In Japan Backcountry eBook Jane M Newby
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In Japan’s Backcountry is a lively, personal account of the two years the author lived in the Tohoku, a region recently devastated by the 2011 tsunami and seldom visited by foreign tourists. The book describes life in Misawa studying Japanese and flower–arranging, teaching at a Japanese school, and exploring the Tohoku. The book is a vivid rendering of back roads and fishing villages, thatched houses and endless mountains—small glimpses, both enchanting and resonating, of a rural Japan fast disappearing.
In Japan Backcountry eBook Jane M Newby
There are lots of books (and probably more Youtube channels) on “what I learned living in Japan.” This one is different, and so worth reading. Not so much for the travelogues which make up its outward form, but for the views on cultural differences.Most such books are by liberal arts majors in their early 20’s who took jobs in Japan (usually teaching English) for want of alternatives at home, and whose perspective is “how Japan differs from my undergraduate bubble at the University of X.” Most of the rest are by Asian studies majors who filter their observations through what they have learned from books and professors (disclaimer: that would be me). The author of this book came to Japan as a middle-aged lawyer taking a two year break with her husband from a successful but stressful career. As such, her observations (both explicit and implicit) on intercultural differences come from an unusually sophisticated viewpoint, but one not driven by academic theory.
She also focuses on northern Honshu, which is not much written about except for reporting on the recent earthquake (another disclaimer -- I used to manage an exchange program for undergraduate students in Sendai).
As is true of most books published in the modern environment, this one suffers from lack of a traditional editor. There are passages which are probably important to the author but not to the average reader, and it could be shortened by about 10-15% to improve the focus. It is never-the-less well written and keeps the reader’s attention (even a jaded one like me who has been visiting Japan since 1971 and read Western travelogues about it going back to the 17th century Dutch).
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In Japan Backcountry eBook Jane M Newby Reviews
I chose this rating because this book seems to be a condensed version of her journals/notes... after about the 5th reference to shopping for more dolls I would just glaze over the paragraphs. I would recommend this book if someone were considering touring these areas in Japan. That said, I would have given her book a higher rating if there had been photographs, or links to her photography from these areas, hypertext links to culturally significant events and places. It reads fine however, perhaps with some different editing, she could bridge the gap into making this book more relevant to a wider audience than just friends and family.
I very much enjoyed Ms. Newby's very descriptive account of her two-year stint (with her husband) in Northern Japan. I knew nothing of this area and very little about Japanese culture before reading this book and it's chock full of information and stories during her travels through the area and of the people, customs, and interactions with the Japanese in the area. I hope she will write another book of her travels - she writes well and let's you get to know her and the people who are her friends and co-workers while in Japan.
I loved the book. A true travelogue with a voice of its own.
Newby's eye for detail is extraordinary - one can almost see, hear, smell, and touch her experiences as you read. I was left with a thousand questions stemming from the abundance of particulars. This is not a negative critique, but rather what a good book should do, leave the reader wanting to investigate more.
Anyone thinking of travelling and/or working in Japan would have an eclectic guide at hand with essential information about the common and the unusual of Japanese culture from a US point of view.
I appreciated the author's self-reflection throughout as she commented on adjustments to new cultural norms - her observations make the book more personal and realistic.
Newby is aware that an enlightened traveler must learn how to handle the fact that she is the 'other', the one who is different, the one who is always on display to be observed and critiqued. Here and there Newby traces her maturing attitudes toward Japanese culture and toward her own foreign status over the course of her stay in Japan.
First, the disclaimer The author, Jane Newby, her husband/travel companion Al, and I are good friends. This being said, I think it gives me insight into the "hidden" theme of Jane's wonderfully descriptive travel narration; a theme even she might not have intended.
Spending two years off the beaten path in rural Japan (as a civilian teacher employee of the U.S. military) gave Jane the chance to record and then write up a narrative about their immersion into a foreign land and culture. She writes with sparkling clarity about the people and places they venture, her experiences, insecurities (and triumphs) as a first time teacher, and her love affair with Japanese folk art; dolls in particular, her observations on accepting and understanding Japanese culture (in particular male attitudes) and the travails of actually putting down temporary roots somewhere you don't speak the lingo and you ain't necessarily rich.
The narration just rolls along; from assignment to assignment, weekend trip, to vacation trip, to new friendships, to wonderful encounters (or not) in bars with a cross section of Japanese humanity, deals (and rip-offs) in antique stores, ex-pats, foriegn holiday celebrations and visitors from the States. You could read the book chapters at random.
Gradually, though, you realize how hard these two worked at this adventure. Being initially viewed, almost literally, as aliens by unsophisticated hill people in the Orient, the Newbys time and again eventually get welcomed as friends and treated like visiting royalty. They are ALWAYS going somewhere; volunteering for this, driving further than necessary or prudent, trying this or that idea in the classroom, befriending the outcast "slow" student, little folk museum after little folk museum, playing Santa Claus to kids who have never heard of him...all while still working. Much of the narrative takes place in frosty, northern Japan. It's not a tourist destination. (Yes, there are mountains; but no wildlife. Dirty beaches; few amenities). At one point, some other military teachers find themselves in the same region after being suddenly yanked from the warm, cheap cost of living, Phillipines. The transplants are miserable. Al and Jane are visiting a new village.
You slowly realize that many, if not most of us, would not be squeezing nearly the same amount of juice out of this trip as did Jane and Al.
Ultimately, this book teaches that you get out of your trip (abroad; through life) what you put into it. Noted travel author and tour leader Rick Steves writes compellingly about the benefits of the low-brow, get to know the locals, style travel. Jane Newby practices what Rick Steves preaches.
There are lots of books (and probably more Youtube channels) on “what I learned living in Japan.” This one is different, and so worth reading. Not so much for the travelogues which make up its outward form, but for the views on cultural differences.
Most such books are by liberal arts majors in their early 20’s who took jobs in Japan (usually teaching English) for want of alternatives at home, and whose perspective is “how Japan differs from my undergraduate bubble at the University of X.” Most of the rest are by Asian studies majors who filter their observations through what they have learned from books and professors (disclaimer that would be me). The author of this book came to Japan as a middle-aged lawyer taking a two year break with her husband from a successful but stressful career. As such, her observations (both explicit and implicit) on intercultural differences come from an unusually sophisticated viewpoint, but one not driven by academic theory.
She also focuses on northern Honshu, which is not much written about except for reporting on the recent earthquake (another disclaimer -- I used to manage an exchange program for undergraduate students in Sendai).
As is true of most books published in the modern environment, this one suffers from lack of a traditional editor. There are passages which are probably important to the author but not to the average reader, and it could be shortened by about 10-15% to improve the focus. It is never-the-less well written and keeps the reader’s attention (even a jaded one like me who has been visiting Japan since 1971 and read Western travelogues about it going back to the 17th century Dutch).
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