When I was 11 years old, I was obsessed with “DRAGON BALL” and “Pokémon”. But I had no idea they were Japanese until a friend told me. That was the start of my interest in Japan. I had a dream of becoming a manga artist and started learning Japanese with a local Japanese exchange student when I was 13 years old.

But slowly, I became less and less interested in manga. Instead, my interests turned to the traditional art of Ukiyo-e and wood block printing. I felt like the spirit of Japan was reflected in these works of art, and I wanted to learn Japanese even more. That’s why I chose to go to University of Washington, a school where hundreds of Japanese exchange students come each year.

For me AGU wasn’t just a place to experience student exchange, but a place to experience running a business. My first YouTube video was taken at AGU. I focused too much on my work and was habitually late to class. I can still hear the voice of one of my teachers ringing in my ears: “Arthur! Try to focus on class a little, ok?”

The main reason why I chose AGU was because I could take the same classes as regular students. Most of the exchange programs from the University of Washington had exchange students taking special courses for exchange students; the class choice was really limited. The AGU exchange program was really flexible, allowing me to pick any class that piqued my interest. The freedom was really appealing to me. One of the reasons I was able to focus on both work and school was because of the flexibility of the curriculum.

Of course, taking classes in Japanese was very difficult. I really felt that in my “History of Japanese thought” class. In that class we looked at the differences between Japanese and other Indian/Southeast Asian Buddhism, Christianity, and Shinto. It was a class where we really dove deeply into Japanese thought, but words that are second nature to Japanese people like “Ojizosama” and “Hotokesama” were words that I had never heard before. The special terminology and Kanji was really tough, too. To be honest, I was a bit over my head and understood hardly anything. But as I reviewed my notes I started to understand slowly. At the end of the last class I worked up the courage to talk to my professor. The conversation we had about the similarities between Buddhism and Christianity is something I remember even to this day.

Another great thing about AGU is that you can enjoy Tokyo to its fullest. Lots of foreigners think of Shibuya when they think of Tokyo, and the Shibuya Scramble Crossing is right by the school. You’re also really close to Meiji jingu and the back streets of Omotesando, full of hole-in-the-walls to your hearts content. It’s a university where you don’t just study, but also really feel the uniqueness of Japan.
There weren’t many classes you could take in English when I went there, but I’ve heard there’s quite a few now. AGU is the school you want to go to if you want to make the most of your options for study.

A big challenge while I was at AGU was creating English translations of the “Man'yoshu” when I joined Professor Komatsu Yasuhiko’s “Japanese Literature Seminar.” When I heard of Prof. Komatsu’s request for help on this project, the only thing I knew about the “Man'yoshu” was that it was a book of pretty old poems. I thought that it would be too difficult for me, but I may as well just give it a chance. I had majored in linguistics and Japanese language in school and wanted a challenge. More than getting credits, I was focused on doing meaningful work.

After only a few minutes of joining the class for the first time Prof. Komatsu already started asking me “How would you say this in English?” To be honest I was pretty lost. The “Man'yoshu” is difficult even for Japanese people - it was that much more difficult for me. In the beginning I focused on translating the text word by word, trying to keep the meaning intact. But when I tried to translate particularly difficult passages, it just came out too direct, too weird. It was around that time I realized that meaning isn’t about words; it’s about images and feelings, so I started to translate more loosely. Instead of putting importance on each word, I focused on the image, the essence, and how to translate that. The class was so stimulating for me I never missed a single class.

On the outside, we use different languages like Japanese or English to express ourselves, but on the inside we all have the same desires and dreams. At the root of it all, we are all the same: human. I hope that my students develop this image-based communication ability and feel this truth deep within them. I’ll continue doing my best to help many people become connectors, people who connect with people from all over the world and can share the richness of Japan with them.

This poem is a set with another famous poem in the “Man'yoshu” to form a longer poem (Book 5: 803 ).
銀（しろかね）も　金（くがね）も玉も　なにせむに　優（まさ）れる宝　子（こ）に及かめやも
〔Prof. Komatsu’s translation〕
Surely,
Even silver, gold and jewels
Are inferior to
The greatest treasure,
Children.

This full poem focuses on how natural it is to think about your children, using the rhythm to convey that feeling. Arthur’s translation from ten years ago as well as his current one, both have that “rhythm” in it. But in the poem from 10 years ago, the first part and the fourth part, the “children” and “passion”, are subjects leading the expression of thinking of your kids to be more passive (this is a more direct translation of the original text).
But in the newer translation, the subject has become “I”, the singer, and has become more active. Also, the newer translation uses the phrase “flashing here and there,” which gives an image of the children moving vividly. This is a translation that really conveys the passion that Arthur has for his kids. I would love for him to recite it someday.