Decayed in Shimane
by Eleanor Kane

　"The great and almost only comfort about being a woman is that one can always pretend to be more stupid than one is and no one is surprised." The journal of amateur archaeologist and cartographer Freya Stark glitters with such observations throughout her explorations in Luristan and beyond in the 1930s. In Shimane being female, and foreign, entitles one to act the prefectural idiot. So before I look back over the last ten years, there are some follies which I would now publicly like to repent. Synchronised cycling might top the list but perhaps the first apology should go to the pig in Hirata found with a chopstick stuck in its throat after eating school lunch scraps. Mea culpa. And to any foreigner unable to convince a native Shimanean that Scotland does not have tambo, I apologise wholeheartedly.

　I arrived in Matsue over 10 years ago. Then Tottori was a big rice field behind my apartment; you could park your bike with impunity at the station; and subtitles on TV were for foreign languages. In my first year on JET, I was the ALT for all Matsue city junior high schools. It was also the year that the Shimanean began and I was asked to copy edit, mainly because I knew the difference between a comma and a semi-colon (see above). It was a job I did for the first four years .

　The Shimanean in those early days was a A3 sheet, centre-folded, and printed in 2 colours, much like the issue you're reading now. Choosing the colour each season was the whole scope of our design remit. Copy-editing however was not just as simple: with a non-English-reading typesetter we ran to at least 4 proofs each issue. Individual letters, whole words, and sometimes lines were lost until we were able to submit copy on disk during the second year.

　From the start, we wanted the Shimanean to represent as many English readers in the prefecture as possible, and not to be a JET newsletter. To that end, the editors I worked with sought articles from native and new Shimaneans: the owner of Bura House in Iwami Ginzan; a curator of the Metropolitan Museum; an English professor researching the local dialect.

　Each editor brought his own passion to the Shimanean. With Lee Crockett it was the language and the culture of the area. Lee even managed to snag an interview with the high priest of Izumo Taisha for the first issue. Eric Wynkoop searched for contributors from outside our narrow JET community, including an American sculptor now based in Taki. Michael "Jake" Jacobs introduced the "14 things you can do at the Shimane International Centre" section, and, with his brilliance in writing, continued to raise the standing of the Shimanean among advanced learners of English in the prefecture. Yuki Shimada, the fourth and final editor I worked with, was master of the tight deadline. Sinister phone calls to look in my mail box in the dead of night could only mean a set of Shimanean proofs from Yuki.

　In 1996 I gave up proof-reading the Shimanean because of work commitments. In a sense I was relieved not to check the articles, which in many cases I had already copy-edited, but I was sad to lose touch with the Shimanean and the lovely staff at Kunibiki Messe.

　A decade makes a vast difference to the life of any individual. I came here with two suitcases and now have two children. (It practically takes two suitcases to go anywhere with 2-year-old Ren and 9-month-old Amy.) But how have those 10 years changed Shimane? Anyone can see the amount of public money poured into the prefecture; many thanks to the late Mr Takeshita. Even Iwami, where my family now lives, boasts a university, an airport, and an aquarium. On a personal level, however, plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose. The burning questions of 10 years ago are still the ones I am asked. Yes, everyone, I can use chopsticks. (Freya Stark herself would be proud of the excuses I can now make for proficiency with said implements.) Ultimately when the locals stop following me about in the supermarket I will realise that internationalisation has succeeded.

　I am proud to have been part of the Shimanean's inception. In its decade, it has moved from being a newsletter for residents to being a voice for friends of Shimane all over the globe. To this end, indulge me a private message: old and new friends please contact me at e.a.kane@talk21.com