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Re: Great read and interesting approach (Reply to this comment)
by kedsand1
Flash,
Thank you very much for your comments. You have been a faithful reader.
I adopted the first-person present-tense approach from Sting's autobiography -- he writes much of it in present (not present continuous) tense. I thought it added immediacy to the prose.
There is something about body odor in Japan. Here in America, bad body odor stigmatizes a person; but, in Japan, it is truly a part of the public space. Japanese men, especially ones 20 or older, often reek of cigarette smoke, coffee, natural body odor, or an amalgam of the three. Japanese women also smell, though more have a neutral smell. From 1997 to 2004 (the time during which I was in Japan), I noticed that the usage of perfume, cologne, and deodorant were very uncommon.
Another thing about Japan at that time is that not as much stock was placed on straight and/or white teeth as it is in America. It seemed to me that the traditional notion of black teeth as being beautiful for women may still prevail(this dates back to the Heian period [794-1185]). Men have bad teeth, too. Maybe this is just a generalization, but less emphasis was placed on great teeth.
Oh, and I found that certain doctors had a proclivity toward administering suppositories and enemas. Really strange... and my oldest son was once the victim of such intrusion.
I have many more factoids about Japan that you won't find in the Lonely Planet books!
KEDSand1
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Jul 30 '09
10:04 am PDT
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Great read and interesting approach (Reply to this comment)
by flashfriday
I like the timeline approach for part 4 and it compliments parts 1 to 3 quite well. I sure wish American companies would adopt the "siesta." I am also amenable to this afternoon delight. I don't think too much, I just don't sleep enough at night...lol.
You have an uncanny ability to point out little details which may be overlooked by others. For example, I thought the odor descriptions you used throughout the article were very effective.
Now off to read part b...
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Jul 30 '09
8:52 am PDT
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