Final Reflections

The other students have already written excellent summaries of the trip, so I will just discuss one aspect that stood out -  the kindness of our hosts.

Kamiya Sensei presented a lecture titled “Japanese traditional medicine: Kampo medicine” during one of our first days at Kobe Gakuin University. The lecture focused primarily on kakkon-to, a popular herbal medicine comprised of ephedra, ginger, jujube, licorice, pueraria, cinnamon and peony. Among other things, the preparation is used to treat cold or stiff shoulders and neck.

Kamiya Sensei went on to tell us about rakugo, a humorous dialogue performed using fans and hand towels. He even performed his own rakugo. The story went as follows:

The first patient of the day goes to the doctor and says, “I have a pain in my head.” The doctor replies, “You have a headache. Take this kakkon-to three times a day for seven days.”

Next, the second patient of the day comes in and says, “I have a pain in my back.” Similarly, the doctor replies, “You have a backache. Take this kakkon-to three times a day for seven days.”

A third patient visits the doctor and says, “I have a pain in my neck.” Again, the doctor replies, “You have a neck ache. Take this kakkon-to three times a day for seven days.”

Finally, the last patient comes to see the doctor. The doctor asks, “What is bothering you?” The patient says, “I am the brother of the patient with the back ache.” The doctor asks, “Oh, you also have a back ache?” The patient replies, “No.” The confused doctor asked, “What is your problem, then?” The patient said, “I don’t have a problem.” To this, the doctor said, “Ah, you are bored! Here, take this kakkon-to three times a day for seven days.”

Sensei told this story to illustrate the notion that the same kampo medicine can be used to treat different ailments, and to humorously depict the desire that many Japanese patients have to receive prescriptions. As clearly as this story depicts those things, however, it also depicts the very giving nature of the Japanese people (or at least of one, perhaps overzealous, doctor).

It was this generosity that impressed me the most during our trip to Japan. The students and staff of Kobe Gakuin University continually gave their time and resources to ensure that we were welcomed and had a wonderful trip. They took the time to get to know us individually, answered our many questions about the Japanese culture, taught us a little about the language, were our personal tour guides and never judged me when I failed to use hashi (chopsticks) properly (which was 99% of the time). When I look back on this trip to Japan, I will do so with gratitude to each and every person I met along the way.