I (Fukushima) am deaf and blind. People who have disabilities in both seeing and hearing are said to be “deafblind.” Probably the most famous deafblind person in history was Helen Keller, the 20th-century social welfare activist, who visited Japan three times in her extensive travels.
 
Many people are probably familiar with her story through films, plays and biographies. Surely, however, no one thinks that they may lead a life like hers. I know I didn’t. As a first grader in elementary school, I remember reading her biography written for children. It had an impact to the degree that it made me realize there were all kinds of people in this world. Never did I dream, however, that I would go blind at the age of 9 or lose my hearing at the age of 18, forcing me to live under much the same conditions as those of Helen Keller.
 
I have attempted in this book to narrate my experience, my thoughts and feelings since childhood, in as straightforward and simple a manner as possible. Actually, this book is a rewriting for a general readership of a work I previously published, Mōrōsha to shite ikite (Living as a Deafblind Person; Akashi Shoten, 2011), a rather long academic book based on my doctoral dissertation. An English edition is scheduled to be published in 2020. The present book is a distillation of that academic text embellished with specific episodes to illustrate my points.
 
The next question is: What is the essence, the awareness, that I have arrived at as a result of analyzing my own personal experience?
 
One is, “People cannot be said to be living fulfilling lives simply because their basic needs for clothing, shelter and food are met. Unless there is communication with others, people will become ‘starved souls.’”
 
Another is recognizing that sensory and verbal contextualization are critical to communication. The importance of “verbal contextualization,” that is the relationship with the words in text and conversation that come before and after, is something everyone has experienced. But as I worked through the diverse difficulties in communication that I experienced as a deafblind person, I came to the conclusion that “context is not restricted to words. There is also ‘sensory’ context involving all human five senses, including seeing and hearing.”
 
This book is written in a style intended to spark a dialogue with the reader in which we think together on some of the issues that have come to light through my research. I would like to conclude now with a poem I wrote that appears in this book.
 
The Universe at My Fingertips
 
When I lost all light and sound, / There were no words to be found. / There was no world to be in. / I existed alone in darkness and silence, / Alone I sat, having lost all words. / But when your fingers touched mine, / Words came to life. / Words shone with light and recalled the melodies of sound. / When I communicate with you through my fingertips, /A new universe is born / And I discover the world again. / Communication is my life. / I live with words, always. / With words I live, in a universe spun by fingertips.
 

(Written by Satoshi Fukushima, Professor, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology / 2019)

Related Info

Broadcast:
NHK WORLD DIRECT TALK “A Society Where All Can Live Happily”
Broadcast on January 28, 2019 20:40～20:55（NHK World）
 
Content:
Satoshi Fukushima lost his eyesight at 9, and hearing at 18. He is a professor of disability studies at the University of Tokyo. What is his vision for a society where everyone can live happily?
 
Available until January 28, 2020 on NHK On Demand
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/ondemand/video/2058437/
 

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