CHENNAI: The air at YMCA Nandanam is heavy on knowledge, bibliosmia, and looks nothing less of an abode for bibliophiles. The 48th Chennai Book Fair is a celebration of wisdom that brings together writers, readers, and dreamers under one roof, with every turn of a page and each stall filled with tales.
Of the 900 stalls, stall number 179, Happy Science, stands out. Manned by Japanese people, one can see them share their love for the Tamil language and our culture. “Tamil konjam theriyum (I know a little bit of Tamil),” says Reena Osaki, while Joshua Fujyoshi is in a deep conversation about dosas with a customer.
Joshua, a Happy Science lecturer, approached CE with the book The Laws of the Sun. “This (book) is the core book of our Japanese culture. It is equivalent to the Bhagavad Gita in Hinduism and the Bible,” he says. This 250-page English-translated book is about the meaning of life. “From our creation, and why we are here, how we are created, what is our purpose to live, to the mission to live this life, this book answers those questions,” shares Joshua.
Ryuho Okawa, the founder of Happy Science organisation, had a view on India. “He said that in 2050, India will be the greatest country in the world and will lead other countries. We are here to help it realise its power and potential,” says Joshua.
Based on the country’s burgeoning young population, Ryuho concluded that they will be a great power in India’s progress. “Another reason is spirituality. Indians are spiritual and they believe in God. That is important,” he adds. Since the two cultures are bonded by spiritual life, the same genre of books was sold the most. A total of 900 books were traded, as of Sunday. Joshua recounts, “A girl came to the store last week and bought The Laws of the Sun. An hour ago, she came to buy The Laws of Eternity, from the same series.”
This book was launched at the fair. Originally published in 1997, it was translated into English this year. There are plans to translate it into Tamil as well. “We translate from Japanese to English and then from English to Tamil. It is a long process because only a few can directly translate from English. We check each word and sentence for meaning. Sometimes, we ask the native people, ‘Does it mean like this or like that?’” explains Reena.
To encourage Chennaiites to read Japanese, Okawa Books India - Happy Science Publishing, established an outlet in Adyar in September 2024 and has been regularly conducting book seminars and Japanese classes, online and offline. “There are so many people who can speak Japanese, maybe because of me,” jokes Joshua, adding that this is a move to spread Japanese culture and language.
“Due to globalisation, the world is getting smaller. And because of that many other conflicts occur. Our papa (Ryuho) asks us to unite as one because he believes that our origin is from the same source. As souls, we are like brothers and sisters. We have to understand each other from each other’s perspective,” he concludes.