Japanese teacher shyly receives flowers on November 20th

Receiving flowers on November 20, Mr. Morita Atsushi, 73 years old, a volunteer lecturer at Hanoi University, scratched his head shyly and thanked his students.

Over the past few days, a video of a male student holding flowers for his Japanese teacher in class on Vietnamese Teachers’ Day has attracted more than a million views on Tiktok and 1,000 shares. The teacher, who is stocky, bowed his head in thanks and then scratched his head in embarrassment. The whole class applauded when he received the student’s bouquet.

Nguyen Tien Dat, the student who gave the flowers, said the video was recorded during the afternoon class on November 16. The teacher's name is Morita Atsushi, who teaches Writing in the language practice department of class 2-NB22, Hanoi University.

Dat said that when he saw me preparing flowers to give, the teacher was surprised and didn't understand what was going on.

"The teacher was touched and thanked the class very much because this was the first time he received flowers on such a special occasion," Dat said.

Dat gave flowers to teacher Morita on November 16. Photo cut from video — Dat gave flowers to teacher Morita on November 16. *Photo cut from video*

Dat was also nervous. At first, he thought his Japanese was still weak and he was afraid the teacher would not understand him, but seeing that the teacher listened and accepted him, he was happy and grateful. The class's gift was a small bouquet of sunflowers and a card with a message in Japanese. The message was to wish Mr. Morita good health, much joy in life, and continued success in his teaching career.

Dao Thanh Ngan, class monitor of class 2-NB22, added that the class that day was more exciting than usual. Everyone loved the Japanese teacher's cute expression and affectionately called him "Mr. Doremon".

"The teacher is cheerful, smiling and friendly. Many times when we see him in the school yard, we often take pictures to keep as memories because he is so lovely," Ngan shared.

Ms. Nguyen Xuan Hang, assistant of the Japanese department, said that the teachers in the department watched the video and were happy that the students could spread a part of Vietnamese culture to the Japanese teacher.

"This is the first time he has come to Vietnam but he is loved by many students. When Japanese people can feel a difference between Vietnam and Japan, they will appreciate it very much," said Ms. Hang.

Japanese teacher receives flowers for the first time on November 20th

Mr. Morita said he did not know he was so loved. When the students showed him the video, he chuckled and said, "I feel a little embarrassed."

"In Japan, there is no day for teachers, so I was a bit surprised when students gave me flowers. At school, there are many more talented teachers, and being loved like this is really touching," said the 73-year-old teacher.

According to him, Vietnamese students are very emotional, somewhat similar to his generation before. He said that 50 years ago, he and his friends organized a party to honor teachers. Therefore, when he witnessed the way young students expressed their gratitude to their teachers, he felt honored and precious.

Before volunteering to teach in Vietnam in August, Mr. Morita had taught at a Japanese language school for 10 years. He is expected to work at the Japanese department for one year.