When you open a dictionary, ready to “study sign language!”, it can be hard to picture the hand movements and facial expressions.
There is a chance to see “living sign language” at home. It’s on “Minna no Shuwa,” broadcast on NHK E Tele every Friday at 2:35 p.m.
The program is produced to promote communication between people with hearing impairments and hearing people (people who can hear). It uses video to clearly introduce basic everyday sign language conversations. Since spoken audio and subtitles accompany the signing, it is also watched as a learning resource by people studying sign language.
Morita Akira, who appears on Minna no Shuwa—a program that could be called a bible for people studying sign language—is going to give a talk in Kurashiki, so we spoke with the organizing committee.
The information presented was current when this article was published in August 2024. Please note that it may differ from current information.
What is the Kurashiki City Sign Language Circle Liaison Council 40th Anniversary Lecture?
The Kurashiki City Sign Language Circle Liaison Council 40th Anniversary Lecture will be held on Sunday, August 4, 2024, from 9:30 a.m. to noon at the Kurashiki Health and Welfare Plaza in Sasaoki, Kurashiki City.
The speaker is Morita Akira, an instructor on NHK E Tele’s “Minna no Shuwa.” The lecture is titled “Working in a Job Related to Sign Language Among the Majority,” and will be delivered in sign language. Interpretation into spoken language will also be provided for participants who cannot understand sign language, so everyone can follow the lecture, whether they can hear or not.
Interpretation into spoken language: interpreting words expressed in sign language into spoken language for hearing people
The flyer lists Thursday, July 25, as the application deadline, but you can also register on the day.
What is the Kurashiki City Sign Language Circle Liaison Council?
The Kurashiki City Sign Language Circle Liaison Council is an association of sign language circles active in Kurashiki City.
It currently has six member groups:
- Kusa no Kai Sign Language Circle
- Kura Sign Language Circle
- Kojima Sign Language Circle
- Sign Language Circle Tamashima
- Sign Language Circle Nishi-Achi
- Funao Sign Language Circle Muscat
Sign language has been appearing more often in recent years, partly due to the influence of television dramas, and membership in the council’s sign language circles is reportedly growing year by year.
The council exchanges information about sign language in cooperation with organizations representing people with hearing impairments, and regularly gathers to hold events using sign language.
The shared language of sign language alone fosters a sense of camaraderie, and members of different circles are said to enjoy warm friendships with one another.
Interview with the organizing committee
We spoke with organizing committee members Ishibashi Yukiko and Sakamoto Haruka about the Kurashiki City Sign Language Circle Liaison Council 40th Anniversary Lecture.
Congratulations on the council’s 40th anniversary. Could you tell us how you came to invite Morita Akira to give a lecture?
Ishibashi (surname only)
Thank you.
We have invited Morita to study sessions held by groups belonging to the council before. What he shared then about sign language and the firsthand experiences of people with hearing impairments (hereafter, Deaf people) was very informative, and above all, the study sessions were fun.
It felt like a shame to keep such an interesting talk within just one circle. The timing of wanting to share it with our fellow council members coincided with the council’s 40th anniversary, so we decided to hold a lecture in a large venue.
What can people expect to hear from Morita?
Ishibashi
Morita is Deaf, but he works alongside hearing people on NHK E Tele’s “Minna no Shuwa.” We hope he will talk about what he feels and what approaches he uses when working with hearing people, who make up the majority in this society.
Also, Morita uses Japanese Sign Language, which has its own grammar, rather than Signed Japanese, which follows Japanese. We plan to discuss the appeal of Japanese Sign Language as well. Expressions unique to Japanese Sign Language, such as sign language poetry and reading picture books aloud, are best learned from Deaf people themselves, so I’m looking forward to it.
Sakamoto (surname only)
At first, we planned to ask him to give a lesson on ways of expressing things in Japanese Sign Language. But since this is a commemorative lecture for the council’s 40th anniversary, we came to feel that we wanted beginners to attend too. So we also asked him to talk about workplace experiences in a way that beginners can understand, as well as explain again the difference between Signed Japanese and Japanese Sign Language. Morita is also a schoolteacher, so I’m sure he’ll make things easy to understand.
What kinds of people would you like to attend this lecture?
Ishibashi
We’d like to welcome not only people who have studied sign language for many years and Deaf people in Kurashiki City, but also beginners and people who have never studied sign language.
Morita is a well-known figure who appears on NHK E Tele’s “Minna no Shuwa,” so we hope people will come with a casual attitude, thinking, “I’d like to meet Morita!”
We’d be happy if people like that see Morita signing, hear the spoken interpretation, and become interested in sign language.
What would you like participants to take away from the lecture?
Ishibashi
I think the venue will be filled with sign language on the day.
It will be an opportunity for people who usually live as part of the majority in a world filled with spoken language to experience a venue where sign language is the majority. I hope they spend time there imagining how Deaf people feel in their everyday lives and what kind of culture they live in, and reflect on various things after hearing Morita’s lecture.
We also hope that this lecture will spark an interest in sign language in even one more person, and that the council will gain even one more member.
Sakamoto
When we live our everyday lives as part of the majority, we rarely get the chance to hear from minorities such as Deaf people. Even those of us who are interested in sign language and take part in activities find it difficult to hear their honest thoughts.
There aren’t many opportunities to encounter sign language firsthand while living in Kurashiki, so we’d like people to experience an environment filled with sign language.
Do you have a message for our readers?
Ishibashi
This lecture is recommended not only for people currently studying sign language, but also for those who are interested in sign language but don’t know where to start. It’s a chance to meet not only Morita, but also people who use sign language in Kurashiki. Please feel free to come along.
Sakamoto
Please interact with all kinds of people, whether Deaf or hearing. If you’d like to interact with Deaf people, sign language learners sitting nearby can interpret for you.
The application deadline is Thursday, July 25, but walk-ins on the day are very welcome. We look forward to seeing you at the venue.
From the Writer
I was struck by how close the two people we interviewed were, and by their comment, “We really enjoy the council’s activities.” It was wonderful to see people with a shared interest continuing their activities day by day to make a large lecture happen.
I myself have a hearing impairment and usually work among hearing people. Since I communicate through writing or lip-reading (understanding what someone is saying by reading the shape of their mouth), I’m very curious about how people who use sign language at work go about their jobs.
On the morning of Sunday, August 4, as the summer holidays reach their midpoint, why not get up a little early and visit Kurashiki Health and Welfare Plaza to experience “the world of minorities,” something you don’t often get to experience?
Kurashiki City Sign Language Circle Liaison Council 40th Anniversary Lecture Information
| Name | Kurashiki City Sign Language Circle Liaison Council 40th Anniversary Lecture |
|---|---|
| Date | Sunday, August 4, 2024 9:30 a.m.–noon (registration: 9:00 a.m.–) |
| Location | 180 Sasaoki, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Admission (tax included) | Kurashiki City Sign Language Circle Liaison Council members and family members under 18: Free Non-members: ¥500 |
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