Читать книгу Japan from A to Z - James M. Vardaman - Страница 6

Have you ever gotten caught short of cash late at night and wondered why japanese banks don't dispense cash twenty-four hours a day? Have you ever been surprised by a Japanese friend's breaking his or her wooden chopsticks at the end of a meal? Has it ever occurred to you that you've never seen a woman sushi chef.

Japan, like any other country, abounds with customs that will appear to many foreigners as quaint, humorous, surprising, or occasionally even troublesome. Above all, non-Japanese—and sometimes even Japanese themselves—may find some aspects of life in Japan incomprehensible. The fact is, though, that Japanese culture and customs have not evolved at random. They all have their origins in the actions and beliefs of people from days gone by, whether in the distant past, or in more recent times.

This book seeks to answer questions that people, from tourists to long-term residents, might have about the country that's given the world karaoke, sushi, and cheap VCRs. For the most part, the topics it discusses are not issues of earth-shattering importance. Rather, they are ones that arise during the course of daily life and/or travel. We chose topics like this by design; our hope was INTRODUCTION to identify and address questions whose answers might not be readily apparent but could become available to anyone who was curious enough simply to ask questions. Where several answers were equally plausible, we have noted that fact, but generally we have chosen the reply that seems best documented and most authoritative on the basis of our own research.

In many cases it's not even the questions that make the items appealing, but the answers. For instance, many people may never even have noticed how hirsute the men on Japanese paper money are, let alone wondered why. But the reason why they do so is actually rather interesting (See the entry on "CURRENCY").

We hope you'll find this book informative and, at the same time, fun. Beyond that, we hope it will encourage you to ask more questions about your surroundings. Perhaps the single greatest life-enriching word is the short and simple "why."