This week, The Argus caught up with Yumi Takahashi ’25, a Freeman Asian Scholar from Japan who majors in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (FGSS), to discuss his unexpected theater journey, evolving sense of self, and passion to fight for gender issues back home.

 

The Argus: I think I’ve seen you on stage in numerous theater shows on campus. So tell me more about theater and how you got involved in it at Wesleyan—did you come here wanting to do theater?

Yumi Takahashi: Honestly, I did not think I would be this involved in theater. Close to the end of my freshman year, someone recommended a performance class called “The Actor’s Experience” (THEA183), which is an acting class for beginners, and the directors and the team of actors that I worked with were very welcoming, very kind, and they encouraged that I should keep trying this—not just as a one time thing in a class, but for a longer term. 

At that point, I don’t think Spike Tape was officially established yet. During my sophomore year, [after Spike Tape was started,] I got involved in a show called “Masquerade,” and that was like the first ever official theater show that I was in. And it was such an eye-opening experience, because you get to have a fully different confidence on stage—that you achieve something, not just by yourself, but with a group of people, because it’s a collaborative process. Also because, around that time, I had started questioning my gender identity, being able to have a completely different persona or character that wasn’t bounded by gender was also really new to me.

Going into my senior year, now I work as the events coordinator on the Spike Tape board, so I’ve really come a long way. I would love to encourage more people to just try things that they want to try. It might be scary, but you’ll find your people. 

A: What’s a show that you’ve watched on campus and found impressive, or a memorable show that you were in?

YT: That’s a difficult question, because I really love all the shows. For musicals, “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812,” which happened [in the Fall 2023 semester], was an incredibly large-scale musical. It’s really interesting because it is a musical, but it’s also done in an operetta style. So it required a lot of skill and energy and dedication. The set, the costumes, the light, sounds—everything was incredibly elaborate. 

In [the Spring 2024 semester], I was involved in a show called “Dear Mommy,” and it was a story about three generations of women—the grandmother, the mom, and the daughter. The amazing part about this show is that there was a timeline switch that happened and the same person would play two different characters. You could see how the generational drama would carry on and appear in both Grandma and Mom. A lot of people were very much struck by the story, because in a lot of ways, you can relate to it—like, you love your family, but sometimes things can be difficult and painful, and that is a part of life that you can’t just ignore. Seeing that story evolve was, I think, definitely one of the unforgettable experiences I’ve had.

A: You’ve already touched on this, but do you want to tell us more about your journey with gender identity? 

YT: I still have a little bit of a complicated relationship with my gender identity. I use he/they pronouns. I consider myself to be transmasculine, but not exactly a trans man. I identify more closely with being non-binary, if anything. It’s not something that I’ve discussed with my family, per se, and as much as I think they would be accepting, it’s still a little bit difficult to talk about, especially coming from a family in Japan. But here, a lot of people have been so genuinely kind and accepting. I’ve had to experiment a lot to figure out what I was most comfortable with—pronouns, self-presentation, anything. It’s changed a lot. Sometimes even I was confused about what I was doing, but a lot of people have guided me through those times, and here, people are much more accepting and, in general, just more laid back in terms of the life decisions that [others] make. I’m still not entirely sure where this is going—or even if this is or is not going to change moving forward—but I’m very much happy with where I am right now, and I really appreciate the people that I’ve surrounded myself with.

A: You mentioned your family in Japan—as the Freeman Scholar from Japan in the class of 2025, why did you pick Wesleyan, and how has it been coming here?

YT: I’ve always wanted to study in the U.S., because I’ve been learning English since I was little. My mom was a music major. She studied abroad in Italy for a year or so, where she had a lot of difficulty communicating with her peers at school, her host family, and in general. Her experience was very frustrating, so she wanted her kids—my sister and I—to be able to have a conversation with anyone in the world without experiencing that frustration and sadness. So she gave us a lot of English materials while we were still kids—the Disney stuff, the kids’ shows, or nursery rhyme CDs, stuff like that. Also, I think having a sister was really helpful, because we would have someone to practice talking to in English about random stuff. We built the idea that learning a new language is fun, rather than something we had to study or memorize. We were pretty fluent by the time we were in elementary school, and since then, I’ve always had the general idea that, “Oh, I want to study in a different country. I want to live in a different country.” 

But I think the biggest change for me was when I entered high school, I had this growing feeling that the educational style or system in Japan didn’t really suit me. I don’t speak for all the schools in Japan, but the main style is just listening to a lecture, taking notes, memorizing things, doing an exam, and the score for your exam is going to determine everything about your academic future and career. So I started doing a little bit more research about studying abroad, and I found some schools in the U.S. that I really liked. 

Also, speaking more frankly, financial stuff was definitely one of the barriers that I had. Living in a different country is a big life decision, so one of the things I was looking for when researching schools was whether they’d have a good support system for international students, and Wesleyan was definitely one of those schools. When you open the acceptance letter, the “you’re accepted” part comes first, and then you read about the scholarship part. It was a very slim chance that I would get [the scholarship], so I couldn’t believe it for a second. I had to read it two to three times, and it finally sank in that I had gotten this. It really is a privilege that I get to study here without that financial part being one of my biggest concerns. So as soon as I got that decision letter, I immediately accepted and here I am, and I have never, ever regretted that decision. 

A: I’m so happy that you’re here, coming from one Freeman Scholar to another. You’re writing a thesis right now. Can you tell us more about what it is about? 

YT: I’m an FGSS major, and my thesis is based on feminist activism in post-war Japan. I’ve always wanted to write something that [incorporates] my personal experience growing up as a girl or experiencing womanhood in Japan. And last semester, I took this class on social activism, and the professors who were involved were activists themselves, and they had real life experience and stories from what they’ve been working on. And it was the first time I was able to see activism as a realistic means of social change. 

I come from Niigata Prefecture, a rural area in Japan—it’s quite conservative, and I’ve had my fair share of experiences as a girl that gave me a lot of questions. For example, in my co-ed elementary school, a lot of the times the teachers would say things like, “Oh, you should do more of this because you’re a girl.” Or, “Oh, you shouldn’t be doing this because you’re a girl.” Genuinely, the teachers would encourage and discourage certain things based on a student’s gender and not based on what they were passionate about or what they wanted to pursue. But as I went into high school—an all-girls school—when my classmates, my peers, were thinking about their future, honestly, it was really sad, because they were already sort of giving up on the future. They were like, “Oh, if we stay in Niigata, there isn’t much we can do. It’s not like we can get those big jobs. We’re gonna have to get married and have kids anyways. There isn’t any point in actually working hard or pursuing what you want to do, because we’re gonna have to quit anyways.” 

That’s the reality for a lot of rural areas or prefectures in Japan, and a lot of girls and women are conditioned to give up on their future careers and passions based on their gender. My thesis advisor is actually outside of Wesleyan—Professor Kanō Ayako at the University of Pennsylvania. This was very much a coincidence, but her hometown is also Niigata, so the first time we ever talked to each other, we got along quite fast. Her research area is a bit similar to mine, but she focuses more on Japanese literature, but she has been so supportive of the process. She wants to encourage more Japanese students to find something that they’re passionate about, but also wants to support students how they can contribute back to their own communities.

A: I know in the summer you did some work in Japan that was related to your thesis. Can you tell us more about that? 

YT: So I went back home during June to help Professor Ueno Chizuko, a gender studies professor, who was having this gender and religion collaboration event. I got to work as her assistant, and she shared her real life stories from when she was involved in student activism during the 1960s or 1970s. And she reminded me that this is only a single person story. There were so many different women and girls involved, and each of them had their own voices, but even to hear the reality of what was happening behind the scenes from someone who was there when it was happening was eye opening to me, because she was about the same age that I am now. And even though how we’re doing it might be different, we’re still striving towards the same thing. And that gives me the strength to keep going, but also it makes you realize the frustrating reality that a lot of things have still not changed—we’re still striving towards the same goal. 

Professor Ueno is way into her 70s now, and she’s still very active in her field of work. She even travels abroad sometimes, here to the U.S. to do lectures and stuff. So I genuinely want to do my part so that even just one fewer person will not have the same struggles that we have had. 

A: It’s amazing that you’re doing all this on top of the gazillion theater shows you’re in. 

YT: A lot of people ask me what theater capstone I’m doing as if I’m a theater major. I always have to answer that I’m actually not. But I feel like that’s one of the fun things about the community here—that you can be passionate about something and still keep doing it, even if it’s not your major. You don’t have to restrict yourself to one thing, and there’s an environment that encourages you to do that, which is pretty much the opposite from what I grew up with back at home. 

A: Would that be your piece of advice for a first-year international student?

YT: As an international student—especially, again, coming from a quite conservative country, and especially in freshman year—definitely take care of your mental health. I had a difficult time adjusting to living in a different country, adjusting to the different academic styles, finding my own rhythm and pace in doing work and assignments, being away from family—all of that really took a toll on me. So freshman year was difficult, and CAPS (Counseling and Psychological Services) is always an available resource, but I did not think of reaching out to them until a little bit later, because mental health is not something that is discussed enough—maybe this is a common thing for a lot of international students. Prioritize yourself, because in the end, you only have yourself.  

But in general, I just want to restate the fact that if you want to do something, you can do it. If you asked me from high school I probably wouldn’t believe what I’m doing right now. So there are people who are there for you. There are people who genuinely want to support you. It might be overwhelming going into it, but if you choose something that you want to do, find something that you’re passionate about, don’t let go of it.  If it doesn’t work out, that’s still okay, that’s still valid—you can always find a path after that. I think it’s better to do something and regret it, rather than not do something and regret it, because you’ll keep thinking about it forever. 

A: Is there anything else you want to share?

YT: I want people to know—especially international students who might be having a hard time figuring out their place here—to just be proud and confident about what they do. Because there are people who see you and support you. And I didn’t realize that until [I was nominated] for this article, really. I’m honored if I can be of help to someone. So I just want people to know that what you do matters, and we see you.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Sida Chu can be reached at schu@wesleyan.edu.