Posted By: Benjamin O'Donnell
Posted On: January 17, 2017
T.R. Reid, the Asian Bureau Chief for the Washington Post in Tokyo, relays countless experiences from his time in Asia and uses those stories to paint the picture of a greater "Asian experience." His memories from years overseas are often humorous; however, he tends to wander and will start a compelling story, but not finish it until 10 pages later after he was derailed by long-winded tangents. This book highlights the notion that although people are almost identical genetically and that we should be accepting of all peoples, not all cultures and societies are the same. A poignant lesson for students, indeed. You cannot merely travel to another region of the world and expect the native culture to fit within your understanding of how people should act. T.R. Reid hammers this point home again and again as he emphasizes the communal nature of most East Asian societies which stands in stark contrast to American individualism.
This book would not be one I would choose to have my students read in its entirety; rather, I would select a few choice anecdotes and incorporate them into class. At the heart of this book is the underlying influence that Confucianism continues to have on East Asian societies. People may choose to be Daoists, Buddhists, Christians, or Muslims, but nobody can escape the tenets of Confucianism. In terms of stirring up discussion, I think students would be fascinated by some of the statistics on education and crime Reid introduces early on. These statistics include the incredibly high performance of East Asian students in all academic areas as well as the absurdly low crime rates of Japan in comparison to the U.S. This might test the unconscious ethnocentric views held by your students as well as yourself.
Additionally, there are just some fun passages that could be shared with students or friends to highlight the complexities of cultures unlike our own. According to Reid, the Japanese believe people are inherently good and only need reminders to act accordingly. Thus, throughout Japan there are very unsubtle signs telling people to behave and why they should. Outside of a classroom, I find it hard to picture a sign encouraging people to "Be Kind to Everyone You Meet Because they are just the Same as You and Me." There's also another intriguing section on what aspects of relationships and sexual media embarrass Japanese citizens. Your average Japanese person would probably find kissing in public to be more shameful than going to an adult store or watching pornographic material. It's not that they condone the latter, but instead they believe that if you feel no shame for kissing in public, then when else will you demonstrate a lack of restraint.
There are plenty of fun personal accounts to peruse through in T.R. Reid's book, yet at times there seemed to be a lack of cohesion in the overall story. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it thoroughly.