People's Daily Beijing, July 9 (Zhao Wenbo, Walid) "Can Chinese and japanese people be friends?" ”
"Of course. Even if you are not friends at first, in the process of contact, if he is good to you, you will like him, and if you like him, you will like his country. ”
Recently, the People's Daily reporter interviewed the Japanese actor Shibuya Tenma and listened to him tell his story of the process of chasing his dreams and letting them blossom in China. This is the conversation that he left the most impression on me during the interview.
Teenagers chase their dreams and study in the United States
Tenma Shibuya (shibuya) was born in 1969 in Saitama Prefecture, Japan, and is one of the most famous Japanese actors in Chinese mainland.
Shibuya Tenma (Photo courtesy of interviewee)
"As a child, I dreamed of becoming a journalist active on the international stage. So, after graduating from high school, I worked for more than a year, saved up tuition, and went to the United States to study. "But when I was in the United States for almost two years, because my mother was sick and I was bringing less and less money, Shibuya Tenma decided to return to Japan first." I want to take care of my mother while preparing for continuing to study in the United States."
However, after returning to Japan, Shibuya accidentally injured his waist while working, so he had to put all plans on hold for the time being. "And just like that, 6 years have passed. I started to rethink 'what do I really want to do in my heart'? It is to study abroad, to become a journalist, to do work that is active in the international arena. Beyond that, what do you want to do now? What can be done now? The answer he got, he said, was: actors.
Abandon the United States and go to China
So Shibuya Tenma began to study acting, and began to participate in drama performances, opening his path as an actor.
"Ten years have passed, but I have never had the opportunity to go overseas." In other words, my dream since I was a child has not been realized, and I am a little anxious. Or go overseas. It doesn't matter if I can become famous or not, look for opportunities first, because that's what I wanted to do. ”
But where to go?
"Going to Hollywood? But I know that for Americans, an Asian actor, you can play Chinese, Japanese, Korean, as long as it's an Asian role that makes no difference to them. Because you are the face of Asia. ”
So where is the right place outside the United States?
At the China Film Museum, Shibuya Tenma introduced to reporters that "Shaolin Temple" was once a particularly popular movie in Japan.
"At that time, kung fu movies in Japan and Hong Kong were very popular. Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li are all idols in the hearts of young boys, so as a Japanese, Hong Kong is more familiar to me. Considering that Hong Kong has returned to China, Hong Kong people have also begun to speak Mandarin. So, if I learn Mandarin first, then I can use Chinese throughout China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, and even Southeast Asia. Moreover, there are Chinese everywhere in the world. So, if I know both English and Chinese, I can communicate with more than 1/3 of the world. And at that time, China began to develop, and the whole world was paying attention to China. Thinking about it, I am very excited in my heart, isn't this just internationalization? So in the end, I chose to come to Chinese mainland. ”
Before coming to China, Shibuya Tenma began to study Chinese, and Chinese teacher at that time was a Beijinger. "Beijingers, of course, recommend saying' you go to Beijing, Beijing is good', because everyone is more proud of their hometown." Then I came to Beijing. It's been thirteen years in the blink of an eye," Shibuya Tenma said with a smile.
To realize the international dream, China retained me
"Thirteen years ago, China was not as convenient as it is now, there was no smartphone and no WeChat, and at that time, I always carried a dictionary everywhere I went. After coming to China in 2006, I only took over two or three plays in the first three years, and they were all small dramas that could be filmed in about a week. Until 2008, I met the movie "Ip Man". ”
Shibuya Tenma played Captain Sato in Ip Man 1. (Courtesy of the interviewee)
"China is changing very fast. In previous years, only when foreign drama crews came to China to shoot films, they had the opportunity to cooperate with other countries. Now it's completely different, China is big and the market is big. Chinese films are also becoming more and more international. Now when shooting, many well-known actors from the United States and Europe are invited, and even there are many foreign staff in the crew. There are many more opportunities for international cooperation than in Japan. So, why do I keep doing actors in China? This is a very important reason. ”
"With more and more scenes, gradually my popularity is getting higher and higher, many Chinese people, I call them "friends", my Chinese friends, although they have not met, they often send messages through the Internet to encourage me, which makes me particularly moved and gives me a lot of courage. That's another reason why I've stuck with it in China. ”
Interpret the character, "Bad people also have bad reason"
Shibuya Tenma, who has starred in more than 50 TELEVISION and film productions in China, 90% of them played the role of "bad guy", that is, the villain.
In 2010, Shibuya Tenma played Keiji Kato, the captain of the Japanese military police, in the spy drama Borrow a Gun. (Courtesy of the interviewee)
"There's no difference between a good guy and a bad guy in a role, and my goal is how to make the role three-dimensional and realistic." Shibuya Tenma believes that you can't deliberately demonize a character because you are a negative character, "because the 'bad guy' itself may not feel that he is a bad person, and may still think that he is a good person." Every 'bad person' has his own bad reason, and this truth must be reasonable and logical. In this way, the character can be interpreted more realistically. So, how to make the character reasonable and logical, this is my most concerned thing. ”
Will playing these negative roles cause dissatisfaction among his compatriots when he returns to Japan? "In fact, many Chinese friends ask me, especially when they meet for the first time, they ask, 'Shibuya, are you okay when you return to China?' It's actually okay, it's all right. Because I'm an actor," Shibuya said with a laugh.
"Some of the movies and TV series he has starred in have been released in Japan. So there are some Japanese people who know me, and they have the opportunity to see me playing the role of a villain, especially a Japanese officer, a Japanese soldier. There may be some Japanese people who are unhappy with their compatriots, that is, Japanese actors playing some villain roles outside. However, I think there are very few such people, and my private life has not been affected at all. ”
In 2015, Shibuya Tenma starred in the 3D anti-war film "The Great Bombing", which commemorated the 70th anniversary of the victory of anti-fascism. (Courtesy of the interviewee)
He also said humorously: "I also get a lot of messages from audiences outside of Japan and China saying, 'Mr. Shibuya, I think you're a very good actor because I hate you.'"
Can Chinese be friends with Japanese people?
"Of course, I have a lot of Chinese friends."
"The most foreigners you see in Japan are Chinese, with nearly 1 million. When I first arrived in China, I studied at a university, and the Japanese in the Chinese class at that time, except for young people in their 20s, were all in their 60s. They all came to China to study after retirement. ”
Over the years since coming to China, Shibuya Tenma has made many Chinese friends. Not only that, but he also established a non-profit group for Sino-Japanese cultural exchanges in Tokyo.
"I went to China in 2006 and established an NPO non-profit cultural exchange organization in Tokyo, Japan in 2009. Mainly engaged in cultural exchange activities between China and Japan. Because after coming to China, I found that many Chinese were very interested in Japanese culture, such as Japanese tea ceremony, kendo, classical dance, as well as Japanese anime, makeup, costumes and so on. The purpose of establishing such an organization is to provide a channel and platform for everyone. In turn, we open Chinese language learning classes for the Japanese people, provide free classrooms, and so on. ”
In 2013, the Sino-Japanese flower arrangement exchange activities were organized. (Courtesy of the interviewee)
"I think this kind of activity is very meaningful. Different languages, different cultures, but if both parties have the same hobby, it is easy to build a friendly relationship. For example, if you are a Chinese, I am Japanese, and we both love to watch anime, so it is easy for us to be friends and deepen our understanding of each other's countries. Although I am one of the volunteers, I have personally gained a lot of things. ”
He also gave an example. "Japanese people are actually very interesting, if you are a Chinese, wrap a dumpling for the Japanese, they will be very happy, their hearts will be moved." Because ordinary Japanese people have never eaten authentic Chinese dumplings. It's that simple. ”
From a pair of chopsticks to see the similarities and differences between Chinese and Japanese culture
Shibuya Tenma told reporters that although he learned a lot about China in textbooks when he was a child, and he also checked a lot of relevant materials before coming to China, he personally came to China and felt really different.
"Like chopsticks. Chinese use chopsticks, and Japanese people also use chopsticks, but they are actually different. The front end of chinese chopsticks is very thick, but the front end of Japanese chopsticks is particularly thin. Why? Because Japan is surrounded by the sea, there are more fish to eat, so the front of the chopsticks must be thin, so that eating fish will be convenient. Therefore, Japanese people feel very inconvenient when they use chopsticks to clip small things such as beans in China. Such a small difference, if I had not come to China in person, I would not have even thought about it. ”
Courtesy of respondents
"So I think the difference between China and Japan, like the difference in chopsticks, looks like but is very different."
Regarding the similarities between Chinese and Japanese cultures, Shibuya Tenma said: "Very much. Because I think most of the traditional culture on the Japanese side was passed down from China, and the most was during the Tang Dynasty. When Chinese tourists go to Japan, the place names menu can probably be understood. Japanese people are the same, because they can understand Chinese characters, and Japanese who have just come to China are often misunderstood to have a high level of Chinese. ”
What does Shibuya think about the anti-Japanese drama?
At the China Film Museum, walking up to the panel of "An Unfinished Chess Game", Shibuya Tenma said excitedly, "I am very familiar with this movie, this is the first sino-Japanese co-production." "A Game of Chess" is the first film co-produced by China and Japan after the restoration of diplomatic relations in 1972, and china and Japan jointly wrote, co-directed and co-performed.
"I'm a pacifist."
"The role of a villain such as a Japanese soldier is set in World War II, and I have checked a lot of information for the role, so I may know more about the situation at that time than ordinary Japanese people." I think that for history, we must first respect and understand. I hope that China and Japan can maintain friendly relations so that they can do my favorite thing, which is cultural and artistic activities. From my point of view, if the two countries remain friendly, they will also provide more resources and cooperation opportunities in the field of performing arts. ”
Shibuya said: "My wish is that one day I can make a Sino-Japanese cooperation film myself. ”