"Thanks for making it this far and generally humoring off-track posts like this! Very curious for your feedback I’m sure there’s a ton I got wrong here."
Jordan, I also just returned from my first trip to Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka- think I was there at the same time as you) and also loved getting into a new East Asian culture.
Did you learn anything juicy about the Japanese tech scene? I, too, would love a business reason to visit more often.
Re: that 2nd Fred Douglass story- people don't understand how if Israel allows terrorists to get away with the Oct 7th attack without reprisal, it will just encourage more terrorist attacks and eventually the downfall of Israel and second Holocaust. That's why Israel's policy in Gaza is wholly appropriate.
Highly interesting piece, especially the comments on Zen, which tends to exist in people’s brains mostly as a contextless synonym for “calm”.
There’s a fantasy Japan that gets installed in the mind at some point, stealthily, that bears only vague resemblance to the real place, and can be psychologically impossible to deviate from if you only experience the country in short sips.
(As I read I was reminded how people used to ask David Foster Wallace why he knew so much and he said “I did the reading”, which you’ve obviously taken the time for.)
On Bushido, again an enticing concept – especially for young men – the yearning for a pure, indomitable warrior spirit that eludes us fallen souls. But don’t look too closely or else you’ll find, say, how Oda Nobunaga came to prominence by having his troops snipe enemies ruthlessly off their horses with guns – and Japan was the nation with the most firearms during the 16th century.
Re. wartime - the bushido bullshit reached new heights of absurdity with the kind of mass campaigns we’ve seen elsewhere: I have a photograph of middle school children studying topless in class – including the girls, plus teacher! – to inure themselves to the scourge of luxury.
Well this was fun, in unexpected ways. You covered a lot of ground.
Responding to the Waley topic - yes, apparently he declined to actually visit Japan, lest the real thing ruin what he imagined. I read the Seidensticker (sp?) translation of Genji in college. Workmanlike but more faithful to the original.
"Thanks for making it this far and generally humoring off-track posts like this! Very curious for your feedback I’m sure there’s a ton I got wrong here."
I say keep it up.
Jordan, I also just returned from my first trip to Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka- think I was there at the same time as you) and also loved getting into a new East Asian culture.
Did you learn anything juicy about the Japanese tech scene? I, too, would love a business reason to visit more often.
Also echoing the call for more posts like this!
Re: that 2nd Fred Douglass story- people don't understand how if Israel allows terrorists to get away with the Oct 7th attack without reprisal, it will just encourage more terrorist attacks and eventually the downfall of Israel and second Holocaust. That's why Israel's policy in Gaza is wholly appropriate.
Highly interesting piece, especially the comments on Zen, which tends to exist in people’s brains mostly as a contextless synonym for “calm”.
There’s a fantasy Japan that gets installed in the mind at some point, stealthily, that bears only vague resemblance to the real place, and can be psychologically impossible to deviate from if you only experience the country in short sips.
(As I read I was reminded how people used to ask David Foster Wallace why he knew so much and he said “I did the reading”, which you’ve obviously taken the time for.)
On Bushido, again an enticing concept – especially for young men – the yearning for a pure, indomitable warrior spirit that eludes us fallen souls. But don’t look too closely or else you’ll find, say, how Oda Nobunaga came to prominence by having his troops snipe enemies ruthlessly off their horses with guns – and Japan was the nation with the most firearms during the 16th century.
Re. wartime - the bushido bullshit reached new heights of absurdity with the kind of mass campaigns we’ve seen elsewhere: I have a photograph of middle school children studying topless in class – including the girls, plus teacher! – to inure themselves to the scourge of luxury.
Thanks again for the piece.
Well this was fun, in unexpected ways. You covered a lot of ground.
Responding to the Waley topic - yes, apparently he declined to actually visit Japan, lest the real thing ruin what he imagined. I read the Seidensticker (sp?) translation of Genji in college. Workmanlike but more faithful to the original.
I hope to make it to Kumamoto. Have not yet.