>>PREVIEW
WILL FERGUSON
Wednesday, October 12
Vertigo Playhouse (Tower Centre)
"Japan is the best thing that ever happened to me," says award-winning Calgary author Will Ferguson.
After graduating from York University’s film program in Toronto in 1990, Ferguson was faced with a huge debt, compounded by the cost of stolen motion picture equipment he had rented for a friend. So, in need of money and heeding the advice of a professor who told him to see the world before getting settled into the film industry, he joined the JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) Program and flew off to the other side of the world to teach English.
After a couple of years of teaching and growing fluent in Japanese, Ferguson embarked on a solo journey, and became the first person to hitchhike the entire length of Japan, following the arrival of spring as cherry blossoms gradually swept the country in a northward motion.
His Hitching Rides with Buddha is a snippet of his five-year Japanese adventure, based on five weeks on the back roads of Japan. "This book is a series of vignettes, not a group portrait of Japan," he says. "The beauty of hitchhiking is that I got to meet these people, one-on-one. Most books about Japan focus on a small subculture found in Tokyo, the postmodern neon culture. It’s not a fair representation of Japan."
Ferguson’s ability to converse fluently in Japanese allowed him to get a closer look and more intimate understanding of the people. Along the byways of Japan he met all sorts of characters, from fishermen to businessmen to Buddhist monks, as well as a few women taking a chance on a white stranger. Like most adventures, the more challenges along the way the more interesting the trip – and that’s where Ferguson proves his ability to find amusement in anything, even scary moments such as being taken to the police station for interrogation by Japanese police officers. (Apparently, it’s illegal to hitchhike in Japan, but that didn’t stop Ferguson.)
All his encounters are told with great humour and honesty, but there is one in particular that is especially touching. When he meets a former prisoner of war, all Ferguson wants to do is run away – you can feel his guilt and fear – but the encounter turns out to be full of revelations, warmth and lots of good laughs.
"This book is closest to my heart, probably because it’s about me dealing with a country that is not my own," says Ferguson, whose other works include Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw and Happiness™, both winners of the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.
What makes this travel book so appealing is that Ferguson isn’t afraid of sharing his feelings, from loneliness to drunken happiness and everything in between. And that honesty extends to his insightful observations about the Japanese people.
"Before going to Japan, I didn’t like the Japanese people much, but had lots of respect for them," he says. "Now, I don’t respect them as much, but I sure like them – they’re good people to be with."
Along with the book’s personal anecdotes, Ferguson explores the history and culture of the Japanese people, tying them nicely into today’s social and economic context. "The Japanese people are comfortable with change. They are rooted in tradition but are open to novelty," he says.
Ferguson’s book was originally published seven years ago in the U.S. and U.K. under the title Hokkaido Highway Blues. But each edition is a little different. The U.K. version is shorter, leaving out the historical and cultural context, while the U.S. version is longer. But he considers this new Canadian version to be the definitive one.
"I think that this is my best work so far. I had a full year to revise this book, to refine the imagery and polish my prose," he says. "I’m very happy with the way it’s turned out."
So why is Japan the best thing that ever happened to Ferguson? As well as falling in love with a Japanese woman and marrying her, Ferguson also discovered his great talent for storytelling, which launched his successful writing career. |
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