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Preface
¡¡ During almost fifty years of the study of languages and cultures, Ihave traveled in and lectured around the world, concentrating on the Far East in general and Japan in particular. Most of the questions that I get from students or others are about Japan. This book is designed to answer many of the most frequently asked questions. The questions I get deal primarily with the three areas of culture, business, and daily life.
¡¡ Japan has a very interesting cultural history such as its pre-history,religions, arts, and other components of the basic cultural values. This background has resulted in a rich cultural history that intrigues many people.
¡¡ Japan¡Çs economic growth since the low point in the mid 1940s is an amazing success story and well worth learning about.
¡¡ Japan¡Çs daily life is of special interest to students, travelers, and those doing business with Japan. The interest ranges from holidays through shopping and stores and companies to the deeper cultural values that affect Japanese society and daily life. For example, students planning to go to Japan want to know about dating practices in Japan, about sashimi and other native foods, and about the movies and other entertainments that they hope to experience for themselves.
¡¡ This book contains a selection of the hundreds of topics that make up Japanese life and history. We authors hope that you will find the topics in the book as interesting as we do.
Bates Hoffer |