LIFE & CULTURE

LINKING THE
CULTURES

Top: The Saigawa River in Kanazawa. On her days off,
Verellen enjoys walking and cycling along its banks.
Right:The Higashi Chaya District, founded in the Edo
period. The street, which consists of lined-up houses with
distinctive latticed windows, is a popular sightseeing spot.
KANAZAWA CITY

OF KANAZAWA AND GHENT
Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefecture has a sister-city
relationship with Ghent, Belgium. Rani Verellen,a Coordinator for International Relations, dreams ofbringing together the cultures of Japan and Belgium.

Riding along one of the rivers
that flows beside the city ofKanazawa, the woman on thebicycle is reminded of a cityin her faraway homeland. The
downtown area demarcated byrivers on both sides, the rainy
weather, the copious art andculture, and so forth... Given that
Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefectureand Ghent in Belgium—bothancient cities with centuries ofhistory—have much in common,
the two have formed a sister-cityrelationship.
Rani Verellen has beenworking as a Coordinator forInternational Relations (CIR)
for the JET Programme at theKanazawa City Office sinceRANI VERELLEN
Born in Antwerp, Belgium. Majored inthe Japanese language at university out of
an interest in Japan born from anime.
After studying for one year in Fukuoka,
she applied to the JET Programme, whichassigned her to Kanazawa in 2019. She
continues to work as a CIR there today.

BELGIUMthe summer of 2019. Born andraised in Belgium, a country withthree official languages, she first
took an interest in the Japanese
language—which is completely
different from the Germanic
Before joining JET, Rani Verellen
was already familiar with many
elements of Japanese culture. Here,she performs the tea ceremony.
“I’ve come to realize that the teaceremony, Japanese archery, andcalligraphy are all based on thespirit of Zen.”

Kanazawa(JAPAN)

and Romance languages—afterwatching anime. Verellen thendecided to enroll in Japaneseclasses at university and spent ayear studying in Fukuoka, locatedin western Japan. Propelled by theidea of building a career throughher language skills, she was drawn
to the JET Programme and theopportunity that it offered tonetwork with JET alumni who
now work in many different fields
around the world.
As a CIR, Verellen’s primary
duties include fostering cultural
exchange and the sister-city
relationship between Kanazawa
and Ghent, along with making
Kanazawa “linguistically barrierfree” for tourists visiting the cityfrom elsewhere in Japan andabroad. Walking around famoussightseeing spots and cultural
facilities in the city, she uses
her international perspective tosuggest ways to make touring
Kanazawa more enjoyable forforeign visitors, such as installing
signs with text in foreign
languages
andpictograms.
Verellen said, “It’s sad we couldn’twelcome visitors during excitingtimes like Kanazawa Jazz Street
and the Kanazawa Marathon
because of COVID-19. I’ll behappy once the pandemic isunder control and the tourists
come back.” In the meantime,

ABOUT THE JAPANEXCHANGE AND TEACHING(JET) PROGRAMME

she helps the many international
students at the city’s universities
bytranslating
importantgovernment documents on city
life into other languages andproviding convenient access with
QR codes, thereby offering thempeace of mind during their stay inthe city.
In Kanazawa, the sea andthe mountains are only a shortdistance away from the city, while
historical cityscapes can be foundalong the narrow streets thatbranch off from the main avenues.
Close to Kenrokuen Garden,
where visitors can take in thebeauty of a traditional Japanesegarden, is the 21st Century
Museum of Contemporary Art,
Kanazawa, one of Japan’s leading
modern art museums. Verellensaid, “One of Kanazawa’s charms
is that it brings together the cityand nature, past and present.”
While studying in Fukuoka,
Verellen engaged in Japanesearchery and the tea ceremony.
Then, after being assigned toKanazawa, she started learning
calligraphy and seal engraving.
She has also come to takean interest in the traditional
Kanazawa crafts of Kutani ware,
Kanazawa lacquerware, andKaga Yuzen silk dyeing. Whileeagerly studying various aspectsof Japanese culture, Verellen has
also come to better appreciate themusic, cuisine, and festival cultureof her home country of Belgium.
“I think a fusion of Japaneseand Belgium cultures would befascinating. I hope my work canhelp connect our two cultures.”

Left:Kaga vegetables have been cultivated in Kanazawa sincelong ago. Verellen said, “I was surprised to learn that every partof Japan has its own local specialties and cuisine, just like themeals you can only make with Kaga vegetables.”Right: The D.T. Suzuki Museum, designed by architect
TANIGUCHI Yoshio, whose work includes the redesign of theMuseum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City. Here, theglass and concrete materials express the Zen perspective. It is oneof Verellen’s favorite spots.

The JET Programme began in 1987 with the goal of promoting grassroots
international exchange between Japan and other nations, and is now one of the world’s
largest international exchange programs. In 2019, the JET Programme welcomed
5,761 participants, and there are currently more than 70,000 alumni from 75
countries living in all parts of the world.

The JET Programme official website >> http://jetprogramme.org/en/