For Robert Hughes, the shortest answer is doing. From his early determination to procure a traditional Japanese sword to his more recent work with Japanese students in the poverty-stricken streets of the Philippines, Hughes, 54, has spent over 30 years in Japan allowing his actions to speak eloquently for him.
Hughes had only been in Japan a year when he walked into a police station in Niigata Prefecture with a straightforward request. "I was studying Musoshinden-ryu iaido and asked my Japanese friends at the dojo where to buy a traditional sword. They suggested I talk to the police. I arranged for an interpreter and walked into the police station, announcing I was interested in buying a Japanese sword. As soon as they heard that, there were telephone calls and two guys in suits came down from the upstairs detective section. My request turned into two hours of interrogation, and ultimately, they told me it was not possible for a foreigner to own a Japanese sword. It turned out to be completely erroneous information."
Growing up in the tiny town of Eston, in Canada's Saskatchewan Province, Hughes' only connection to Japan was when he joined the Shotokan Karate Club as a freshman at the University of Saskatchewan. Newly graduated with two degrees — a double major in English literature and psychology and a BEd in secondary education — Hughes hoped to teach literature and composition at a Canadian high school.