36 Views of Mount Fuji: On Finding Myself in Japan

Davidson Sensei's book is worthwhile just for the vignettes and anecdotes about a gaijin living in Japan in the 1980's. The book is even better as a discourse and commentary on the relative merits of egalitarian and elitist cultures. For many gaijin, Japan is a middleclass paradise... safe, clean, polite, orderly, full of giri (reciprocity); an egalitarian meritocracy. The ultimate middle class experience. At first, Davidson falls in love with Japan but by her fourth visit, she sees it as a sad, depressing place. Her discomfort reaches a peak during a stay at her former host University's Practice House, an ersatz model Western home designed to be a laboratory for teaching young Japanese women Western manners, practices and protocols. The Western, and particularly the American elite's disdain, if not outright contempt for what's left of the middle class is well known. Academic elites, in particular, loath their middle class students (while craving the middle class tuition dollars that pay their salaries). Davidson tells us about her family's failed efforts to participate in the middle class Chicagoland suburbia of the 1950's. She hates all of the mid-20th century middle class symbolism in her Japanese host's Western Practice House. Davidson moves on to a job at an elite East Coast University, builds a fabulous Japanese house on a beautiful lakeside setting in the country, and leads a live that most Americans can only imagine. Ultimately, the author chooses to participate in the upmarket options that are only available to her in Elitist America instead of the living in middle class Japan. She makes the decision after a blinding flash of insight gained while vacationing in Paris. The point of the book, the moral of the story, fits our times perfectly: Elitism is better than Egalitarianism, (if you are a member of the Elite). What is funny and charming about all this is that Davidson really doesn't seem to understand the implications of her decision until a houseguest from Japan spells it out for her. And in the final chapter the irony that a second Japanese houseguest also has to spell out for her. After her lengthy journey and a long story well told, it turns out that Davidson's fabulous Japanese house is an ersatz Practice House. No giri. No Mount Fuji.

This is a wonderful story that gives insight into Japanese culture. Cathy N. Davidson opens her heart and soul to share her experience of living in Japan in a University town. She leaves behind the stereotypes and misconceptions about who the Japanese people are and what the Japanese are about. The experience of being a gaijin, a foreigner, in Japan is a fascinating experience. She uses her own personal experiences and friendships as the backdrop to develop an understanding of the differences that exist culturally and how she copes with the misunderstandings and indulgences that come together to create interpersonal relationships. The interesting aspect in this situation is that each side has a different perspective and the rules of engagement are not clear. She handles the differences with understanding and an inquisitiveness that is open and honest in seeking out the similarities that are below the surface and the culturally ingrained realities that drive the Japanese. The overworked and driven businessmen, the stressful educational system, childhood indulgence phenomenon, along with a difficult language and a written language that takes years to comprehend are all a part of the tale.She also brings some deep personal insights into her own life into the story that make this book so much more than a travelogue!!This book was a treasure for me to read after just returning from another trip to Tokyo and having experienced many similar situation and discussions.Ms. Davidson's love and appreciation of a culture and country that is so different from her own shines through out her writing. Her delight in new experiences, different ideas and her open, honest heart make this book a discerning and perceptive narrative.

This is an excellent book. It should be required reading for anyone interested in living in Japan and for all foreigners currently living there. Ms. Davidson portrays the Japanese people with insight and "dead-on" accuracy. You'll come away with a better understanding of Japan and Japanese culture. It was both humorous and though provoking. This is the best book I've ever read about what it's like to be a "gaijin" in Japan. I highly recommend this book.

I read this book before I went to Japan and was fascinated by all the nuances--yet unfamiliar--of living as a foreigner in Japan. I looked forward to some of these experiences, but I also wondered how what Davidson wrote would be reflected in my own Japanese life to come. I re-read the book while I was there and was amazed as I saw mirror images of my own students and my own experiences in her words. I have read it again since my return to the US to remind me how much I miss Japan and how badly I want to return.

As an American "sensei" in Japan, I felt like I was reading my exact experience here! I laughed aloud and completely related to everything Ms. Davidson described in this book. I too, am completely mesmerized with this culture, yet painfully aware of my foreign status. The author capitvated me from the first page with her wonderful conversational storytelling. Ms. Davidson..."Yoku dekimashita!" (Well done!)