My reactions upon reading this book in 1990.

A very interesting book written in a humorous, ironic, occasionally sarcastic, always informative style. The book rings true to me, a gaijin who’s never been to Japan, and only knows about it from afar. My wife, who has lived in Japan, says its a very true book that explains much she saw in Japan.

Bohnaker central metaphor for Japan is that it’s a society held together by surface tension (form, consensus, tradition, aesthetics) whereas western culture is held together by a skelton of reason, law, morals. This explains Japan’s “team spirit”, indeed it makes it essential to maintain the consensus necessary to the social order. It explains their economic system; their ability to rapidly change direction (like the Meiji Restoration); a few people, like the military in WWII, shape the direction of consensus; their academic system; why they’re willing (but increasingly less so) to live like Third-worlders in a first-world economy; why they have so many silly racial and scientific ideas (they became quite disturbed when archaelogical digs hinted that most Japanese descended from -- gasp -- Koreans -- and of course there are are those wonderfully long Japanese intestines which prevent consumption of American beef -- a legacy, no doubt, of all other humans being descended from dogs and cats as one of their past religious figures claim); their fascination with and prejudice against gaijin (fascinating freaks); their preoccupation with incomprehensible, decorative English; their criminal justice system (saying you’re sorry is a big step -- you’re almost back to the group, admitted you’re out of phase); the importance of patrons; saving face; their cafeteria approach to religion devoid of spirituality.

Bohnaker likes Japanese individuals, finds them as a group strange, put upon, irrational, prejudiced, hypocritical (to Western eyes it seems that way when a Japanese explains a social formula -- usually one working against gaijin -- to a foreigner by saying it’s just that way), and funny. Not a Japan bashing book but it reveals how truly alien they are and their warts (written partly in responsive to all those Japan worshipping books). Bohnaker explains much while always entertaining. ( )

Japan