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The first thing that struck me about this story was the absolutely terrible writing: >An elegant middle-aged man, in a spotless black jacket, came up to me, ha
by cloakandswagger 10y ago
The first thing that struck me about this story was the absolutely terrible writing:
>An elegant middle-aged man, in a spotless black jacket, came up to me, hand extended, to say hello, and I was startled. My neighbours in Japan tend to be formal and reticent; few of them are eager to take the initiative. And we were simply standing around an art gallery on Kitayama Street in northern Kyoto, 20 years ago, where a handful of us had gathered to see an exhibition of a friend’s pen-and-ink drawings.
This paragraph is awful from a purely grammatical perspective.
The second thing that becomes apparent is a definable arrogance and pretentiousness from the author. As you said, the "essence of Japan" isn't a trust fund baby selling his poems. If anything it is getting hired on at a zaibatsu, working yourself to death, living alone in a tiny apartment and developing alcoholism by age 30. This image isn't as fantastical as the one Pico presents though.
- pharrlax 10y ago>This paragraph is awful from a purely grammatical perspective. Poor grammar doesn't necessarily mean poor writing. See: Cormac McCarthy
- tps5 10y agoAgreed: the writing is poor for reasons unrelated to grammar.
- toyg 10y ago> getting hired on at a zaibatsu, working yourself to death, living alone To be fair, I think the tradition the writer is supposedly referencing comes from a time before concepts like zaibatsu and sarariman even existed. I do agree the article is pretentious though. The "gentleman" seems like the japanese version of a hippy boomer, and would have been thoroughly despised by his own ancestors.
- nihonde 10y agoJapan is a very complex place, which is why it's so annoying when people like Iyer reduce it to window dressing, or when you reduce it to some dystopian Japan Times 過労死 click bait headline. Edit: In case my point wasn't clear, I'm saying that it's better to taste the tea, and useless to talk about it.
- micaksica 10y ago> I'm saying that it's better to taste the tea, and useless to talk about it. Yes, it is better to taste the tea, but useless to talk about it? That's a bit strong, IMO. It is futile to reduce a culture to cliches, sure, but there is always something to be learned from the discussion thereof - in fact, even this shitty article has raised the point that "Japan is more than just this cliche, so ignore this hack."
- philliphaydon 10y agoI read it twice because I was convinced I didn't understand it. I was right. I didn't understand it... but I also still don't understand it. I don't know why this is on the front page of HN...
- executesorder66 10y ago> I don't know why this is on the front page of HN Because people see "Japan" and upvote before they even open the link.