We Are Tomodachi Spring / Summer 2018

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33During this time, increasing numbers of Chinese came to Japan. Duan soon realized that failure for Japanese people to understand Chinese people, and vice versa, was creating cultural misunderstandings that marred what could have been positive Japanese-Chinese encounters. Resolving to do her part, however small, to ease these needless tensions, Duan published the books I love Japan! in 2012 and Understanding Chinese People the Way They Are—Through Manga in 2014. As Duan honestly shares her own struggles, challenges, joys, and dreams, she can encounter audiences in China or Japan at the level of our common humanity.In 2017, Duan played a leading role in a stage drama, Sannenmae no Kimi e, meaning “To the person you were three years ago.” The drama was performed both in Japan and China with success. Some of Duan’s Japanese fans visited Shanghai just to see her perform there. “Some had never been to China and had negative images of the country. But they fell in love with China on their first visit, a reversal that touches my heart.”Duan played a leading role in Sannenmae no Kimi e, a drama staged both in Yokohama and Shanghai as one of the Japan-China friendship projects in 2017.Duan has published five books that introduce to Japanese people the language and the rapidly changing culture of modern China and tell how she has come to love Japan.Duan enjoys wearing a kimono: “I think kimono, with their beautiful color and design, represent the Japanese cultural concept of harmony. A kimono may feel a little tight, but the tightness makes your personality straight as well.” Duan talks about her experience in Japan on a China Radio International program in Beijing.Duan’s way of life also appeals to young Chinese people. A girl contacted Duan on China’s popular Weibo social media site saying that she wanted to study in Japan and become like Duan. Realizing how coming to Japan has opened so many doors for her, Duan hopes that young Chinese people can believe in their potential too.Despite the bitter history of World War II, Duan believes that China and Japan can shrink the distance between them by learning each other’s customs and way of thinking; by working to understand differences. Rooted now in both cultures, she models the bridge that must be constructed from each side to link Japan and China. As Duan explains, “My mission is to tell Japanese people about China and Chinese people about Japan, in order to foster mutual understanding and positive relationships beyond nationality. Politics are always complex, but holding hands together, people can construct significant bridges. Making peace in a small way will eventually lead to a greater peace. It’s like sowing seeds of peace that will one day bloom gloriously.”