Photo/Illutration Hiroe Ohashi (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Hiroe Ohashi, 51, who was born deaf, is a dancer, actress and theater producer.

There are far more things that she is good at than those that she struggles to do.

“It is interesting to be different from others,” she said cheerfully, but she can hardly hear her own voice when she says the words. I was surprised to discover that she learned to speak words, one by one, through extremely intense training in her childhood.

Visitors to “Taiwa no Mori” (Dialogue Diversity Museum) in Tokyo’s Takeshiba district can enjoy, until Aug. 10, a hands-on role-playing game Ohashi produced, dubbed “Chizu wo Motanai Watashi” (I, who do not have a map).

It allows players to experience simulated space travel with members of minority groups, such as the hearing-impaired, the visually impaired, a wheelchair user and sexual minorities.

Anybody can play the game by making a reservation and paying the fee. I tried it, myself.

I am not allowed to describe it in detail, but it is a 90-minute game in which a group of participants who meet each other for the first time engage in activities such as moving their bodies, drawing and solving problems while talking to each other.

The only rule is that no participants should be left feeling they have been left behind. I'm not certain whether I did well or not, but it doesn't matter, according to Ohashi.

“There is no answer in the first place. I only hope the game gives people the incentive to wonder whether we take it for granted that people are similar to each other,” she said.

July 23 marked the first anniversary of the opening of the Tokyo Olympics, which was held under the slogan of “diversity and harmony.”

Have our mindsets changed in any way?

Has Japanese society, where one in every three members is either an elderly or disabled person, become a little better place to live in?

We need to stop and think about such questions concerning the aftermath of the sporting extravaganza.

--The Asahi Shimbun, July 24

* * *

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

Related News