Anne Crescini has lived in Japan for over 16 years and works primarily in research and education as an associate professor at Kitakyushu University. Having previously lived in Kitakyushu and Kobe, the Southwest Virginia native has fallen in love with Japan and currently resides in Munakata City in Fukuoka Prefecture. Anne has self-published 12 books on a variety of Japanese language and culture topics, some of which are helpfully written for foreigners living in Japan. Her newest book, Japanese For Real Life: What you need to know to survive and thrive in Japan, was written for foreign residents looking to improve their cultural and linguistic comprehension in everyday contexts. Fukuoka Now checked out the book and chatted with Anne and her co-author Aya to find out more about their stories and this latest publication.
As noted in its introduction, Japanese for Real Life was conceived to help with daily situations where desu/masu Japanese is less common. Whilst teaching a friend some more casual expressions, Anne noted that a phrasebook for daily life and common cultural situations would be useful for people feeling disconnected. The resultant book, Japanese for Real Life, covers a range of topics from dental care and education to onsen etiquette and food culture. As the author says, it contains “all the stuff that I wish someone had told me when I moved here”. Each section contains a humorous and informative outline of the subtle rules and details around the topic. This is followed by a helpful set of vocabulary and phrases, which will aid readers in communicating practically and with ease in various settings. The professional design of the book also includes graphics with Hakata-ben captions, branching out from the Tokyo-centric focus of many phrasebooks to include a Kyushu flavor.
A lot of the information in the book comes from Anne’s experiences in Japan as a foreigner; she draws inspiration from raising three daughters here, navigating the health system, visiting hair salons, etc. The guide’s tone ultimately stems from Anne’s conviction that culture and language must work together to form a fuller understanding of life in Japan. She believes that foreigners, who live in Japan “as guests” as Anne sees it, cannot ever live fully involved lives here without intentionality in learning the language and embracing the culture. Aya and Anne’s advice for those looking to understand and potentially write about Japanese life is to strive to learn as much as possible about the language and hold high standards for content that they produce. Prospective authors and bloggers should have thick skins and be confident in the value of their writing whilst also welcoming insight and feedback. Although Anne is still looking to get the guide published in Japan, the currently self-published book looks great and can easily be updated online by the authors. This route of self-publication, although not the easiest way to produce literature, is an option for new writers looking to share their content with a wider audience in hardcopy form.
After meeting through their church in Munakata, Aya and Anne have been working together for two years on a number of projects. Aya, a multilinguist and blogger, is Anne’s editorial assistant, and the pair are currently producing a dictionary of Japanese-made English, or wasei eigo, which they’re hoping to publish online and update as the fluid language continues to develop. Anne and Aya see part of their unique charm as their intellectual and high quality content production from the depths of Munakata. Not only does this setup illustrate the development of technology and global connection in recent times, but also the pair’s love of this small town. With easy access to everything they need, as well as just an hour travel each way to Fukuoka and Kitakyushu respectively, the beauty of the landscape and the kindness of the 96,000 inhabitants of Munakata make it a wonderful place to live. Anne and Aya are also hopeful for an increase in the number of visitors to their town after the inscription of Okinoshima and corresponding locations as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Whilst living the dream of Japanese small town life, Anne, with her assistant Aya, is excited to continue sharing the joys and surprises of Japanese life and language through her writing, and we look forward to more great publications in the future!
Text by Fern Brereton for Fukuoka Now (July 2017).
Check out more of Anne’s and Aya’s work:
• Promotional video for Japanese for Real Life
• Anne’s blog on daily life in Japan and contact form
• Aya’s blog on Japanese food and culture
• Their latest book, Japanese for Real Life, on Amazon
