Dance for I could hear you! The ‘Romanian’ Japanese is amazed by Transcarpathia

Dance for I could hear you! Exactly so one could paraphrase Socrates’ famous idiom talking about the son of the Land of the Rising Sun. The Japanese gentleman aims at preserving the authenticity of the region where the sun ‘goes down’. As we have stated earlier, Norio Inagaki is a Japanese man who is conducting a research at the Romanian Academy, Institute of Folklore Archive, Cluj. Some two years ago, he began a project aimed at founding the brightest samples of the non-material cultural heritage of different ethnos habiting on the territory of Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, and Serbia. To achieve his aim, he has arrived to Transcarpathia for this time.

One can communicate with the Japanese researches either in English or in Romanian. The assured Mr Inagaki says that soon he will learn the Hungarian language which he is actively studying now. It is interesting that unlike the Slavs, he does not consider this language highly difficult. However, according to everything, his heart belongs to the Romanian nation. He talked about this to the correspondent of Uzhgorod.in. "It is very hard to find authentic works today. Nations and cultures are very closely interweaved. However, it was the highlands of Romania where I have found a true source of national music, the history of which has been ‘stretching’ through ages!", – The researcher explains enthusiastically about funerary rituals which retained pagan customs.

Mr Inagaki is especially amazed by the multiculturalism of Transcarpathia, the interweaving traditions and the desire of the nation to preserve them. In addition, he always calls Transcarpathia a ‘suburb of Europe’… To the indignant correction about the fact that we live in the centre, he says: "I mean the cultural suburb of Europe. Here you can find its authentic culture!". Moreover, the Japanese states the truth that is clear for us – Ukraine has no problems with songs, it has problems with economy. However, he admits that this problem is seen less in Transcarpathia than in any other region.  To the question how he discriminates the nations of Transcarpathia, because we are all the same for the Asians and vice-versa, he answers: "It is very simple. All they need to do is dance and I immediately see what nation they represent! Each feels his or her own rhythm and music by their blood, heart and soul. In this I see my mission. I have to preserve the grains of this heritage. The authenticity will inevitably assimilate and vanish… There, in my country, there are modern technologies. We live in the world of rituals… The music and moves given us by our ancients has gone. Here, in the highlands this has preserved. But without everything… It is our root and our soul. Therefore, I give a CD to the performers after having recorded them. I do this because I want them and their children to remember how this was done by their ancestors!".