Rebuilding a Nation, Rebuilding a Life: An
Inspirational story of Japanese Language,
History and Culture
Robert Donnelly (Stony Brook University)
“The most glorious moments in your life are not the so-called days of success, but rather those days
when out of dejection and despair, you feel rise in you a challenge to life, and the promise of future
accomplishments.” Gustave Flaubert
Ever since my childhood, I always remember having an image of beauty come to mind whenever I
heard the word Japan. It may be that when I was in grade school studying the various countries and cultures
of the world the first pictures that were introduced to me were not of the busy, crowded filled streets of
downtown Tokyo or Osaka, but of a serene, meticulously sculpted garden, or a beautifully sewn field of tea.

These were the pictures that appeared in my books as a child, and the images that I took with me as we
quickly moved on to the next chapter and area of the globe. So without ever really having noticed at the
time, I had been introduced to one of the most profound aspects of this country in such a way so that it had
stayed with me through my young adult years where I was finally able to realize what I had learned.

I made the decision to pursue a career in the field of classical music when I was coming closer to
graduating high school, however, that seed had been planted in me since I received my first recording of
Beethoven from my father when I was only ten. Of course I had no conception of what I was listening to at
the time, I only knew that it was beautiful and it made me feel something every time I heard it. Thinking
about it today, the experience of hearing that music was similar to that of seeing my first images of Japan.

Being only a small child, I was unable to reflect on what I was hearing or seeing, but I remember it being
powerful enough to grab my interest and hold a place somewhere inside of me, where it was going to be
used and more importantly needed some years later in my life. My study of music continued on, where I
used the talent that was given to me and was able to have great success as a classical trumpet player. I had
enjoyed accomplishments in the field that I could not have realized were possible when I was that ten-year
old boy with his first horn and recording. I entered college and began my study with wonderful
professionals who immediately began to shape my talent and ability for me into a form that would be ready
to be used in the professional orchestras, where my dreams could truly be realized.

With an encouraging introduction to the path that I had waited to be on for years, I had hope that I
could actually succeed, until one day in late spring when news was given to me that had changed my life
from then on. As a young twenty-year old I was diagnosed with cancer of the thyroid and was told that I
would have to have a major operation to prevent what had been found from worsening and possibly
threatening my life. I received a serious operation to my neck; a vital part of the support system needed for
professional trumpet playing, and as a result was unable to play again for years after my ordeal. Sadly, I
slowly found myself falling away from music. The loss of something that I had worked years to achieve
brought me to a reality that was just unacceptable for me and so coming to terms with it was one of the
hardest things I have ever had to do. However, eventually I was able to begin examining ways within
myself and with others about how I would be able to continue on a path in which I knew I could be happy,
and through this found an unexpected interest in linguistics that I had not known was there before. I began
studying languages and continued with Japanese. The study of the language eventually lead me to study the
country, its people, culture and values. I began to rediscover the beauty that had made such an impression
on me as a child along with an aspect of its people that I found to be my greatest motivation. The Japanese
conception of professionalism and perfectionism is I believe on a different scale than the rest of the world.

Japan’s people have not only proven this set of values culturally and historically, they have applied it to a
level that enables them to succeed in every aspect of their endeavor. The constant strive for this perfection
has seen Japan become a leader in various pursuits ranging all the way from the arts to technology, and
seeing how deeply the commitment to this idea is so ingrained in the people, it is hard not to draw
inspiration from listening to their stories. In particular I was introduced to a program called Project X: The
Challengers, which is a popular documentary-style program shown in Japan. Each episode is a story of a
single person or a group of people who are faced with seemingly insurmountable difficulty, yet through
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their will, desire, and passion, along with this ingrained conception of perfection are able to achieve some
of the greatest goals ever seen, not only in Japan’s history but the entire world’s. As my knowledge of the
language grew, I was able to understand more deeply the stories of these people and began to see how I
could bring these stories into my own life and use them as tools in achieving what I had lost. In one
particular episode, I remember watching a man who was struck with a terrible sickness. I watched as he
went through experiences similar to my own, but throughout his ordeal had somehow been able to keep site
of his goals, which were to regain his health and status thus making his focus, and resolve even stronger. I
began to realize that it was in this, where a special characteristic of the people of Japan existed. For a long
period in my life I was not able to do what not only this man, but the groups of men and women I was
watching each week were able to do. Regardless of the amount of hardships or setbacks they had, they used
what life had given them to propel them forward, not hold them down. This side of the culture I feel is also
related to the history of the country itself. After Japan’s defeat in World War II, the country which had once
been on the verge of complete supremacy and domination had been diminished to a mere trace of its former
form. It had seen a tremendous rise to power and fame and then a sudden loss of everything it had
accomplished all within a relatively short span of time. The impact that Japan had felt, as a nation was
undoubtedly a tremendous one, and maybe on a smaller scale within my own life resembled my own
feelings of devastation. However, through my relationship with the history of Japan and the perspective
from which I was experiencing it, there came something that had not come along before, a desire and hope
to continue in my life and finally on some level become free of what had been holding me back. I had
imagined that Japan, its people, and the people that were given the responsibility of rebuilding it might
have felt this way also.

Just as Japan had done, I found the strength to bury what had happened to me in the past and once
again continue on a course toward my goals as a musician. As I began the impossible climb, paths appeared
before me that were once covered in complete darkness and doubt. I began to remake myself with a new
outlook, and have been fortunate enough to be accepted into a professional trumpet studio once again, sit
and play in orchestras being surrounded with the beauty of the music I once loved, and graduate with my
degree in music. I hope that we all will be able to see these aspects of Japan, and if ever need be apply them
to our own lives on whatever level necessary. They are indeed beautiful, and I am ever grateful for my
relationship with them.

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