Does it make sense to move to Japan to practice traditional arts

5 comments

1. This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.

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   **Does it make sense to move to Japan to practice traditional arts**

   I currently live in Germany and since 2015 I’m practicing one of the Japanese traditional arts (I’m not naming it here for privacy).
   Practicing this art to a professional level is not possible in Europe so lately I have been considering trying out living in Japan for some time. I have already been to Japan and to be honest if it wasn’t for that particular art I wouldn’t be interested in the country itself for different reasons. However that art is my passion and I really miss having the opportunity of doing it every day.
   Is this a valid reason to consider moving?

   Some of the minuses for me would be working conditions which are way worse in Japan than in Germany. I currently have an amazing job that I really love and the conditions are amazing (30 days of holidays which doesn’t include weekends and public holidays) plus i csn take a lot of time off (like a month off).
   How should I navigate this with my passion towards my hobby considering that the hobby can only be seriously practiced in Japan ? Was anyone else in similar situation?

   I was already trying to find / visit teachers in Japan while on my trips but as I’m not living there they naturally treated me as a tourist. So I’m worried that I can never be good enough in that art or taken seriously if I don’t move there. However other conditions are not appealing comparing to Europe (I already checked job ads

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2. Conceptually I think it makes sense, particularly if you feel driven to go professional and get paid for what you love, but it’s all hypothetical until you can get a visa. Everything hinges on that.

   Also it’s a balance between the comfort of your european job and whatever you can find for a visa in japan. odds are good any japanese job will be much worse in terms of comfort, hours, and benefits.

3. > Is this a valid reason to consider moving?

   The “cultural activities” status of residence exists so that folks can come to Japan and study traditional arts/crafts for extended periods of time. So yeah, it’s a valid reason.

   The trick however is that cultural activities doesn’t give you permission to work. However you could probably request permission to engage in activities outside the scope of your status of residence.

   This status would require that you’ve got a sponsor (eg a master of the art that you’d be learning from). So you’ll need to find a teacher.

   >How should I navigate this with my passion towards my hobby considering that the hobby can only be seriously practiced in Japan ?

   Is this because of certain materials only being available here or because of the availability of certain teachers? If it’s materials you could probably look into having them sent. There are personal shopper type services that could buy pretty much anything and ship them to you. If it’s teachers, perhaps your employer would be amenable to granting you a sabbatical (assuming you can afford it) to let you come to Japan for an extended period? If you can establish some rapport with folks in the community perhaps you could arrange regular videoconferencing sessions.

   You may also reach out to your local Japanese consulate to see if they’re aware of any organizations that you could join or events that you could attend (or help organize).

4. It makes sense, and your motivation surprised me because I’ve seen too many weird reasons on Reddit so far. I think it’s a really authentic and valid reason to move to Japan, just like moving to Germany to produce Meissen porcelain.

   As you mentioned, you can take a month off and come here to learn the hobby first. You can then consider whether you’re still motivated to move here.

   I don’t think there’s a specific visa for your purpose since we don’t have an Ausbildung system in Japan. You would need to be a language school student and learn the hobby after school and on weekends.

   Cultural activities visa would be a good choice as well, but you cannot work in Japan during your stay, and obtaining it is quite complicated.
   To be honest, I haven’t seen anyone who stays in Japan under this visa status.

5. Does it make sense really depends on what your aspirations are. I have a friend who came to Japan for Aikido. He was introduced to a very specific dojo through (iirc) the association he belonged to in California. He was already a blackbelt and sensei in a dojo in the US. Fortunately, his wife was a former ESL teacher with a masters, so she grabbed a job and he came over to study.

   I would say figure out where/how to study and the options. If 30-day trips work that might be better as you can keep your job and IMHO you would still have very credible training time.