William A. Bohnaker

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.… (mais)