Culture Shock! Japan (Culture Shock Series)
by Rex Shelley
Book Summary Information
Author: Rex ShelleyEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1992-10
ISBN: 1558680713
Number of pages: 280
Publisher: Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company
Book Reviews of Culture Shock! Japan (Culture Shock Series)
Book Review: A Gaijin's Bible for coping with Japanese culture
Summary: 5 Stars
On the surface, ignoring the language difference, especially in its large, bustling cities, Japan can appear little different to any western city, and there is a certain truth to this. Especially if you are only dealing with other foreigners for the majority of your time in Japan - I heard of one woman who has worked here for 25 years for an American firm and barely speaks a word of Japanese - your day-to-day life may well be fairly similar to your life back home (assuming you come from the west). But, spend any great length of time here, outside of cocoon-esque scenarios like the aforementioned, and you will come up against culture shock, big style. Rex Shelley's book is the best single text I've come across that has any chance of preparing you for it and trying to make it less painful. He covers everything from the apparent schizophrenia of honne/tataemae to body language in a very concise and entertaining 280 pages. There's even a useful reference guide for services such as healthcare, and a little glossary of useful Japanese vocabulary and phrases. However, there are some things the book doesn't go so far to explain, for obvious reasons - if they were contained with in, they would probably discourage a fair number of people from ever going to Japan on a (semi-)permanent basis. The survival of deep-rooted racism in Japan is at the root of many of the cultural phenomena Shelley describes but he makes no mention of it, for instance. And by far the most crucial fact he fails to mention is that, regardless of how many of these guides you read, how much of the cultural nuances you try to adopt, or how superb your mastery of Japanese, foreigners in Japan will always be foreigners. You will never be accepted in Japan as anything else. If you don't agree, try arguing your counter-point to a third-generation zainiichi Korean whose grandparents were forcibly brought to Japan as slave labour during WW2 but who still aren't accepted as Japanese citizens despite three generations of inhabiting Japan, speaking no other language and having no other ties, who, as a result, have no state, no electoral rights, no passports, no nation. That said, many foreigners accept this and make happy lives for themselves in Japan; Culture Shock! would be a fantastic addition to any of their bookshelves. Highly recommended.
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