Alex Kerr, a collector of Asian art and publisher of four books on Japanese culture, grew up in a US Naval family in Japan and received degrees in Chinese Studies at Yale and Oxford.

Kerr decided to permanently reside in Japan in 1977. Around that time he became involved with Oomoto, a sect of the Shinto religion, through a special program introducing traditional Japanese arts to foreigners - the very first of its kind.

Over a period of 20 years, Kerr and others at Oomoto developed ways to introduce traditional Japanese arts to outsiders. Kerr says through the years they learned how ‘outsiders’ were not just foreigners, but also young Japanese, as well as older, ‘modern’ Japanese. He says that recently he and others at Oomoto have been focusing as much on middle-aged, ‘modern’ Japanese as on foreigners.

“If you throw a stone [in Japan] you’ll hit a traditional arts Master,” says Kerr. By that he means that there are millions of people in Japan that practice traditional arts, with lots of people that teach them, so the arts are not in any ‘danger’ since there are many practitioners.

“However, most practitioners are not skilled at explaining what they are doing, or the art’s point, in any type of depth. There's a spiritual underpinning to traditional arts that is very often not explained,” he says.

Kerr began to frequent Thailand in the early 1980s looking at real estate for a Japanese realty corporation, and soon became intrigued with the Southeast Asian region. In 1997 he moved base from Japan to Thailand and noticed that Thailand faced the same problems as Japan, in the sense that Thailand has an active traditional arts world, although as an outsider, it’s almost impossible to gain access to the arts and traditional Thai culture in any great depth. This led Kerr to start a program similar to the Oomoto program in Thailand called Origin.

Kerr says the Origin program does not teach people how to be, for example, a Khon dancer, but attempts to give people a sense of the spiritual origin of these traditional arts – hence the program’s title.

James Vernon recently talked with Alex Kerr about Thai art and culture, and the Origin program.

James Vernon (JV): Is the Origin program geared towards foreigners or Thais?

Alex Kerr (AK): It’s primarily geared towards foreigners. We’ve been here five years and I think it will take time [before gaining Thai interest]. For example, in Japan, we began 30 years ago solely aimed at foreigners, but within the last few years we’ve received a strong interest among Japanese, such as Japanese multinational companies who send their employees abroad. Many of these employees cannot explain the traditional and spiritual aspects of, for example, Japanese tea ceremony. It’s a way to prepare them for when someone in Paris or New York asks them to explain a traditional Japanese art – they’ll then be able to talk about their own culture in a meaningful way.

In Thailand, at this point we’ve received mainly foreigners. And foreigners need this type of education. There are many educated and concerned people who visit Thailand, who could really benefit Thailand, but in regard to the ‘inner logic’ of things, they leave Thailand as much ‘in the dark’ as when they arrived.

So, for example, a foreigner may be taken to a traditional dance performance and it could be very beautiful – and they’ll feel the beauty – but still, they’ll wonder what the point of it is. Why do they perform this dance? What did the people in the old palaces and temples get out of this? That’s what doesn't come across.

So, with foreigners, we try to give them this glimpse into Thai culture. It’s done in a very short time since people usually have only one or two free days. Of course, I’d prefer the program to be longer. The Oomoto program in Japan used to be one month in duration. In the future I’d like to have a one-month program in which, for example, university students could gain credit towards their studies.

JV: Are you affiliated with any other organizations in Thailand?

AK: No, our program is very small and independent. We have five full-time staff here in Thailand.

When we do a program, we have Thai ‘Masters’ of the craft – people who have dedicated their life to an art – teach a traditional art in a program. I don’t teach any of the arts here or in Japan.

For example, to teach khon, we have a khon ‘Master’ teach at the program. To teach marayaat (etiquette), we have the appropriate experts. And to teach flower arrangement we actually have a lady who arranges flowers for the Royal palace in the mornings, then comes to teach our program in the afternoon. And these teachers usually have an extensive staff, assistants and so on, who can also help out.

JV: Can you explain how the program works?

AK: Sure. We begin with an orientation, which really is saying, “where are we?” We’re in Thailand, a part of Indian-ized Asia, and we focus on the influences from China, from India, from Angkor, from Java – what do these influences mean? Why, then, do we have what we have in Thailand? So that’s the intro.

Then we move to the arts. For the arts, the first thing that is always taught is marayaat (etiquette). People come here, especially Westerners, and say, “Oh isn’t it sweet here in Thailand, the friendly wai, everything is so relaxed”, and so on [laughs]. But there are several types of wais. Wais can depend on hierarchy or different types of social relationships. There’s a different wai for priests, and of course a very special one for the King. And it isn’t only the wai. There are certain ways to sit, to walk, to give things, to receive things, and so on.

 

So pretty soon you realize that Thai society is highly codified. There are many rules that even the so-called ‘free and easy youth’ obey almost instinctively. That gives you a completely new insight into Thai society. Then, after etiquette, we would go on to traditional dance and music, martial arts, flower arrangement, lai Thai (Thai design), and so on. And you’ll notice that all these things are completely related, you’ll realize the underlying ‘essence’.

The program is held in a traditional wooden Thai house in Lat Phrao. We also have a program in Chiang Mai. And we never do the same program twice – it all depends on the individuals, or the group.

JV: What’s your impression of hotel programs that offer Thai ‘cultural’ courses here in Bangkok?

AK: The hotel programs are usually focused just on technique. Technique is valuable and interesting. But with our program, we’re not even about ‘teaching’ a technique – I think ‘indicating’ is more the right word. We’re trying to ‘hint’ at the deeper values. The aim is a bit different. And it’s not that teachers [at hotel programs] don’t really know these deeper aspects; I think that it just hasn’t occurred to them to talk about it.

We’re the only organization in Asia – in the world – doing it this way. Probably because it doesn’t make much money [laughs].

JV: So are you trying to ‘preserve’ Thai culture through Origin?

AK: No. As far as I’m concerned the arts are completely healthy and Thai society doesn’t need us in terms of ‘preservation’. There are many, many people practicing and studying these things. It’s a matter of passing it on – making it available – to first the foreigners, and then younger, foreign-educated, or ‘modern’ Thais. We try to provide access.

JV: Regarding the more ‘spiritual’ aspects of these arts, do you directly teach that in your program?

AK: No, but I’d be glad to introduce people to, for example, a Buddhist group. We do have relationships with Buddhist groups here in Thailand. We don’t teach - we introduce people.

JV: I see. Who are some of the arts teachers on your program?

AK: I’d rather not say – but we’re very lucky. We have fantastic people involved in the program.

I can tell you the name of one of the teachers in Chiang Mai - Ajarn Vithi, an amazing man and a professor at Chiang Mai University. I eventually would like to publish a book featuring his talks and lectures on Lanna culture. He indeed goes back beyond the ‘party line’, and focuses truly on the arts.

Something that has happened to all the arts – this has happened in Japan and in many parts of Asia – is that they’re getting ‘manualized’. There used to be many ways to do these things. These days you’ll only see the ‘officially approved’ way. It’s important to go back and to see what the variety really was.

JV: And how can (young) people, who are not involved in your program, come in contact with people such as Ajarn Vithi?

AK: Well, they have to come across or meet someone like him. But you know, that’s the way it has always been in Asia. It all has to do with the ‘Master-Disciple’ relationship. It holds true to this day.

If you have the love and passion for these things it’s kind of like a magnetic pull; literally across oceans. And you will meet. I see myself as an ‘appreciator’, and every artist – every ‘Master’ – needs a listener, an appreciator. I’m one of them, that’s what I do [laughs].

For young people the opportunities are there. There are wonderful Masters out there. You just need enough love and passion for these things and you will meet them. And the important thing is to grab them, and hold on tight [laughs]! I’ve had so many ‘Gurus’ in my life - not just one. If you think in these terms then you will meet these people. Sounds a bit ‘mystical’ [laughs]!

I used to do a lot of programs, but we didn’t begin in earnest until I felt we found the right teachers. And that took years and years and meeting a lot of people.

JV: Typically how many students take part in one of your programs?

AK: The programs are usually held in groups of fifteen or more. It can be a bit pricey getting all those ‘Masters’ together! And it’s not a ‘full-time’ program running every day. We work with groups. We’ve recently had groups of academics, museum sponsors, and tour groups. Anyone who is interested can visit our website.

JV: I noticed you just came back from Bhutan. Is Origin starting to ‘spread out’ to other parts of Asia?

AK: I’m dying to do Origin in Bhutan. It’s a high-end destination since they make it quite expensive to visit (US$250 per day). So they only receive rich, high-end travelers. And these travelers are most often well-educated and interested in the culture, but similarly, I noticed they don’t have a chance to go ‘deeper’ into the culture.

So I’d love to do Origin in Bhutan. But we’re by no means aimed only at the high-end – in Thailand and Japan we aim for general travelers, and even student groups. I’d also like to do it in Bali and Java, and at Angkor (Siem Reap). I’ve been talking with people in Luang Prabang and also in Beijing. Right now I’m focusing on Thailand. The reason for focusing on Thailand and the reason that Origin is based here is that, along with Japan, I feel Thailand to be the richest, culturally-speaking, in Asia. But the ‘dream’ is to expand.

JV: Well, I wish the best for you and Origin in the future.

AK: Thank you.

James Vernon can be contacted at jamesjvernon[at]yahoo[dot]com.