Japan Seduces Foreigners
And They Can't Leave!
Boyé Lafayette De Mente
TOKYO—Marco Polo was one of the earliest foreigners to get seduced by Asia and failed to leave when planned.
Since the days of that intrepid adventurer hundreds of thousands of other Westerners have gone to China, Japan and Korea and fell victim to the same seductive elements of Asian life that is something like cultural quicksand. Once they step into it they find that it is difficult—if not impossible—to get out.
I believe that the culture of Japan is the most powerful of all, and that its influence on Westerners works like a magnet…or maybe the force of gravity. The closer and deeper you get into the culture the stronger its hold on you.
And what is especially remarkable about this is that many foreign residents have a long list of things about Japan that they do not like, and yet they stay on and on—often for a lifetime.
Two of the primary elements in Japanese culture that are responsible for its hold on foreigners are the aesthetics and sensuality of its arts and crafts, and the overt and covert sexuality of the culture itself.
Shinto, which provided the original foundation for Japan’s culture, is essentially a fertility cult that is both feminine and masculine in nature, with the feminine side conspicuously dominant.
Foreign males in particular are attracted to the feminine element in Japanese culture, like moths to flames—even when they are not conscious of what it is that they find so appealing about Japan that they choose not to leave.
Interestingly, foreigners with a well-developed comic sense and an artistic bent often translate their feelings about Japan into anecdotes and cartoons, and that is where Bill Mutranowski comes in.
A budding journalist, Bill went to Japan in 1986 intending to stay for a year. He began teaching English, and before long was contributing cartoons to the Japan Times Weekly and freelancing as an illustrator.
He is still there.
A short while ago Tuttle Publishing brought out a collection of Bill’s cartoons and accompanying text that illustrate and expound on life in Japan in the eyes of a foreigner who sees the comic, funny, hilarious side with a light-hearted touch that reveals far more than many serious dissertations on what life is like for foreigners in Japan.
Bill’s book is entitled You Know You’ve Been in JAPAN too Long When….which serves as a tag-line that introduces each cartoon and the insightful comments [in both English and Japanese] on the opposing pages.
Here are some samples of completed tag-lines:
You utter “Yoisho!” at the slightest physical exertion; You organize a work stoppage at a time that will inconvenience the fewest number of people; You think apparel emblazoned with nonsensical English is cool; You put a plastic “condom” – a clean one – over your umbrella before entering the supermarket on rainy days; You can tell the difference between honne (the real thing) and tatemae (the face or façade that masks what people really mean).
Also: You’re used to having a cleaning lady wait for you to finish (going to the toilet); Your comfort food sports eyeballs and tentacles; You secretly wish the Japanese prime minister were as tall as those other G-8 guys; You nonchalantly mention to your grandmother back home that you went to a “Penis Festival” last weekend.
You Know You’ve Been in Japan too Long When….makes a great gift for yourself or someone else who is interested in the exotic. It is available on Amazon.com.
________________________________
To see a list and description of 30-plus books on Japan by the author of Japan-in-Focus see his personal website: http://www.phoenixbookspublishers.com/.
Since the days of that intrepid adventurer hundreds of thousands of other Westerners have gone to China, Japan and Korea and fell victim to the same seductive elements of Asian life that is something like cultural quicksand. Once they step into it they find that it is difficult—if not impossible—to get out.
I believe that the culture of Japan is the most powerful of all, and that its influence on Westerners works like a magnet…or maybe the force of gravity. The closer and deeper you get into the culture the stronger its hold on you.
And what is especially remarkable about this is that many foreign residents have a long list of things about Japan that they do not like, and yet they stay on and on—often for a lifetime.
Two of the primary elements in Japanese culture that are responsible for its hold on foreigners are the aesthetics and sensuality of its arts and crafts, and the overt and covert sexuality of the culture itself.
Shinto, which provided the original foundation for Japan’s culture, is essentially a fertility cult that is both feminine and masculine in nature, with the feminine side conspicuously dominant.
Foreign males in particular are attracted to the feminine element in Japanese culture, like moths to flames—even when they are not conscious of what it is that they find so appealing about Japan that they choose not to leave.
Interestingly, foreigners with a well-developed comic sense and an artistic bent often translate their feelings about Japan into anecdotes and cartoons, and that is where Bill Mutranowski comes in.
A budding journalist, Bill went to Japan in 1986 intending to stay for a year. He began teaching English, and before long was contributing cartoons to the Japan Times Weekly and freelancing as an illustrator.
He is still there.
A short while ago Tuttle Publishing brought out a collection of Bill’s cartoons and accompanying text that illustrate and expound on life in Japan in the eyes of a foreigner who sees the comic, funny, hilarious side with a light-hearted touch that reveals far more than many serious dissertations on what life is like for foreigners in Japan.
Bill’s book is entitled You Know You’ve Been in JAPAN too Long When….which serves as a tag-line that introduces each cartoon and the insightful comments [in both English and Japanese] on the opposing pages.
Here are some samples of completed tag-lines:
You utter “Yoisho!” at the slightest physical exertion; You organize a work stoppage at a time that will inconvenience the fewest number of people; You think apparel emblazoned with nonsensical English is cool; You put a plastic “condom” – a clean one – over your umbrella before entering the supermarket on rainy days; You can tell the difference between honne (the real thing) and tatemae (the face or façade that masks what people really mean).
Also: You’re used to having a cleaning lady wait for you to finish (going to the toilet); Your comfort food sports eyeballs and tentacles; You secretly wish the Japanese prime minister were as tall as those other G-8 guys; You nonchalantly mention to your grandmother back home that you went to a “Penis Festival” last weekend.
You Know You’ve Been in Japan too Long When….makes a great gift for yourself or someone else who is interested in the exotic. It is available on Amazon.com.
________________________________
To see a list and description of 30-plus books on Japan by the author of Japan-in-Focus see his personal website: http://www.phoenixbookspublishers.com/.
