The great debaters

The great debaters speech

Though they are interesting, it wasnt easy to make it into animation directly from the essay. Question: What kind of impression about Teika and Chomei did you get from Hottas work? Miyazaki Goro: Well, Teika was a minor nobility and couldnt succeed in his career. In his middle age, he was poor and physically weak. We know him as the editor of Shinkokin Wakashu , an anthology of short poems and as a person of culture though. Chomei lived a complicated life and was nearly jobless through his entire life. He was born as a son of a Shinto priest, but he couldn t succeed him. He had an excellent talent in literature and music. However, he was cynical and had an ax to grind. Question: You set Chomeis age as 25 and Teika as You decided to depict their youth Miyazaki Goro: I think they must have drifted this way and that way during their youth. It isnt interesting to depict the latter half of their lives. I wanted to depict the beginning of their troubles and difficulties. Question: The theme of this project is depicting troublous times. We usually think of the Heian era as an elegant age in which the aristocratic culture flowered as seen in Genji Monogatari . However, it was much troublous and there were many extraordinary natural phenomenons, right? Miyazaki Goro: Not only just extraordinary natural phenomenons, but also the establishment by Imperial court had imploded. Question: Hotta told that troublous times have continued to our age. In the case of assuming our time is a troublous time, do you see any commonality with it and the Heian era? Miyazaki Goro: For normal people, it isnt easy to recognize what is happening all over the world. Although we live in an information society, we can only know what we see just in front of us; we cant the great debaters speech or understand what moves the society. In the troublous time, the people at the bottom of the social pyramid are involved in the social change without understanding what is happening. Such big power involves people always exists in all-time. I often feel it when I read Hotta. Question: Hotta had never been involved in such a big wave, right? Miyazaki Goro: It was possible only for real intelligentsia like Hotta. At the end stage of WWII, he went to Shanghai the great debaters speech of knowing Japan was losing the war and its danger. At the age of 60, he immigrated to Spain. It wasnt easy for a normal person. He did that because he wanted to see by his own eyes, I guess. Question: Do you think it is hard to keep the mind like Hotta? Miyazaki Goro: We should know history in order to do that. The thing that has continued from the Heian era has formed us. If there is something we have accomplishment of that, is that we can avoid losing our mind. Question: The climate during the Heian era was warmer and more humid like the great debaters speech one South East Asia currently has. That was something I found out from your exhibition.