It is rare for a woman born elsewhere
to work as a karate instructor in Japan.

Isabelle Sasaki set up her own dojo.

She also supports her husband,
a scallop farmer,

and works in tourism promotion.

Today, we'll learn
what she enjoys about

all these activities
in her adopted hometown.

Hello and welcome to Japanology Plus,
I'm Peter Barakan.

Today we present one
of our Japanophile profiles.

I'm in a place called Ofunato,

which is a fishing port

on the Pacific coast of Iwate Prefecture
in north-eastern Japan.

Back on the 11th of March 2011,

the Great East Japan Earthquake struck,

and the ensuing tsunami pretty much
obliterated this part of the country.

And Ofunato was one
of the places that was worst hit.

Today, I'm going to be talking
to a French woman

who came to live here and opened a local
branch of the Japan Karate Association.

I'm sure it'll be lots of fun.

- Good morning.
- Good morning!

Nice to meet you.

Wow, that was very professional looking.

Thank you.

- I see you have a black belt.
- Yes.

- So which dan are you?
- Fourth dan.

Okay. Wow.

How long have you been doing this for?

Uh, let me count.

Uh, 37 years.

Okay.

So the style is called shotokan.

Okay.

And one specificity is that is no contact.

We actually stop our techniques close
to the...where we want to hit.

Okay. So what you are doing now
obviously is practice.

- This is what they kata in Japan, right?
- This is called kata.

Yes. So you have a lot,
you practice a lot of techniques

and kata is actually putting
a lot of techniques together.

And it works like as a fight.

Uh huh.

So you have like defending techniques
and counter techniques

and you work on like eight direction.

So, linear, and on the side
and on the diagonals.

So it's an imagined fight
with an opponent.

Karate is a Japanese martial art.

It's a form of self-defense
that makes use of the entire body.

Karate is said to have originated
as a fusion of techniques

from Okinawa and China.

In the 1930s, it became recognized
as a Japanese martial art.

Isabelle Sasaki
practices “non-contact” karate,

in which you perform various
basic moves again and again,

while imagining
that an opponent is in front of you.

What is the major attraction
of karate for you?

Karate is my life partner.

I've been practicing for so long that
I cannot imagine my life without karate.

It's been helping me to maintain
my physical health and my mental health.

And I really love it because it has
so many layers in the learning.

So you might practice something
for a long time,

but after a few years,

you realize that you actually
didn't understand the core of the thing.

And when you do understand
and you make that progress,

you go to the next stage.

It's just so happy. So much joy.

So it might be discouraging
for some people,

thinking like, yeah, we are aiming
to perfection but we can never reach it.

And still keep practicing.

But whenever you get forward is a lot
of joy and like finding, oh,

I'm on the way. I'm on that way.

Which would you say is the bigger part,

the physical part
or the mental slash spiritual part?

It's really both of them,

because when you practice,

to be able to generate the
power of your techniques,

you're going to have to learn

how to use some muscles
that you even didn't know exist.

Sometimes it's really small muscle, or
really small movement of one big muscle.

And to be able to adapt,

do small movements is really complicated,
so it's really interesting.

And for the mental part, it's really
a time that you can face yourself

and that you can get to know
yourself and actually shape yourself.

So, for example,
the practice can get lonely.

And to be better,

you have to go back to the basics
and practice again and again,

it's a lot of repetition.

So when you get bored,
how do you get patient with that?

How...do you give up, or do you persist?

So this is a lot of how you're
gonna handle this situation,

and how you can overcome
that or just give up.

So it's a lot of learning.

And if you want to get better, then,

“Okay. That reaction was not good.
How can I change that?”

So that's the shaping part.

So the things that you learn from karate

are going to be very useful in your life,
in whatever aspect.

Yes.

Would you like to try it?

Haha.

Wow.

Go easy on me, please.

- That suits you well.
- The things they get me to do

- for this program.
- You're a different man.

Okay.

First, karate goes
with discipline and respect.

Okay.

So the class starts with the bowing,
and...

- Osu.
- Osu.

Okay, let's start.

So even distance is going
to be really simple.

We call it shizentai.
Which is the most natural stance.

Fist.

You want to curl these fingers first,
and put that one on the top of it.

That it doesn't go out
or anything otherwise you could get hurt.

And that's the best way
to close your fist.

So the first thing we are going to do,

you're going to put your two fists
in the middle together.

We are going to pull both
of them to the side.

A little lower.

Oh, okay.

And stay there. OK.

And then slowly get them like
to the middle.

Okay. So...that's good.

So next thing is, we're going to put one
on the side and keep one fist in front.

Okay.

1,

2,

center,

3,

4,

5...

relax, relax...

6,

7,

8

OK.

Is this punch strong?

No.

No?

Let's test it. I'm gonna...

- It goes back, right?
- Yup.

OK. Let's try this one.

And...let's try again.

Do you feel the difference?

Mmm. I don't know
why I'm feeling the difference.

Why is it stronger this time?

Because my back is straighter?

So when I took your arm on the side,

I put it there. Actually what I did is,
like, kind of open your shoulder blade.

Oh.

If you get used to it, from there
you can do it using the shoulder blade.

It makes it a little longer.
And it actually makes it stronger.

So these are the small part
that you get to know.

How to make a strong technique.

And just, even just doing
that is a strain on,

it's a strain on the muscle, isn't it?

So it's using a muscle that you're
not normally using. Interesting.

Isabelle Sasaki was born in 1980.

She and her older brother grew
up in Nangis,

a small town in the countryside
about an hour's drive from Paris.

She encountered karate
at a very young age.

Well, when I was six years old,

my mother decided to take my brother
to some sports club.

She wanted for him to do some sport.

So she took us all around the city
and showed us a lot of sports.

And when we saw karate, my brother
and I were like, “Oh, that's interesting.”

Probably, I don't know
what was the attraction,

but probably there is the uniform,
and there is movements we have never seen,

and it's like,
“Oh, that looks cool, so...”

And at that time, karate was very small
and judo was much more popular,

so that was just a miracle
that we encountered karate there.

And I was living in a small city,
so I was like, “Okay, we want to try.”

And we tried. And my brother gave
up after a year and I just kept going.

She improved quickly.

Her potential was recognized
in middle school,

and she began to dream
of practicing karate in Japan.

She first visited Japan at the age of 22,

through a study-abroad program
at her business school in France.

Although I was supposed to go studying,

the first thing I put in my suitcase
was my karate uniform.

Okay.

So I just get in Japan like thinking
everybody is practicing karate

because this is really traditional budo
in Japan.

And then I get there and everybody
is doing baseball and that broke my heart.

- Oh, really?
- Yes.

You were so disappointed.

Yes. I had no idea.

Oh, wow.

Were there any other kind
of images of Japan that you had

that just fell apart
as soon as you arrived here?

I had images of temples,
and I was in Kyoto,

so that actually matched my image.

But it was such an adventure.

Not knowing the language
and not knowing nothing

and just go to the supermarket
and do shopping

and having no idea what I'm buying.

So, for example, thinking I'm going
to have a French breakfast

with bread and spread some jam on it.

So I went to the supermarket and...
that looks like jam.

I was like, “Oh yeah, that's

the same color as blueberry.
Maybe that would work.”

And in the morning, half-asleep, just open
the thing, like spread it on my bread.

It actually was like paste
that you eat with rice.

So that was a bad surprise.

Okay.

Yeah, it's every day,
these kind of small things

and that was such an adventure
I had so much fun.

Okay.

Did you have any knowledge of the
Japanese language before you came here?

Konnichiwa, sayonara, and that's it.

OK. So it was a steep learning curve
as soon as you hit the ground.

OK.

So did you continue doing karate
when you were at Kyoto University?

Yes, I did.

In Kyoto University,

they had a karate club,
but it was a different style from mine,

so I actually went to a nearby university

who had a karate club that was
really strong and the same style as mine.

Ah right.

And then you went on from there
to study at business school?

Yes, I was in business school in France.

Okay. So you wanted to make a career
for yourself in that field?

Yes.

I didn't believe that in France,

the university would take me
to a good job.

I thought that the business school
had better value...

and would have a better outcome
in terms of job.

Okay. And did it work out
that that was the case?

It could have been the case in France.

But that system
is very specific to France.

So bringing that name outside
of France was actually no value at all.

Oh, really? Okay.

But I started working in Japan,

so at least I had “Kyoto University”
on my resume and that was value.

Ah, okay, okay.

While pursuing a successful career
in Tokyo,

Isabelle Sasaki was also
enjoying the chance to practice

at the headquarters
of the Japan Karate Association.

Then came the Great East
Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.

She wanted to help,
so she volunteered as an interpreter.

It was her first visit
to the city of Ofunato.

So I was in Tokyo at that time
and seeing every day the images

and thinking of how
the people must be distressed.

I thought that there's a need
for people to help.

And I've been already
a few years in Japan,

so I felt that a lot of people
had been taking care of me,

and that was a way to give back too.

So I decided to go volunteer.

Okay. How long after that was it
that you decided to come and volunteer?

So the first opportunity I had was during
Golden Week so the beginning of May.

So it's about a month and a half
after the disaster.

What was your first impression
of the town here when you came?

I mean, it must have been
in a terrible state.

I was really afraid of that.

But I came from the part of Ofunato
that wasn't too much damaged.

But what I really remember
was the next day

we went to help mending
the house of a couple.

And as we were walking down the streets,
we were going towards the sea.

And so you can start seeing the line
of the tsunami on the walls of the houses.

And it gets higher and higher.

And as it gets higher,
you can start to see damages.

Hole in the walls, trees,

car upside-down, car stuck in-between
the balcony and the roof.

And it's like crazier and crazier

and does like really horrible things
like above your head,

and that makes you really realize
what was the level of the water.

And that was really impressive.

Hmm.

For eight years,
she visited Ofunato regularly.

Eventually, she decided to quit her job
in Tokyo, and settle there.

Life must be totally different here.

Yes. But I'm from countryside,

so I grew up in an environment
where it's dark at night,

where it's quiet at night.

And Tokyo is always moving.

People are running all around
and it's never dark and it's never quiet.

It's always noisy, right?

That's true.

I had the feeling
that something's not matching with me,

but I couldn't tell until I started coming
up to Ofunato more regularly.

And I was like, I feel better here.

There's something wrong in Tokyo.

And I started realizing that

running around was not
probably what's best for me.

In Tokyo I'm sure there
must have been

any number of
opportunities to practice karate.

What about here in Ofunato?

In Tokyo I was very lucky

because I was practicing
at the headquarter

of the Japan Karate Association.

Okay.

So the best sensei in the world.
So the learning was just amazing.

That, that was actually the
worst part in leaving Tokyo.

So before I moved to Ofunato

I did a little research in Iwate
where are the dojo.

So the closest dojo is in Morioka.

Two hours' drive from here.

So I was like, okay, I cannot commute
two hours to go practice whenever,

and two hours to come back.

So I thought like OK, maybe it's time
for me to be a sensei myself

and start my own dojo.

So at that time,
I was still at the headquarters,

so I asked advice to all of my senseis.

All of them, they were supportive.
Really supportive.

So I came to Ofunato with the idea.

Starting my dojo.

Isabelle Sasaki leads classes
twice a week, mostly for children.

Four!

Five!

She says that every karate technique
has significance.

She explains each movement clearly,
so that her students understand.

Is there a big difference

between practicing karate yourself
and teaching it to other people?

It's a good way to review my own practice.

Observing people and see
how they practice and how,

what kind of mistake they make and things
like that also makes me review myself.

Am I doing that,
or why is that person moving like that?

Cause I don't know
how they use their body sometimes.

You also learn how to mimic
the bad position and the bad movements

to actually show it.

This is not like that, this like that.

So they can see the difference.

Because we don't have,
like, mirrors or anything.

I learn new things.

Okay. And your husband helps you out?

Yes.

Isabelle's husband, Jun,
has a background in karate himself.

At the dojo,

he helps demonstrate various techniques.

Jun is a scallop farmer,
a job he inherited from his father.

Ofunato is on the Sanriku coast,
a great place for fishing.

Pacific saury, salmon,
mackerel, squid, and tuna

are among the many kinds
of fish caught in this region.

There are ways in which Sasaki can help
her husband with his scallop farming.

One task is to pierce rope with spikes
that scallops will be hung from.

This is a world away from martial arts.

Jun says that although Isabelle was
unsteady at first, now she is doing well.

Whatever she does...

she gives it her all.

Whether it's the scallops, or at the dojo.

She refuses to compromise.

I really like that about her.

So you help out your husband
with his work as well?

Yes, I do.

So it's kind of like a mutual aid society.

He helps you with your karate and you
help him with his scallops.

Exactly.

And the role is reversed on the boat;
I'm like “Yes boss. Yes boss.”

And then he comes
to the dojo and, “osu osu.”

And you've got a wonderful view
out there of the sea as well.

It's a little hazy today, but even so.

It's such a nice place, and the food
is good and the people are nice.

So I think that place is really worth
being known by people.

It's such a waste
that nobody knows this place.

Right. Okay.

That's also why I'm trying
to link things to tourism

and trying to attract people that then
come and visit and also like this place.

So yet another job.

Yes, that's originally the reason
why I came to Ofunato.

After I was volunteering,

most of my job when I was volunteering
was like mending ditches

and it was cleaning the city.

But I really wondered
how the city would recover after that.

So cleaning the city
was just actually helping them

come to the start point of their recovery.

But then most
of the organization were leaving,

and it's like, “How will they recover?
And is there anything I can do with that?”

And because I felt the place
is so attractive, that was potential,

and that might actually be...
if you can attract people,

they will come and bring money
to the place and help it recover.

But the idea to just...at first
I was like, I didn't want to leave Tokyo.

I didn't have that idea.

But as I felt that probably Tokyo
is not the right environment for me,

and as I was really thinking about that,
then I kind of linked that together.

And that's how I
applied to the city office

for a job to help promote the tourism.

Okay.

I really would like
for you to enjoy the cruise

that we are providing to our clients.

Lovely.

So the boat is there ready for us.

Great. Okay, let's go.

Waiting in the boat is husband Sasaki Jun.

Hi.

Hello.

This is Sasaki Jun.

Hi. Nice to meet you.

- So I just climb down here?
- Yes.

- Backwards?
- Yeah, backwards is better.

Okay.

It's easier, and less scary.

Okay.

Well, that's not so bad.

Okay, so we're gonna go about
for an hour on the sea.

Okay.

And we are going to take you to the place
where we are farming the scallops.

Uh huh.

And explain to you how we farm them.

What's the process.

And then if you're lucky enough, we,
we will have a few of them grilled there.

And you can taste them.

That would be marvellous. I love scallops.

I think everybody loves scallops probably.

So this is called the Okirai Bay.

Uh huh.

As you can see, it's a bay....there
is like, the entrance is not so large.

Right.

Which means we don't have a lot of waves

which enable the farming of the scallops.

You couldn't do that out on the sea.

It wouldn't work.

Okay.

Because we hang them on ropes,

and the ropes,
they would tangle together

if it was out on the sea
because of the waves.

But here is quiet enough, peaceful enough
that you can farm the scallops.

After ten minutes,
we reach our destination.

And a string of great-looking scallops
are hauled up.

Whoa. Okay.

They'll be cooked right here on the boat.

They have that muscles
that keeps them closed

that they contract to keep it closed.

So when that muscle relax, so...

Okay. Okay.

But scallops can also be eaten raw.

The freshness is unmatched.

Scallop sashimi.

Oh, that looks so good! Thank you.

OK, let's try some of this.

That's so good.

And it's so sweet.

Yes.

It's probably the freshest scallop
I've ever had.

Which, I mean, here on the boat
in the sea...how fresh can you get?

That's amazing.

Lovely. Thank you.

Let's see how we go.

That's great. Lovely.

The Sasakis offer
this gourmet boat tour to visitors.

In fact, another role for Isabelle is
to promote Ofunato online

in videos that target
an international audience.

It was a lot of fun on the boat.

Those scallops were absolutely delicious.

And I mean, that's
one really good reason to come

and visit both Ofunato
and this whole Sanriku area of the coast.

It's physically very beautiful as well.

And the food is great.

I can understand
why you enjoy living here.

And the last question
on these Japanophile programs:

What is Japan to you?

Well my first answer
will be a very common answer.

It's my second home,
because I've been there for so long.

But also it's the country
where I could practice my passion,

and also where I became an adult
and actually built my life,

built my career and found
out many things about myself,

and I could really build myself
and have some achievement for myself.

So that represent all of that for me.

Because it was all the more challenging
because it's not my own country, so yeah.

Okay. Thank you very much.

Thank you for coming.

I really enjoyed it.

Thank you.