Sylvia T. (sythys) reviewed Surprising encounters on 8/25/2008

This book was revelatory when I first read it. The authors have chronicled a number of Japanese citizens who fall outside the predominant cultural norms by reason of their heritage. They are either descended from indigenous peoples of Japan, who get just as brutally treated in Japan as in the United States, or they are, for example, half-Korean.

This book is a good introduction to the culture of conformity that has been both a blessing and a curse for this fascinating country. For budding Japanophiles, a must-read. I put it almost up there with Pink Samurai : Love, Marriage and Sex in Contemporary Japan (which seems to be available on PBS as of 8/25/08, snatch it up! I would if I wasn't still holding on to my own copy).

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