Hi, it's me, Bret. This particular webzone is just here to serve as a virtual profile. I've been living and working in Japan for 20 years as a freelance translator, interpreter, teacher, tour guide, and am currently training as a temomi tea artisan. My current goal is to pass the Administrative Scrivener Exam (行政書士試験) and expand my knowledge and ability to work in law.

I was born in Maplewood, New Jersey in 1982, and got into anime in high school. My introduction was through Sailor Moon on weekday mornings before school and Dragonball Z replaying the same 25-odd episodes Sunday mornings. With a group of friends, we'd get a slow drip of VHS tapes containing random episodes of Ranma 1/2 or Slayers from Japan until shows like Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Tenchi Muyo, etc., started making stateside VHS and DVDs more accessible.

I entered Gettysburg College in 2000, studied abroad at Kansai Gaidai (関西外国語大学) in 2002, and graduated in 2004 with a BA in Japanese Studies. After that, I worked at NOVA between 2004-2005, returned to the U.S. and briefly translated manga for TOKYOPOP. I was also active the in Final Fantasy XI community translating news and interviews from Japan under my character name ElmerThePointy. This led to working with ZAM Netowrk LLC (owned by Tencent) where I did translations, attended conventions and participated in interviews with game developers. As my translation career grew, I moved back to Japan in 2008 seeking to improve my language skills.

The Japanese writing system, and kanji in particular, was always my big obsession, so when I learned from a friend there was an official test of kanji skill, I went straight to the bookstore and got to studying. I took grade 8 of the Japan Kanji Aptitude Test (日本漢字能力検定) in June of 2008. Just a small classroom of elementary school kids and some random dude from America. I passed and continued moving up, grade by grade, over the years. In early 2011, I passed pre-1 (準１級) which tests knowledge of 3,000 kanji and related vocabulary. Then in autumn of 2012, after my fifth attempt, I passed the top level, grade 1 (１級), becoming the first foreigner to do so. Since then, I became certified as a Kanji Educator (漢字教育士) by Ritsumeikan University and Kanji Aptitude Test Expert Instructor (漢検認定エキスパート講師).

In 2020, the pandemic hit and led to a slowdown in work along with the "stay home" campaign across Japan. It felt like the perfect opportunity for a new challenge. My father-in-law had just passed away, and I remembered how he and my father back home had bonded over green tea despite the obvious language barrier. So, I used the downtime to pursue Japanese Tea Instructor (日本茶インストラクター) certification, completing the course that September, taking the exam in November, and becoming officially certified in April 2021.

I was a Japanese Tea Instructor, but the only problem now was what to do with that. My first idea was just to find tea farmers and ask about visiting fields or factories, so I went to the farmer's market in front of Hamamatsu station. There, I met the wife of the chairman of the Hamamatsu Tea Hand-Rolling Preservation Society (浜松茶手揉保存会) who invited me to train in Temomi, the art of hand-crafting tea leaves that forms the basis of how modern tea-producing machines are designed. In 2023, I completed the day-long practical exam to be certified an Apprentice (教師補), and in September 2026, I will attempt the exam for Instructor (教師). Temomi in now registered as an Intangible Cultural Asset, and I've been honored with the opportunity to demonstrate the art and serve hand-crafted teas both in Japan and abroad.

Now in my forties, my interests skew towards slow-paced, boring stuff like reading and finding discounted yogurt at the supermarket. Still, I've maintained an active lifestyle of cycling and walking since my arrival in 2008, and while many of my pursuits have been mentally-focused, Temomi has also reinvigorated a love of physical activities. I enjoy Mahjong both online and off, and hold an amateur rank of 2-dan (全国段位審査会・弍段), but my Shogi game still needs work.