Estonian students say Japanese excel at reading between the lines

Estonian musicians studying in Japan told ERR’s Vikerraadio that Japanese people are highly skilled at understanding unspoken signals, while daily life offers numerous conveniences.

Pianist Susanna Liisa said her interest in Japanese culture, music and food, as well as her love of ensemble playing, led her to Japan. She received a scholarship in 2022.

“In an ensemble, you have to sense how your partner is playing without exchanging words, and Japanese people are very good at reading between the lines,” Liisa said. “They read a person’s gaze and posture very well, and this is useful in other fields too.”

Liisa said classical music reached Japan much later than Europe. According to her, the Tokyo University of the Arts grew out of a small Western music school.

Her husband, Martin Onoper, went to Japan to study six months later and is studying the double bass. Liisa said jazz was difficult to master, adding that although she could imitate jazz playing and read the chords, creating the smooth melodic lines of real jazz musicians required years of study.

Liisa described people in Japan as warm, kind and very polite, but said that politeness could sometimes be less warm than it initially appeared. “The more you understand the language and culture, the more you realise that,” she said.

Both Liisa and Onoper speak Japanese and regularly communicate with other Estonians living in the country. They celebrate Christmas together, hold bonfires for Midsummer and can speak Estonian among themselves. They have also occasionally met Japanese people who speak Estonian.

Japanese people generally do not know where Estonia is, Liisa said. Some recognise it when told that Estonia is south of Finland because Japanese people love the Moomins. Mentioning that the sumo wrestler Baruto lives in Estonia also makes the country familiar to them. Those who know composers Arvo Pärt or the Järvi family also know where Estonia is, she said.

Liisa has six months left of her master’s studies, while Onoper has a year and a half remaining. Liisa said she would like to stay in Japan longer, adding that she had become accustomed to its conveniences, including heated toilet seats, and enjoyed the food.