| Palermo is a big city in Sicily located in the southern part of Italy, an
area influenced by a variety of different cultures resulting from the rise and
fall of several nation tribes since ancient times. Ms. Ruggeri was born in this
historical city, her father being an architecture professor at the University,
her mother an artist. Undoubtedly her parents provided a highly progressive environment
in which to grow up. This provided her with opportunities to encounter more oriental
ways of thought, which her parents had been interested in. She also experienced
home-stay visits in other countries including the USA. These early opportunities
allowed her to gain a broad natural outlook and recognize that are so many languages
and cultures all over the world. |
| It was karate that first sparked her interest in Japan, a discipline she began
practicing at thirteen years old. Thanks to an introduction by a Karate ashram
teacher in Palermo, she home-stayed in Kobe for six months when she was a university
student. Through this she further deepened her interest in Japanese culture. She
also encountered Zen Buddhism which she was later able to study more formally
when she participated in a 'Zazen' session (contemplation while sitting still),
an ascetic experience open to the general public in the Reiun-in of Myoshinji
Temple, Kyoto which her host family took her to visit during her home-stay. |
| She had read many books about Zen before she had the opportunity
to ask an old priest at Reiun-in, "what is Satori (enlightenment)?"
He answered, "You wash your face when you wake up, you eat meals, work and
sleep at night. That is enlightenment." She was deeply impressed with the
aspect of Zen thought that allows people to relate naturally to the situation
of each moment in their daily lives as opposed to relating it to a system of knowledge
or theory. |
| Ms. Ruggeri went on to major in Oriental languages and religious philosophy
at Venezia University in Italy and then proceeded to a master's course at Hanazono
University in Kyoto. Then she took a doctorate studying the thought of Hakui Ekaku,
a Zen priest of the Edo period, at Osaka Prefectural Graduate School. As for Karate,
she took first prize at a national tournament in Italy and opened her ashram in
Nishinomiya when she came back to Japan. She is a determined and excellent athlete
and scholar, although, when this interviewer met her, she conveyed an image of
mildness and sensitivity, an impression reinforced by her explanation that she
is also a vegetarian. She told us more about this. "When I was thirteen,
I went on a home-stay visit to the United States, and stayed at a ranch in Oregon.
I helped raise a newborn veal calf as if it were my own child. Ever since that
experience I have not eaten meat." |
 She was a shy
girl when she was young but began at a Japanese Karate ashram in Palermo in the
hope that it would help strengthen her mentally. "I
gained real self-confidence after I took the first prize at a national competition
in Italy, but I also became aware that I do not really like competitions. Now
I have opened my own Karate ashram in Nishinomiya. My students are all women and
I am hoping they can develop both physical and mental strength through Karate." |
| It was seven years ago that she came to Japan again to study more fully about
Japanese culture including Zen thought. She has been living in Kansai the whole
time. I asked her about her impressions of Kansai and she replied, "What
I especially feel about Kansai is the warmth and a friendly feeling of the people
living here. Compared to people in Tokyo who are, for the most part, not
very approachable and rather businesslike, people in Kansai are very friendly
and warm in nature. They are similar to people from my home town in Southern Italy.
I still keep in touch with the family that I first home-stayed with in Japan as
if they are my real family. I find it very natural here to exchange a few friendly
words with complete strangers while waiting for a traffic light or something,
even if it is just to say "It's hot today, isn't it?" |
| "Since coming to Japan, I have lived either in Kobe or in Nishinomiya
both of which are close to sea and mountains, just like my home town of Palermo.
I gain some sense of familiarity in that. I will be moving to Kyoto this spring
and, while I am looking forward to living there because of all the wonderful temples,
it doesn't have the ocean." |
| Asked about the food in Kansai, she answered, "I'm a vegetarian so I
like Kyoto's 'Shojin Ryori' (vegetarian food) very much, especially tofu dishes
and 'goma dofu' (sesame tofu). I also like unusual tastes like 'ume' (plum) and
'otsukemono' (Japanese pickles)." |
| "However one thing I could not eat when I first came to Japan was the
soft noodles like 'udon' because I was only used to pasta in Italy such as the
'Ardante' hard noodles. But now I'm totally used to udon' and, in fact, I sometimes
feel a sudden need to eat udon when I'm back in Italy" she laughed. |
| Asked about her favorite spots in Kansai, she said, "When I was living
in Kobe, I happened to find a temple near Nuno-biki Waterfall when out on a walk.
Fudo-Myo-o is enshrined in this temple and it has a very quiet and tranquil atmosphere
despite being located in a mountain not far from Shin-Kobe Station. The scenery
of the temple and surrounding mountain paths are very wonderful. That is surely
my favorite spot." |
| "I also like the atmosphere of Myoshinji Temple in Kyoto. This temple
is also quiet even though located in a busy part of Kyoto. You only need take
one single step into the precinct, and you can feel the serenity, a really amazing
sensation. 'Taishu-Zendo' where you can experience 'zazen' is also found in the
temple. To practice 'zazen' in the very early morning, such as at three or five
o'clock on Saturday and Sunday is a truly wonderful experience." |
| "I also take trips when I have a holiday. I like the crab in Kinosaki
in the winter, the Nachi Waterfall in Wakayama, cherry blossom in Shukugawa, and
the scenery around Lake Biwa. These have all been wonderful." |
| Ms. Ruggeri has been deeply involved in Zen through her studies and translation
of Zen thought, zazen and her everyday life. We asked her how she sees ordinary
Japanese people and if she has an insight into any special characteristics of
the Japanese people that gave rise to Zen thought, characteristics that perhaps
even Japanese people themselves cannot recognize. |
| She said, "Japanese people tend not to speak out their own opinion, do
they? When I was first in Japan, I thought that perhaps they didn't think anything"
she told us laughing. "But I found out it was not true one day." |
| "Westerners who place a great deal of value on rationality cannot relate
to one another in human relationships without logic. Japanese people are different.
It is very difficult to express this sense, but I think that they have a special
ability to empathize or coordinate with one another by the communal sharing of
the atmosphere of the place where they live their daily lives." |
| "It is true that young people today are preoccupied with
the superficial and their value set has been changing. However, they still have
a natural ability to coordinate or understand each other and connect with each
other's inner faces." |
| In the seven years she has been here, many of the Japanese friends she has
made are, not surprisingly, priests and 'Kumomizu San', that is, Zen trainee priests
that do not live in any one fixed place. |
| "In the Obon (ancestral remembrance) season I sometimes go to a friends'
temple to help with the 'Osegaki' (Buddhist meeting) but I suspect I am sometimes
more troublesome than helpful" she joked. |
| On the other hand, she does also have a modern 'gal' side, a more typical
female side, in that she goes to the cinema, eats out with female friends and
watches TV at home on days off. "I like 'laugh-in' TV shows. I especially
like the 'downtown' programs and never fail to watch the weekly episode of the
'Tantei Night Scoop' show" |
| Ms. Ruggeri enjoys her life in Kansai from the heart. She is fully involved
in the essence of all things Japanese, indeed, connecting with Japan to a far
greater degree than most people born in Japan. |
| "Two years ago when I took a university doctorate here in Japan, my family
asked me to return to Italy. I thought about my future for a while and found where
my true feelings now reside. I just can't live in Italy anymore! That is my honest
feeling." she said. Phrases such as 'a foreign land', or 'a different culture',
have no meaning to her. |
| "I now practice the Tea Ceremony too. I think that Zazen,
Karate, and the Tea Ceremony all train you to look inside yourself in a sense.
When you look to your inner face through these disciplines, it is also important
to turn your eyes to the outside as well. When you truly know yourself, it is
far more natural to see inside other people. In short, you can see that people
in any country and in any cultural environment are all the same human beings in
their nature." |
| At the end of our interview, I asked her for an opinion about what is important
for Kansai's internationalization and deepening international exchange around
the world. |
| "I think learning language is important because
an understanding of the language allows you to deeply understand the culture and
the country's value system". She herself speaks fluent Japanese and
I could really sense her hope that people in different countries and cultures
can come to better understand, respect and value one another. |
| Ms. Anna Ruggeri is a follower of Hance Kyung, a theologian who called for
a movement that seeks mutual understanding and peaceful coexistence between the
countries and races of the world by encouraging dialogue among different religions.
She has a special kind of determination, exemplified by her wish to continue studying
Zen and Karate, a gentleness and sensitivity from her refusal to eat meat since
raising a calf while a child, and a broad outlook and open-mind towards different
countries and cultures. |
| Today the world appears to be sinking deeper and deeper into a state of chaos
with too many unhappy disputes and confrontations in various places. On occasion,
we tend to lose hope in the future but we must move ahead to overcome such circumstances
and work towards mutual understanding, coexistence and the reconciliation of various
cultures and races. I left the interview with the deep impression that it is people
like Anna Ruggeri who are the ones who play the largest role towards these ends.
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