Japan's fusion of the traditional and modern fascinated musician Yara Eddine as a young child when she learned about the country at a school in Canada. Fifteen years later, Eddine witnessed this integration firsthand.
Arriving at Narita International Airport alongside the contemporary craziness of soccer fans during the 2002 Japan/South Korea World Cup, Eddine observed a modern, efficient society hosting an international spectacle. Yet as she walked out of a train station in Sapporo and saw the Yosakoi-Soran Festival with taiko drumming, swirling kimono and men in fundoshi loincloths, Eddine felt connected to ancient Japan: "I don't know what it is about Japan, but this country always had a piece of my heart."
Perhaps Japan unites two sides of a divided heart. "Japan really suits both sides of my heritage — it has the traditional morals and that hierarchy that many foreigners do not like, the hierarchy within the country, workplace, the family, that appeals to my Middle Eastern side," she explains. "Then you have things like the modern conveniences of the West: public transportation, safety, fast food, running water and constant electricity and with that, the chance to go out and enjoy nomihodai drinks with friends, and the freedom to say what you want if you have the confidence to do so, which appeals to my North American side."