A Natural Connection: Japan and Maine in Skye’s Story

Skye Priestley has spent most of his life in Maine—but Japan has played a big part in shaping who he is. After studying abroad in Tokyo, he moved to Kyoto for about a year and a half in his late twenties. He has also spent several years working as a translator, accepting Japanese texts and producing papers, articles, and even entire books in English. Skye's experiences with Japan and the Japanese language have left him with both enduring friendships and a unique perspective on how culture shapes our lives.

Skye (front center) with his students and fellow teachers during his time teaching English in Kyoto

For Skye, the connection between Japan and Maine felt natural. “Both places rely on ocean industries, have strong ties to nature and the seasons, and are dealing with aging populations,” he said. “They're geographically very far apart, but they have a lot in common.”

Indeed, the ties between Maine and Japan go deeper than most people realize. Maine shares a sister state relationship with Aomori Prefecture, and several Maine cities have sister cities in Japan, such as Portland with Shinagawa (Tokyo), and Bath with Tsugaru. A Mainer, Horace Wilson, is even credited with introducing baseball, now Japan’s most popular sport, to the country in the 1800s. Before the pandemic, student exchanges and business visits were common, helping to keep the connection alive and growing.

As a multilingual speaker, Skye was particularly drawn to Japanese 方言, or dialects. "You have to dig a little deeply to find topics that Japanese people find fun or surprising about their own language. Learning dialects is a great way to build connections to different parts of the country and the people that live there."

A selection of Skye’s paintings featured on his website

“I didn’t like languages in school,” Skye admitted, “but as an adult, I became really curious about them.” Learning Japanese, in particular, helped him appreciate both the differences and similarities between languages and cultures. One reason he was drawn to Japanese was because it felt so different from his native English; and yet, he saw surprising connections—not just with English, but with other languages, too. "Until you start to learn other languages, I don't think it's even clear what a language is. Native speakers understand their language intuitively, so you really have to study how other cultures have solved this problem of written and spoken communication to get a sense of the set of possible solutions."

You can learn more about Skye’s story and art here: https://www.skyepriestley.art/.

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