Update: This Short document is nominated For the 97th Academy Awards.
What does the Japanese do clearly Japanese? For me the key is what we learn during our elementary school.
Children at the age of 6 are obliged to clean their own classrooms and serve each other lunch. Schools are structured as a mini company where everyone has a role and is expected to contribute to the community. There is a strong focus on non -referring to teamwork, working ethics and a sense of success.
Growing up in Japan as a child of a Japanese mother and a British father, I fought with my identity. It was only a few years later when I lived abroad, that I came to appreciate the values and work ethics that instilled my education at elementary school; In Japan, they are so normalized that their value is underestimated. These qualities also contribute to why the Japanese company works as it does: our trains run in time because we are learning to prefer harmony and consideration of others; On the other hand, we live under collective pressure to adapt and do not bring our community shame.
In the above short document “Instruments of A Beathing Heart”, filmed in 2022, the first comparators at the Tokyo public school are introduced by a challenge for their last semester: to create an orchestra and get off at the school ceremony. When children learn to “make your heart as one” and practice strictly, we see both pressures and miracles that they are responsible for the group. The tradition of building characters in Japanese education is experienced through Ayame, which in the face of newly discovered challenges learns to be resistant. I believe that the experience of overcoming obstacles, as well as Ayame, is essential for education. But where should the balance between discipline and freedom be?
What is happening in our schools will shape what our future society will look like. While the Japanese system has its strengths and weaknesses, I hope this film provides opportunities for other companies around the world to hold a mirror for their education systems and think about how they want to increase the next generation.
