Cross-cultural communication （113）　

113) Memories of Esaka
Suita City is located in the northeastern part of Osaka City. It is a city blessed with medical facilities, including the National Cardiovascular Center and the Osaka University Hospital, but this story is not about that. It is about memories of Esaka, which is located at the southern end of Suita City.

In this cross-cultural blog, I have written about various things related to France. The origin of this is in Esaka. In 1973, when I was in my third year of medical school, L’institut Franco-Japonais d’Osaka (The Osaka French-Japanese Institute), a French school supported by the French government, open in Esaka. In Kansai, there had long been the Kyoto French-Japanese Institute (my father also took a class there just for one day when he was in high school), but this was the first time in Osaka. At the time, I had only just started learning the basics of French through NHK radio courses, so I was a complete beginner. At the time, when I was starting to develop a keen interest in French, the opening of the Osaka Institute of French Language was a huge draw for me. At the time, I was commuting to Osaka Medical College from my family home, which was located in the north-east corner of Higashiyodogawa Ward in Osaka City, and Esaka was in the south of Suita City. I drove to Esaka from my parents' house as a test, and it only took about 15 minutes. I was overjoyed, and I registered for the A1 class, the most basic class at L’institut.

Esaka now has a look of a small business city with commercial buildings lining the streets, but at the time, there were only a few buildings around the Esaka Station on the Midosuji subway line, and there were still many rice fields left. It was fine to park on the side of the road next to the rice fields near the buildings. The school was located on the upper floors of the D life insurance building, which had a direct passageway from Esaka Station. At the time (and I think it's still the same now), the building had a very innovative design, with a large atrium from the first to third floors, and instead of offices or shops, the space was a huge glass-walled greenhouse botanical garden. The exterior was a calm black color, and when you passed through the entrance, you would find yourself in a huge botanical garden, so it was quite a topic of conversation at the time.

Now, almost half a century later, in the spring of 2020, I became a commissioned occupational medicine doctor for a company whose headquarters is in Esaka. I work there once a month, but when I arrive at Esaka Station on the Midosuji subway line, I am hit with a slightly bittersweet feeling as I remember the time I started learning French half a century ago. On the day I arrived at Esaka Station a little early in March 2021, I visited the D life insurance Building. The huge botanical garden from my old days was still going strong. There was also a little charming coffee shop in one corner which didn’t exist 50 years ago.

However, the French language school, which was the main reason for my visit, no longer exists. It was closed in 1976, when I was still attending L’institut, due to a strike by the French teachers, a very French reason. After that, the striking French teachers started their own classes in Osaka City, and their efforts were recognized by the French government, which also recognized the school as an official Alliance Francaise Osaka. I also attended this Alliance for about a year in 1994, before I practiced in Paris. The name has since changed to L’institut Francais, but I have continued to attend once a week since 2016, when I quitted practicing in Osaka, until 2025. However, for the past 4 years, during and after COVID pandemic, classes have been held on-lone. Voila, this time I have introduced the anecdotes of Esaka, the starting point of my learning French language.

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