Ema Ryan Yamazaki’s Film on Elementary School Life in Japan: Japanese society is known throughout the world for its discipline and social harmony. The trains there run on time, the streets are always clean and lost items are safely returned to the owner. Seeing all this, people around the world often wonder where the roots of so much order and discipline come from in this country. Director Emma Ryan Yamazaki has attempted to find the answer to this question in her new documentary The Making of a Japanese. The film takes us into the world of Japanese elementary schools and shows how a sense of responsibility, cooperation, and discipline is instilled in children from a young age.
The miniature society of the classroom
Yamazaki filmed for a year at Tsukado Elementary School in Setagaya, Tokyo. He focused mainly on children in first and sixth grades. Despite the pandemic, when it was mandatory to wear masks and eat lunch quietly behind plastic shields, the classroom routine continued. In this film, it can be seen that children participate equally in school work along with studies. Cleaning, serving food, assisting teachers and participating in preparations for the annual sports festival are part of their regular work. Every child performs these responsibilities in turns, which develops a sense of collectivism and responsibility in them.
Normal for the Japanese, attractive for foreigners
These things are normal for Japanese society because every child there experiences this in school. But for foreign viewers, this experience proved to be amazing and attractive. This is why this documentary, released in December 2023, garnered a lot of praise in Europe and America. It was screened in twenty different venues in Finland and ran for four months in Helsinki. It was also shown on television in South Korea. All of this shows that the Japanese education system’s model of discipline and cooperation is influencing people internationally.
Life lessons and collective thinking
The documentary shows how Japanese schools not only provide education but also teach children life lessons. Yamazaki says that up to the age of six, children in Japan and the West are almost the same, but by the age of twelve, Japanese children develop a collective thinking. This is because they are given responsibilities and roles that teach them the importance of cooperation and discipline. This is why collectiveness and discipline are deeply ingrained in Japanese society.
The director’s personal experience
Emma Ryan Yamazaki’s life itself is a fusion of two cultures. Her father is British and her mother is Japanese. She received primary education in Japan and then enrolled in an international school in Kobe. After this, she studied at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and started her film career from there. She says that while studying in Japan, she looked different because of her mixed identity. Light hair and ability to speak English made her stand out from the crowd. But gradually she realized that her identity and her life values came from the same Japanese education system in which she grew up.
Sports festival and learning cooperation
Yamazaki’s deepest memory is her school’s annual sports festival. In the sixth grade, she made a human pyramid with her classmates. Initially she doubted whether it would be possible or not, but with constant practice and hard work the children successfully completed it. When the performance was successful on the day of the event, the children hugged each other and shed tears of joy and relief. This experience taught her that any challenge can be overcome with cooperation and teamwork.
Difference between Western and Japanese education
When Yamazaki stepped into an international school from Japan, she saw a clear difference between the two education systems. In Japan, children are taught group spirit and collective responsibility, while in the West, individual freedom and individuality are emphasized. Japanese sports festivals teach children the lesson of teamwork, while in Western schools sports are limited to individual performance only. This difference inspired Yamazaki to make his documentary.
Challenges of making the documentary
This project was not easy. Yamazaki searched for six years for a school that would agree to filming. Finally, with the aim of increasing international understanding during the Tokyo Olympics, he got permission to film in a school in Setagaya. This is how this documentary came into existence.
A glimpse of discipline and responsibility
There are many scenes in the film that highlight the depth of the Japanese education system. Somewhere a child is carefully checking whether the shoes are placed correctly or not, somewhere the teacher is teaching the children to hold the broom correctly. This discipline goes deep into the personality of the children. However, the film also shows that this system can sometimes put pressure on children and can also lead to problems such as exclusion and bullying when group-based thinking goes to the extreme.
International response and impact
The documentary has been very warmly received internationally. Many viewers said that the film gave them new perspectives on education and society. One viewer from Finland even said that the film is like a textbook on community building. This response shows that at a time when individualism is gaining influence around the world, Japan’s education system is presenting a balanced model of collectivism and cooperation.
Conclusion
The Making of a Japanese is not just a film but a medium to understand the soul of Japanese society. It tells us that discipline and cooperation are not limited to studies but become the foundation of children’s lives and society. Yamazaki shows through his experiences that the real strength of Japan lies in its social structure and discipline-loving culture. This documentary forces the world to think whether our education system also teaches children to be disciplined and to be disciplinarians. Is it just imparting knowledge or motivating them to become good citizens?
