Tears Teacher by Naomi Nakai is a documentary short looking into the life of Hidefumi Yoshida, a tears teacher of five years that helps to combat social norms of burying emotion within Japanese society. While the documentary itself is fascinating with various shots depicting openly weeping students who have begun to embrace Yoshida's teaching, it also analyzes some of the broader issues within Japan that prevent the open embracing of one's emotions. It looks at the generational divide and stress that stems from Japans work culture, especially that of men around the age of 40 are pressured by the older seniority as well as the increasingly talented new generation coming out of university.
Another aspect I found interesting was the inclusion of Yoshida's specialty cafe, which promotes a public environment in which one can release their emotions. While the idea of specialty cafes themselves are popular throughout Japan, the cafe theme based on emotions rather than a fixed subject like cats or a specific film genre is seemingly unique. If you are interested in heartwarming documentary that also highlights some of the social problems present in Japan's society I highly recommend Tears Teacher.
This is a very interesting concept. I have heard that Japan can be socially strenuous, especially for students or the working class. Japan also has an extremely high rate of suicide for a developed country. This is very concerning to me as I plan to study abroad and possibly intern in Japan at some point.
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