An alternative title for this autobiography by the globetrotting Swiss/American adventurer and photojournalist could be ‘The Westerners Guide to Japanese History and Culture’. Narrated in the first person singular present tense, she relates her attempts as a 35 year old single foreigner to embed herself in their society and learn about what makes them tick, over 12 months in 2001.
The rigid, hierarchical structure of Japanese society extends to everything, including how one is supposed to present and exchange business cards. The older women seem to accept and revel in their roles as strict matriarchs in the home, and younger women are expected or forced to quit working and marry someone of her parent’s choosing before they turn 30. The mixture of Shinto and Buddhist traditions with painful self-sacrifice on long pilgrimages to dozens of sacred temples is fully embraced by the uniquely adventurous author, sometimes with extremely amusing consequences. By the end of her adventurous year, Muller grants the Japanese a grudging respect for their way of life, even as she is thoroughly defeated in judo by an ancient frail master, even though she has earned a black belt. But she does not gloss over the negatives such as the homelessness, xenophobia, and pervasive alcoholism.
Her many social faux pas are detailed with hilarious self-deprecating humour that pervades the whole book. Her willingness to take risks especially on the arduous quasi-religious pilgrimages is sometimes hard to believe. After a meal of fresh raw seafood on a freezing beach and before a ceremonial naked midnight dip in the frigid sea: “There is a riot going on in my intestinal tract. That overly fresh dinner is clawing it’s way out. The slugs are dragging bags of sea urchin eggs like Santa Claus, and the oysters are slithering around in search of their shells. Even the squid is squirting up the aftertaste of six-week-old fermented ink.”
I am left to wonder how much Japanese society has changed in the 19 years since this adventure was undertaken, but it seems so deeply rooted in peculiar traditions that change will only come about slowly, and some changes may be for the worse.
I found a couple of clear grammar and spelling errors that the proof readers should have corrected.
As an introduction to a unique very ancient rigid society that is very different to anything in the west, this is a great enjoyable read.
Thanks, Linda.
The Passionate Reader 