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New school for deaf a sign of the times : National : DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE (The Daily Yomiuri)
Akihiro Yonaiyama has been deaf since birth and cannot talk, but he knows that actions speak louder than words.
"To tell you the truth," Yonaiyama said in sign language that was simultaneously interpreted over a loudspeaker at an event marking the 20th anniversary of the Totto Culture Center, a vocational center for the physically handicapped in Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo, "I can talk, but I've just been holding back all this time."
Yonaiyama, 56, made this remark before he began his one-man play called "The Job of a Director" on June 1. He had the audience rolling in the aisles with his play--performed in sign language--about an autocratic, moody director modeled on Yonaiyama himself and comical movements.
A representative of the Japanese Theatre of the Deaf, Yonaiyama's performance would not have happened at all if his teacher almost half a century ago had had his way.
Using sign language was strictly prohibited even at a Tokyo school for the deaf that Yonaiyama entered at the age of 4. He was baffled about why the sign language he used at home to communicate with his deaf parents was not allowed in the classroom.
When Yonaiyama was 10, he told his homeroom teacher that he wanted to perform using sign language in a school play. However, the teacher rejected his proposal. Yonaiyama refused to practice uttering sounds from the next day until he graduated from middle school.
He was inspired to launch the Japanese Theatre of the Deaf at the age of 28 after watching a performance by the U.S. Theater of the Deaf on its tour to Japan. He was fascinated by the group's performance even though he could not entirely understand the show because performers used U.S.-style sign language.
Enchanted by their refined, almost artistic sign language, Yonaiyama felt a pull to follow their path.
However, sign language was not recognized for many years in Japan because communication with the general public was regarded as more important than communication among other hearing-impaired people. Instead, deaf people have to spend many years learning to utter sounds by reading a partner's lips and using a hearing aid.
The theatrical troupe he launched drew acclaim for performing traditional kyogen theater in sign language. In 1987, seven years after the inauguration, the troupe received an art festival award from the Cultural Affairs Agency, raising the profile of sign language plays in society.
However, the bitterness Yonaiyama felt during his school days at not being able to use sign language was rekindled when he was invited to a national conference on deaf education 10 years ago. He insisted at the conference that the nation needed schools where deaf people can study using the sign language they use daily. However, his view found little support; the majority of attendees were reluctant to stray from the conventional method that forces deaf people to utter sounds.
Yonaiyama was referring to "Japanese sign language," which deaf people have been using here for generations. The sign language has original grammatical structures and is relatively easy to master even for people born deaf.
Yonaiyama refused to concede defeat. The following year, he established a free school with some friends who shared his opinion. Parents who initially felt uneasy gradually came around and were won over by what the school could offer. Together, they decided to establish a formal school.
They held countless meetings with the metropolitan and national governments and raised funds through street collections and by chasing corporations for contributions. Their efforts eventually paid off and they opened Meisei Gakuen--Japan's first private school where children learn all lessons using sign language--in Shinagawa Ward in April.
"We've finally opened this school," Yonaiyama said at the school's opening ceremony. "We've been looking forward to this day for a long time."
He is head director of the school, which has 41 students and accepts children from 3 to 12 years old.
Perhaps Yonaiyama's proudest moment came June 9 when he taught students a sign language play--an event that was not permitted when he was a child.
"I want kids to know it's OK to fail," Yonaiyama said. "But when you hit the wall, you should know how to overcome it."
Akihiro Yonaiyama has been deaf since birth and cannot talk, but he knows that actions speak louder than words.
"To tell you the truth," Yonaiyama said in sign language that was simultaneously interpreted over a loudspeaker at an event marking the 20th anniversary of the Totto Culture Center, a vocational center for the physically handicapped in Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo, "I can talk, but I've just been holding back all this time."
Yonaiyama, 56, made this remark before he began his one-man play called "The Job of a Director" on June 1. He had the audience rolling in the aisles with his play--performed in sign language--about an autocratic, moody director modeled on Yonaiyama himself and comical movements.
A representative of the Japanese Theatre of the Deaf, Yonaiyama's performance would not have happened at all if his teacher almost half a century ago had had his way.
Using sign language was strictly prohibited even at a Tokyo school for the deaf that Yonaiyama entered at the age of 4. He was baffled about why the sign language he used at home to communicate with his deaf parents was not allowed in the classroom.
When Yonaiyama was 10, he told his homeroom teacher that he wanted to perform using sign language in a school play. However, the teacher rejected his proposal. Yonaiyama refused to practice uttering sounds from the next day until he graduated from middle school.
He was inspired to launch the Japanese Theatre of the Deaf at the age of 28 after watching a performance by the U.S. Theater of the Deaf on its tour to Japan. He was fascinated by the group's performance even though he could not entirely understand the show because performers used U.S.-style sign language.
Enchanted by their refined, almost artistic sign language, Yonaiyama felt a pull to follow their path.
However, sign language was not recognized for many years in Japan because communication with the general public was regarded as more important than communication among other hearing-impaired people. Instead, deaf people have to spend many years learning to utter sounds by reading a partner's lips and using a hearing aid.
The theatrical troupe he launched drew acclaim for performing traditional kyogen theater in sign language. In 1987, seven years after the inauguration, the troupe received an art festival award from the Cultural Affairs Agency, raising the profile of sign language plays in society.
However, the bitterness Yonaiyama felt during his school days at not being able to use sign language was rekindled when he was invited to a national conference on deaf education 10 years ago. He insisted at the conference that the nation needed schools where deaf people can study using the sign language they use daily. However, his view found little support; the majority of attendees were reluctant to stray from the conventional method that forces deaf people to utter sounds.
Yonaiyama was referring to "Japanese sign language," which deaf people have been using here for generations. The sign language has original grammatical structures and is relatively easy to master even for people born deaf.
Yonaiyama refused to concede defeat. The following year, he established a free school with some friends who shared his opinion. Parents who initially felt uneasy gradually came around and were won over by what the school could offer. Together, they decided to establish a formal school.
They held countless meetings with the metropolitan and national governments and raised funds through street collections and by chasing corporations for contributions. Their efforts eventually paid off and they opened Meisei Gakuen--Japan's first private school where children learn all lessons using sign language--in Shinagawa Ward in April.
"We've finally opened this school," Yonaiyama said at the school's opening ceremony. "We've been looking forward to this day for a long time."
He is head director of the school, which has 41 students and accepts children from 3 to 12 years old.
Perhaps Yonaiyama's proudest moment came June 9 when he taught students a sign language play--an event that was not permitted when he was a child.
"I want kids to know it's OK to fail," Yonaiyama said. "But when you hit the wall, you should know how to overcome it."