo's club scene, has influenced the mainstream fashion industry. The popularity of the music is so influential that Tokyo's youth are imitating their favorite hip hop stars from the way they dress with over-sized clothes to tanned skin. The idea of darkening one's skin to more closely resemble an American hip-hop star or ethnic group may seem like a fad, but this subculture, the black facers, do not particularly set themselves apart from many other sub cultures that have emerged as a result of hip hop.

Compare to the street fashion in the United States like Stussy and Supreme, these brands from Japan like Mastermind Japan, Bape, Visvim, they choose the comfortable sense and the luxury in low key to make their production.


interview transcript

Blake: Hello, my name is Blake, nice to meet you.

Miki: Hi, I’m Miki, nice to meet you too.

Blake: I like your name. You look so pretty today.

Miki: Thank you.

Blake: I am very excited because I will do interview with you and it is about one of the countries which I am most interested in..

Miki: Yes, I am also very happy, because I can make friend with students from other countries and I am also very interested in the history of China.

Blake: Hah, nice, we are friends now.

Miki: Lol.

Blake: let’s start the interview.

Miki: Ok.

Blake: I think we have completed the first question.

Miki: Which question?

Blake: The question is what is your name?

Miki: Aha.

Blake: OK, Miki. I got your name. Let’s continue to the second question. Where are you from?

Miki: I’m from Tokyo, the capital of Japan.

Blake: Wow, Kimura Takuya is also from Tokyo.

Miki: Yes, I knew him in Japan.

Blake: OK, the third question is describing the education system of your country.

Miki: Let me think. Firstly, we have three semesters for each academic year. And the academic year begins at April. Except winter and summer holiday, we also have spring holiday like it is in the United States. And we are required to write entrance exam to enter into schools.

Blake: Oh, it is a little different from Chinese education system.

Miki: Yeah, I know you just have two semesters in China.

Blake: Yes. I really want to have three semesters. OK, next question, how has your culture influenced your family values?

Miki: I think it depends on whether the family is a traditional family. If the family is traditional, I think it influenced the values very much. If not, I think there is no influence.

Blake: Yeah, it is the same as in China.

Miki: I think it is the same in the world. Ok, what is the next question is?

Blake: What is the form of government in your country?

Miki: I don’t know how to describe it, but I can tell you that we have emperor, but the emperor doesn’t have real power. The real power is held by the head of Japanese government.

Blake: Yeah, I know some political information about this. Next question is one thing that makes you proud of your country.

Miki: There is no doubt that Sakura is the thing makes me proud.

Blake: Wow, I know Sakura is very beautiful; I also like it very much.

Miki: Yes, in our country, we have Cherry Blossom Festival during March and April every year. At that time, we can see much beautiful Sakura.

Blake: It must be very beautiful. Next question, what places would you recommend to tourists?

Miki: Aha, I think my hometown Tokyo is a good place. Also there are many good places to go in our country, like Nagoya and Osaka.

Blake: If I have chance, I want to travel to Japan.

Miki: Ok, welcome.

Blake: The next question, what festivals do you celebrate in your country?

Miki: We have New Year’s Day, Age Day, National Founding Day, Children’s Day, Cherry Blossom Festival and so on. Besides traditional holiday, we also celebrate Christmas.

Blake: That’s cool. We don’t have Age Day in China. Next question, what’s the weather like in your hometown?

Miki: Let me think. Firstly, we have four seasons and the average temperature of one year is during 15℃ to 20℃.

Blake: I think it is similar with China. What is a type of sport in your country?

Miki: Sumo. It is well respected in our country.

Blake: Wow, my three interviewees have the answer to this question. I really want to go to Japan to watch sumo matches.

Miki: Aha, it is worth watching.

Blake: Really? Cool. What is your favorite sport?

Miki: Tennis.

Blake: I like tennis too. The next question is what is the traditional food in your country?

Miki: I think sashimi is. And sushi also is.

Blake: I like both sushi and sashimi very much. And often go to Fuji restaurant to have dinner.

Miki: Aha, Fuji is nice.

Blake: How about the people in Japan think aboutt their comic? And how about the most famous
Miki: They are popular. Such as the Slam Dunk,Dragon Ball.
Blake: The last question, what do most women do after they get married in your country?

Miki: Like my mother, she chooses to be a housewife after get married to my father. And almost women will to be a housewife after they get married. But I want to continue working after get married.

Blake: Hah, best wishes. I think you can catch your dream.

Blake: Ok, thank you Miki. The interview is over.

Miki: You’re welcome. 


work cited:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Piece
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slam_Dunk_(manga)

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