The first I ever experienced of Japanese culture was (like most, I suspect) through anime, although I didn't know what anime was at the time. Then came manga, but it was just entertainment to me, in the Age of the Internet where everything is accessible to everyone, everywhere. Watching anime and reading manga exposed me to Japanese culture just about as much as watching Doctor Who and Sherlock exposed me to British culture (that is to say, just some superficial trappings, but nothing substantial).
What J-media did flesh out for me, though, was that Samurai were a thing, that they had beautiful swords, and that swords are cool. Everyone knows that last bit. So one summer, when I was taking a full load of coursework but went looking for other meaningful ways to spend my time since I was going to be at school anyway, I discovered the historical Japanese Swordsmanship class offered through the school gym.
It was either that or kendo.
Of course I picked the swords.
This class turned out to be something very special, a sanctioned 'study group' of American practitioners of a historical Japanese sword style dating back to the 1600s (just around the beginning of the Tokugawa period). The headmaster of the style, or Sōke, had given permission for a few American students to study the style, and to subsequently form 'study groups' through which other Americans could also begin to study the style.
Having had a taste of Japanese culture (albeit filtered through an American perspective), I was interested in learning more about it, preferably firsthand.
If this were the JET interview, that would be the long version of my answer to "So why Japan?"
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