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A Story of Honor

Tradition

Friendship

Sacrifice

Love

"Filled with a memorable, authentic cast of characters, who come to life in fifteen amazing stories - at once fast-paced, lucid and good humoured, with many real anecdotes - this book is a ‘Must-Read’ for anyone who hopes to understand the true depth of Japanese culture, language and customs - now and forever. Order it now, you won’t regret it!” Zaheer

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Cultures clash and hearts open in this exciting memoir set in 1970s Japan. What happens when an Italian-American airman stationed in Tokyo breaks free from expectations and fully opens to embrace - and be embraced - by Japan's traditional way of living and loving?

Other books and movies have shown us the politically authorized view, the Hollywood view, the Americanized view of Japan. For the first time, in Cultured Gaijin, you will discover the hidden mysteries of Japanese culture.

Whether you are already a lover of the Land of the Rising Sun, or you have been curious and want to go beyond the guidebooks and documentaries, this book is your gateway to an immersion that is as humorous as it is thought-provoking.

Through the eyes, mind, and spirit of a US Air Force serviceman willing to step deeply into Bushido, the moral code of the samurai warrior, while staying true to himself, you will journey from Japanese countryside to city, from mountains to temples, and meet real-life characters who will enliven and enlighten you long after you have read the last page of this respectful, revealing, romantic, and raw autobiography.

EXCERPTS

Independence Day 1977

“So, what are you planning to do today?” Mike asked as I opened the case to see if my guitar had arrived all in one piece. This is a particularly odd question, I thought. Like anyone has a plan after travelling a day-and-a-half with a fourteen-hour time difference, crossing the international dateline…? “Uh, what? I'm going to take a shower and sleep. Why?” I replied. “Well, uh, I thought you, uh, might want to come with us,” Mike said. “Who is us?” I asked. “Well, right now I got Charlie, Sam, his wife Rebecca, and me. And we are planning to climb Mount Fuji today. You want to come along?” Mike queried. I'm beginning to think this guy may be a bit nuts. “You've got to be kidding me, Mike. I just got here. I've been travelling for a day and a half! I'm practically dead! Look, thanks for asking, but I think I better not go. Besides, I don't have any clothes for climbing and cold weather.” “Don't worry,” Mike said, ignoring everything I'd said about being exhausted. “I can lend you some clothes, and I've got an extra field jacket if you need it. Come on! It'll be great and a lot of fun. Everybody's going.”

“Reading Cultured Gaijin made me feel like I was getting a private and privileged view into one man’s immersion with Japanese culture in the 1970s—like I was with him, seeing through his perceptive, curious, and finely-tuned eyes.” Jocegrace

Out On The Economy

“This culture seems to be a piece of work, the way Charlie talks.”

“Irrashaimase… Irrashaimase… Irrashaimase…Irrashaimase.” A barrage of welcome greetings demanded our attention, seemingly echoing an important announcement. All of a sudden this greeting spread past the front door, throughout the first floor of the Odakyu OX...

The Geisha and Her Mother

“They looked so misplaced. Two kimono-clad ladies in a US Army bowling alley”

“Yoko sakki kono futari kimashita yo. (Yoko, these two gentlemen came a moment ago.)” The old lady gave notice to the harp player from across the room. Yoko scurried over to us—draped in a beautiful, red-patterned kimono with a green obi, her finger picks in hand. Her ebony hair was ...

The Japanese Child In Me

“Amae is the guiding credo at the heart of Japan's modern culture and traditions.”

Okaasan's presence, and the fact I referred to her as “mother,” naturally instilled in me a childlike psyche that went hand-in-hand with my baby-language expressions and ignorance of their...

The Tipping Point

"The first time I called her Oneesan, she gave me a funny look, as to say, "Who taught you that?"

“Her quirky smile told me I was no longer perceived as a gaijin, but as what I was referred to later in my Camp Zama spook afterlife—a hen na gaijin (strange foreigner) for being an eccentric herbivore. But I was a polite hen na gaijin, so she was going...

"I really enjoyed reading this Memoir because as much as it tells the journey of the author finding love, with some unexpected twists, the book also focuses on educating the reader about the Japanese way of life, based on his first hand real life experiences." Ron S

One Short Hanami Season

“Mike and I enjoyed one fleeting season of hanami. Japan cherry blossom viewing.”

“Suteki! (Wonderful!)” Yoko-san exclaimed as she entered my room. “Suteki desuyo, Jo-san (This is lovely, Mr. Joe).” She examined the red cotton Indian tapestry hanging from ceiling to floor that split my room into the entry/genkan, and a...

The Pickup

"Mr. Yamaguchi took the first shot of sake, refilled shortly after he placed it back down on the table."

“The rest of the night started with Junko-san serving me English milk tea with two omochi,(Japanese rice cake) then placing a bottle of sake (Japanese rice wine) and an ochoko (shot glass) in front of Mr. Yamaguchi. Junko-san joined us with a pot of ocha (Japanese green tea) for herself..

A Dog, A Tigress & The Stallion

“The Japanese culture was full of stories exemplifying traits like those of Hachiko.”

As I reflected on the statue of Hachiko I'd just seen, I recalled my afternoon at Odawara Castle and the “hollow” samurai coat of armor. I now realized it hadn't been playing with my imagination. Even Japanese dogs followed bushido, to “after-life” extremes which seemed unfathomable....

My "One-Shot" Day

“This is your captain speaking. Beam me up, Scotty," came the voice from the after-hours phone..."

From the very beginning, The Captain called me “Joey,” a name only my family, childhood friends, and parish priests back home would call me. By using my childhood name, I subconsciously assigned him to the role of a foster father, and his genuine interest in every facet....

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Scent of a Japanese Woman

"An attractive smell of her natural body odor escaping her kimono swirled over to me, extinguishing the fragrance of my musk, as she turned up the air conditioning fan to cool me down."

As I shifted my gaze to her red lips, smiling gleefully to see me, I sensed that they were pantomiming like in an old silent movie. The words coming out of her mouth went over my head unheard, as only a subliminal message seeking a response. “Jo-san konnichi wa. Hisashiburi! You wait...

A Garden Room Send-Off

"The tiptoeing around cultural minefields, which had been an integral part of our relationship from the very beginning, had me exhausted from battle fatigue."

“Jo-san,komban wa (Good evening, Mr. Joe),” Yoko-san said softly. She'd quietly entered the Garden Room and snuck over to my table unnoticed. I looked up at her. I choked up. She looked radiant—classically made-up like a geisha doll with her hair put up in a bun, but in Western....

Uncultured Gaijin

"His life after retiring in Japan had been one long string of confrontations with locals, and he was proud to let his American friends know about these spats."

I think most Japanese looked at Al as an ex-Navy gaijin bully who never crossed the cultural goal post of acceptability during his time in Japan—university “professorship” or not. He had perfected his game plan to always stay in the lead, by interacting with the Japanese from his...

Within You Without You

"My first four months living on my own in Jindaiji marked the end of childlike in-nocence and isolation on Zama, which had shielded everyday Japanese life from me."

My back-to-the-future hairstyle and wardrobe were right out of the Beatle's Maharishi Mahesh Yogi days of the late sixties. I was hoping Yoko-san would look beyond my unfitted traditional Indian clothes and whiskered facial that brought the “Cat” back out of me, to know..

"I loved every page of Cultured Gaijin. The author's writing style is humorous and veryrelatable. You will feel like you're having a pot of Japanese tea with a great guy, hearing hisstories about Tokyo, its surrounding environs and beautiful landscapes, and all sorts ofpeople, from the 1970s. You are traveling across time and space in this book, but it feels soreal, you won't be able to put it down.” Sage K

My Little Chinese Airline Girl

“Shortly thereafter, on a random motion-camera stare of what I can't remember, my eyes picked up an "extra" in the blurry background sitting opposite me, on the other side of the row of chairs."

To my surprise, she began to participate in a cat-and-mouse game of peek-a-boo with me that continued for an hour as I got closer to boarding time. I would see her looking at me from the corner of my eye. I'd look over at her, and she would look away, until she'd eyeball me again ten....

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

"Looking over her, I could only see red, red, red, as the blood rushed back to my brain to send the signal of what direction to take next."

My body froze stiff, as my mind suspended all thought. I stood there speechless for five seconds, not knowing what to say or do. I'd never experienced anything like what confronted me in that instance. I had a vision of a samurai apparition from Odawara Castle in a coat of...

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A Story of Honor

Tradition

Friendship

Sacrifice

Love

Independence Day 1977

Out On The Economy

The Geisha and Her Mother

The Japanese Child In Me

The Tipping Point

One Short Hanami Season

The Pickup

A Dog, A Tigress & The Stallion

My "One-Shot" Day

Scent of a Japanese Woman

A Garden Room Send-Off

Uncultured Gaijin

Within You Without You

My Little Chinese Airline Girl

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

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