First of all: shame on all of you who read the title of this piece in a dirty-minded, lascivious way! Shame! Now, if we can get our mind (at least slightly) out of the gutter. There are those who think Japanese women are demure, passive, and subservient. As a husband to a Japanese wife, I … Continue reading On Japanese Wives
Tag: Japan
Crazy
My dad came to visit us here in Japan last week. As the highlight of his trip, I drove him to Nikko, which has a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation and is almost ludicrously full of gorgeous shrines and temples. Really. He’s a shutterbug, so he needed to take his time taking pictures of everything. … Continue reading Crazy
Asian Oldsters
There’s this recurring trope in the West about Asian cultures’ respect for their elders and reverence for the wisdom of the aged. This is invariably presented as some kind of positive. Generally in that slightly fucked way that Western ignoramuses use Asia to highlight and juxtapose what they dislike in their own culture. It’s mostly … Continue reading Asian Oldsters
A Hard Truth
Okay, Westerners, I feel it is finally time to level with you about something. It might be tough to hear this, but I think you can handle it. Just know, I tell you this out of love and a desire to improve the conditions you live it. You are eating salad wrong. Put down the … Continue reading A Hard Truth
The Giraffe Schoolgirl
Way back in my first English conversation class for Japanese high school girls, we were talking about “free time” and how we like to spend it. One of my students announced quite boldly that she liked to go to the school library, get a book on giraffes, and then sit there looking at the book … Continue reading The Giraffe Schoolgirl
A Visit With Nancy and Endi
I was recently watching sumo with my Canadian friend, Nancy, and her Japanese cop husband, Endi, at their place. They’re in their sixties and have just built their retirement home on Endi's family property to replace the house that was bust up in the big earthquake.Nancy's from Nova Scotia and is one of those lapsed … Continue reading A Visit With Nancy and Endi
Inverse-Dysmorphia and North Americans
My post last week about my Japanese student's observation that most white people are the shape of Doraemon, the Japanese Garfield, got me thinking about something I noticed a while back while I was visiting my original home of Canada.As someone who’s lived in Japan for over ten years now, I’ve found that most North … Continue reading Inverse-Dysmorphia and North Americans
White People’s Gift
Tonight in one of my English conversation classes (here in Japan), we were discussing eating habits and weight gain. One of my students proclaimed that it’s okay to get fat; especially for white people. “Most white people look Doraemon shape,” she said. (Doraemon pictured below for reference.) “But,” she went on, “it’s okay. It’s a … Continue reading White People’s Gift
My Return to Japan
When I was in my late twenties I moved to Japan to teach English for two years. When I returned to Canada, I struck up a correspondence with a Japanese woman I had worked with at my school. She came to visit me for a few weeks and one thing led to another, as they … Continue reading My Return to Japan
Fleecing Weeaboos: The New Art of the Samurai
I was watching NHK World News a while back and came across a pretty sweet nugget. NHK is basically Japan's CBC, but with the suck turned way down. Their World News cable network is pretty good. They run through the same stories for ten or fifteen minutes on the hour, with full news broadcasts at … Continue reading Fleecing Weeaboos: The New Art of the Samurai
Muse Vassal 