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Editor’s note: Mr. Bryan sent us JSRC the book a few months ago but as we were getting ready to post the review, 3/11 came upon us. It seemed like a very wrong time to publish it.
Many people may find this book a little offensive, some may find it eye-opening. Amy Seaman, one of the JSRC staff writers reviewed the book, because I felt that a woman’s perspective on it might be more useful and because she’s a better reviewer than I am.
If you think the term “yellow cab” used to refer to Japanese women itself (easy to ride, easy to leave) is offensive, the term came into vogue in Japan in the year 2000, with the publication of YELLOW CAB (イエローキャブ) written by noted author Shoko Ieda (家田 荘子), who is a woman and also a Buddhist priest. The book describes the adventures of young Japanese women and exchange students who went to America and describes their sexual and romantic adventures with foreign men in lurid detail. In some senses, Mr. Bryan’s book is an English language counterpart to the Japanese “classic” reportage.
Please remember, the reviewer is not the same as the book being reviewed. Love the book or hate it, it’s an interesting read—Jake.
Black Passenger Yellow Cabs
Reviewed by Amy Seaman
Black Passenger Yellow Cabs is a more than fitting title for Stephen FD Bryan’s self-termed erotic ethnographic memoir. The book chronicles Bryan’s sexual exploits during his seven years as an English teacher in Japan, Japanese girl by Japanese girl, one by one, two by two. A acknowledged sex addict, Bryan narrates the numerous affairs he had in Japan from an explicit—if not sometimes superficial—perspective: The majority of the chapters are named for each woman he sleeps with, almost as if he wants readers to keep a running count of his exploits. There’s his Japanese teacher Karin, the half-Japanese, half-Dutch Janelle—who does not catch Bryan’s fancy because of his “yellow fever”—and his wife-to-be Shoko, just to name a few. Sure, there are bits and pieces in there about what it was like to be an English teacher, how it felt to meet parents and descriptions about life in Jamaica and various Japanese phenomena, but the majority of it is focused on the girls.
While readers interested in the fine art of picking up Japanese women may learn a helpful thing or two (speak English even if you aren’t sure your target speaks the language; they will most certainly be flattered by the fact that you think them cosmopolitan (!))those looking for a comprehensive and well-substantiated analysis of Japan’s sex culture should look elsewhere. Perhaps that was not what it was meant to be and I am being unfair by reviewing this as a somewhat academic text, but Bryan’s citations of news articles and statistics, though few and far between, make the book feel somewhat research-based at times. That said, Bryan provides a plethora of interesting tidbits about Japanese culture and formulates a theory about how the many women who are eager to sleep with him are so because of their past experience—he concludes that these women suffer from low self-esteem, perhaps a result of childhood trauma. It’s hard to take his claims seriously though, because they are nestled between chapters boasting how many orgasms he was able to coax out of his newest play toy and how he balance multiple affairs simultaneously.
If you can look past the blatant racism that Bryan demonstrates in the book (he pride fully refers to himself as a Negro because “black does not require capitalization in print, to which I take great offense,” but maintains a somewhat consistent usage of the age-old “yellow” slur when referring to Asian girls), and that many of his universal conclusions are based merely on personal experience, then you will see the true beauty of this book. It is the story of a Jamaican man who followed his sexual cravings to Japan in 2001, satiated them, and returned to America in 2008 to wed his Japanese wife. If you can ignore the fact that many of the chapters are play-by-play descriptions of how he managed to get a certain girl into his bed that leave no detail up to the imagination—and little more than that—then maybe you too will believe Bryan when he says that he is not attempting to brag about his sexual expertise by narrating his tales, but is instead trying to show how easy it is for people to initiate relationships.
Black Passenger Yellow Cab is the story of a black passenger who rode in multiple cabs until he found the best one. It takes readers through Bryan’s seven years in Japan and explains how, out of all of the women he slept with, his wife was the one. It describes a man’s fight to understand Japanese culture and why things work the way they do in a non-euphemistic way, and above all, it is honest. Bryan shows no shame about his addiction to sex with Japanese girls and speaks objectively about the girls he sleeps with to fulfill his desires, which is what makes the book so disagreeable yet engaging all at the same time. True, there were times when I was disgusted by Bryan’s seemingly insensitive behavior, but others when I completely empathized with him, when I empathized with his very true statements about underreported sexual harassment and the subordination of women throughout Japanese history. If you have the time for it and can stomach reading about the sexual exploits of another, Black Passenger Yellow Cab is a intriguing, honest read about a rarely discussed topic that dares to go where few books do.
Great site. Keep up the good work.
I remember the book Yellow Cabs and all the publicity surrounding it. It dates back way before 2000. Early 1990s, I think.
I love this book. It’s motivated me to plan traveling to Japan to ride some yellow cabs.
Just finished reading the Kindle edition of this book. It is a quick, interesting read. It would benefit from a thorough pass by an experienced editor to smooth out the narrative, fix English and Japanese typos and cut down on some of the sections which excessively cite newspaper articles. By far, the most interesting stories are about his own personal life, observations and interactions with the Japanese people. The author is a real study in conflict and contradiction. On the one hand he seems to genuinely empathize with the social struggles of women in Japanese society. But then he turns around and uses his insights to cruelly manipulate women for his own benefit. Bryan attributes his behavior to sexual addiction but it may be more than just that. His behavior fits the profile of a dark triad personality; ie the classic “bad boy” rogue who like the fictional James Bond displays traits of narcissism, impulsive thrill seeking and deceitful manipulation. These traits are thought to have had survival value in our distant, more violent past but have persisted due to a successful strategy of short term affairs. Indeed, by his own admission the author would produced over a dozen children from as many mothers if it were not for modern abortion technology.
I read the book , pretty much enjoyed it , and I think that “Superman ” who posted previously should go to Japan. I think he is of the same mindset as Stephen . Sure , go there, bang as many Japanese women / girls as you can and continue to perpetuate the ” black myth ” ! When it is all said and done, those women as the majority of our American women….. will understand why the Black American male , although many do not fit the generality , are regarded as irresponsible, selfish , and think that their cocks are the most important thing in the world !
Nicholas, thanks for the input. I’m afraid that there are many men who feel that their cocks are the most important thing in the world. The male species is fairly shallow across the board. I’m glad you enjoyed the book. It’s an interesting read although I’m not sure there aren’t some contradictions between what the author advocates and how he lives his life but then again, that can be said of many people.
You are kidding, right? I downloaded it earlier this afternoon after reading your semi-endorsement, and am wondering whether or not we are reading the same book. Once you get past the shamefully poor editing, you get an autobiography of a Black guy (I’ll give him the upper case “B”) with a big dick, whose narrative brio includes such clever turns of phrase as “my black elephant shower”, and tired, hackneyed social commentary appropos of a group of fresh-off-the-boat sociology majors. These are great bar stories, and I am sure the dude is a riot to have a drink with. The book, however, makes such classics as Making Out in Japan look like scholarship by comparison. Other than that, fist bumps to you all!
Chris-sama,
I don’t know if it was an endorsement per se but It was an interesting book, on many different levels. If you thought making out in Japan
n was funny (and it is) you should definitely check out ROPPONGI ENGLISH! That’s a classic.
Books like this really do a disservice to the black men in Japan that come here for reasons other than skirt chasing. He admits he had zero preparation for the culture before coming to Japan. No study of Hiragana/Katakana/Keigo. Surely this means he had little understanding of the social dynamics at play involving why people like him are readily given visas.
As a black person myself who has dated/met girls whom couldnt dream of introducing me to their fathers or befriended men who did everything possible to ensure i never met their marriage aged single daughters; narrative like this only reinforces such stereotypes perpetuated by the media concerning black men. Overly sexual, irresponsible, sex hungry.
A translation of this book into Japanese will be as benefitial to black men in the country as Bobby acting like a stupid gorrila on TV. ALL Black men dont come to Japan to do this, but when the stereotype is reinforced, it is that much harder to undo.
Marcus, you make excellent points. I think that the book will reinforce harmful stereotypes when published in Japanese and that’s lamentable. I don’t think that’s the author’s intention but the results may be just as you predict.
@Marcus Well, in Japan there are regular black men from the U.S. and then there are those from Africa like the aforementioned cheesy Bobby Olegun (for whom it is debatable whether any real value is being added to the Japanese economy and polity; like anyone of any race, creed or color, all have the right to work in Japan under Japanese and universal laws, but don’t ever make the mistake of confusing the two. Black Africans walk around trying to look like U.S. blacks, but generally fail miserably except in the case of willing Japanese women (not that there’s anything wrong with foreign guys hooking up with J-girls, but IMO as an
American it’s just more base and cheesy when black African U.S. wanna-be’s suckertunwitting J-girls into being marriage/residence visa targets).
This can’t be further from the truth. I am a black African and I graduated and work in Japan. I haven’t seen Africans acting like black Americans. In contrary, the black Americans do not have a positive reputation in japan given the widely publicized violence as plastered in the news. Most blacks who carry out research and PhDs is Japan are from Africa. Moreover, I know many white and woman individuals who have married Japanese women for the sole reason of getting a visa. They are French, Americans, Colombians, you name it. Same goes to Japanese women wanting to live in Europe, Africa or America. You should be ashamed of yourself with such puerile and false rhetoric.
Yeah yeah yeah. Meanwhile, a normal healthy white American gal can’t get squat in Tokyo.
It seems to be true. My room-mate, Michelle once said, “Tokyo has the largest population of under-fucked non-Japanese women in the world.” Apparently the dating scene here sucks for women.
I don’t know why.
Just struggle to see why a book like that could get published. In Japan, foreigners with little to no game can get girls. And if you have game…? And sex addiction ? If he had gone back home,he’d have been cured quick sharp.
Back in the day,I used to work in the bars in Osaka and hook up,but to write and brag about it ? I mean I
am not interested in reading how seedy a gaijin in Japan used to be.Every gaijin knows someone like that.
Poor gaijin girls though!! As for no action? Competition for a shot is tough in these recessionary times.
Being black myself, I would question the positive benefits of such a book.
I wrote a story some years ago about a Caucasian called BD living in Osaka, who one day woke up Japanese.And about his struggling to adapt to his predicament when he works for a chain eikaiwa and has a Japanese girlfriend,who prefers gaijin guys. Please have a read.
I discovered this site today and I must say I like it and Jake…. you have some balls.Reading your stuff is a real eye opener big time.All the best.
Thanks for writing in. I think the book is self-published. I can understand why it doesn’t give you the warm fuzzies. I’m not sure I buy the idea of “sex addiction.” Sex is a healthy thing in and of itself. Scientifically proven to be good for you. I guess the issue comes down to whether you pledge fidelity and keep that pledge or not. If a guy screws any woman he can because it’s a thrill and then gets caught–he seems to always claim it’s “sex addiction.” I think it’s just opportunism.
Best wishes to you as well. I’ll read the story. Sounds fun.
> It seems to be true. My room-mate, Michelle once said, “Tokyo has the largest population of under-fucked non-Japanese women in the world.” Apparently the dating scene here sucks for women.
I don’t know why.
It’s because the foreign men are too busy gorging on the feast that is easy Japanese women, while most of the Japanese guys are too chickenshit to ask girls out, Japanese or otherwise (but even more so if they’re foreign).
It’s because western women retain their sense of entitlement without realizing western men don’t have to play by their contrived rules in Japan. Certainly not all western women are man-hating feminists, but many are, and the rest go along with it when it suits their advantage. Luckily these looters & destroyers are easily color-coded & avoided.
Every western man has seen other men destroyed in legal proceedings initiated by women: divorce, child support, alimony, sexual harassment, false accusations of rape or domestic violence, etc. Why date you, when the end result will be your looting of everything we’ve worked for? Quite simply, we do NOT trust you anymore, western woman. We know you are concerned with power & we know you will stoop to anything to get it. Men can only expect an adversarial relationship with you.
And so we seek alternatives. God bless Japanese Women.
That is absolute tripe. Thats just bullocks from an angry western man who is intimidated by strong women and prefers the typical docile japanese woman. Living in Japan for ten years, I know many, and I mean many western men here in Japan, who are married to japanese women and are going through bloody hell with their wives. Hence, women “destroying” men is limited not only to western women. Japanese women do it too. Just ask my many friends (mostly white men, as opposed to black) whose Japanese wives have stopped having sex with them and or disappeared with their kids
It’s quite simple: the reason why there are so many “under-fucked” white women in Japan is, we western men – black and white – who move to japan, do so because our preference is yellow. Had my preference been white, I would’ve stayed in the UK or US or gone to Europe. More specificly, eastern europe or denmark. Japan is a terrible market for white women, many of whom revirginise and or form intimate relationships with their fingers upon their arrival here. The solution is quite simple: change markets, go to africa or something.
Western women have trouble dating if they are not as aggressive as their Jalanese counterparts or if they hold onto western ideas of the ideal man being hyper-masculine. If a girl doesn’t mind asking a boy for his mail address sometimes and won’t start crying if he’s the same height as her, she could be knee-deep in Japanese suitors from day 1. The only problem is Japanese men are more prone to commitment than their western counterparts, which ends the fun one way or another.
Personally, while I can agree with the “Japanese girls are easy” thought, in my own experiences in Japan, these so called “easy girls” were really just that. Japan just seems to have a much higher number of these women than most European countries/America. They were not usually the kind of girls you’d bring home to mom and dad to meet. And above that, the truly “good” Japanese girls are even harder to get with than white women. It’s really all about preference I guess. So I guess if you’re just sex crazed, feel free to take a ride in Japan, but I swear to god, if you blemish the gaijin image any more so than it already is, I will personally hunt you down.
I’m a black guy who moved to Japan several years ago for reasons other than dating, but I have had my share of interesting experiences with Japanese women. After several years of examining what my Japanese ‘and’ non-Japanese guy friends go through in a typical Japanese marriage, plus my own Japanese girl experiences, I realize that I very much prefer Western woman (black/white/asian/hispanic, as long as they are culturally Western). Problem is, I still love Japan. I’d totally settle down here with a non-Japanese woman, but they can be hard to find. Just another viewpoint for you…
Tyler makes a very valid point. Observing the same dynamics you mentioned, I too would prefer a Western woman…… as long as she’s yellow.
and as to ikari, i get the feeling youre trying to give the impression that you are above the so called “easy” girls in Japan, and have “evolved” to the “truly good” japanese girls. In my decade here, those “truly good girls” too were “easy.” many of whom were virgins. I have not been with a woman in Japan – easy or otherwise – who was not fit to meet my parents. after all, most were my students, professional women at the fortune 500 companies where I taught. so climb down from that holier than thou, gaijin high horse of yours. who the hellman’s mayonaise died and made you the moral protector of gaijin image in Japan? I didnt get that memo.
I came to Japan because of my interest in the culture,NOT because of my feelings of yellow fever as being ignorantly insinuated by above concerning all foreign males here.
And he may feel he could introduce to his parents (hooray for that honor)the virgins he got with,but the truth of the matter is that it was in no way reciprocal.
Just another gaijin who could get pussy outside of his home country but in the easy confines of Japan.Big deal.
Cracking up at these comments (particularly “Quite simply, we do NOT trust you anymore, western woman.”!!) and counting my blessings that I’m not a Japanese woman and therefore safely outside the fields of vision of these gems.
Western woman-sama incarnate!
Thank you for writing in! We are honored to have your input on this topic. 😀
I just love these comments. I think the thing that no one mentions is that most of these women were probably looking for a black man. Living in the states and being Japanese American, I get to hear both sides. My relatives and friends of relatives all talk about Japanese women wanting to sleep with Black men. My brother in law is Black and he has told many stories of how many Japanese women propositioned and even felt him up on the street. I believe it all started with Michael Jordan. While the author maybe telling tales of his conquests, if the things I have heard are correct he may have just been a toy for these these women. Remember the old saying” there are those you sleep with and those you marry”.
I’m not surprised that Western women can’t get screwed to save their lives. I think they function more as fag hags then anything else. I thought that alot of the men that went to Japan to teach were gay. Am I wrong?
I don’t know. I love the comments too. I’m trying to stay on the sidelines on this one.
no, none of the women i slept with in japan were kokujous. I steer far from kokujous (women who love black men). And as I wrote in my book, for most of the japanese women, i was their first gaijin. Most of them didnt even speak english. and also as I wrote, many were virgins. Japan has a very high rate of virgins in their 20s, 30s and 40s. Japanese women wanting to sleep with African men or men from the African diaspora didnt start with michael jordan. Just as japanese women wanting to sleep with Anglosaxon men, didnt start with brad pitt. Whats wrong with being a toy for these women? its great fun and mutually beneficial. me thinks your “toy” comment is your defensive response to the reality that, it is Japanese women who are toys for western men. as to the old saying, “there are those you sleep with and those you marry.” again, it appears youre being defensive. I’ve been here 10 years now, and we all know that being married in Japan is no deterrent to sleeping around. its a social norm in this country to be married and sleeping around, especially given the reallity that many japanese women usually withold sex with their husbands after marriage and more so after the birth of the first child. Western women here are not fag hags. Again, that statement is perhaps your being defensive because many japanese women envy Western women’s blonde hair and blue eyes. and finally, you are very very wrong. most western men who come to teach english here are not gay, but flaming heterosexuals ready to engage in a sexuhodai (sexual buffet) with women in Japan. Met this kid and his dad. they were from florida and both of them got a job at Aeon after the father got a divorce. the father told me they had heard about the sexual dynamics in japan, so they came to check it out for themselves. Now before you start getting more upset, im not the only person who has written about this. read Sumie Kawakami’s 2008 book: Goodbye Madame Butterfly: Sex, Marriage and the Modern Japanese Woman. our books are similar. the difference is, she’s a journalist interviewing these women, but I’m a sex addict, having sex with them and interviewing them getting the same answers or better, than she did. Jya, mattane.
The book was actually very interesting. I read it based on Jake’s recommendation. I will say that I have lived her 10 years as well, and my experience has been quite different, but I have seen people with experiences similar to Stefhen. Since Stefhen is answering questions here, I would like to point out one of the interesting contradictions in the book for his comment. As Stefhen points out, many Japanese women usually withold sex with their husbands after marriage and more so after the birth of the first child. This is consistent with my experience and many of those I talk to, including Western men married to Japanese ladies. However, in the book you go into detail about how many Japanese women are hungry for physical contact and love from there husbands, which is inconsistent with the previous statement. It is very easy to say its because the Japanese husbands ignore their wife, thereby causing their wives to withhold sex from their husbands, but I have seen this phenomenon with Western men as well, who were clearly not ignoring their wives. So it seems that something else is going on. Interested in your thoughts.
Many thanks for reading my book and your favourable response. glad you enjoyed it. Yeh, you do have a point. many of my western male friends married to Japanese women experience that phenomenon. As you know from living in japan for a decade, japan if full of mind bogling paradoxes and that phenomenon is one of them. could it be that japanese women simply start viewing themselves as only mothers after the first kid arrives? after all, if after the first kid, many ja men begin to see their wives as mothers and not lovers, maybe ja women could have internalized that perception of themselves. What I have observed and have been advised by many, countless western men married to japanese women in japan is: your marriage stands a better chance of surviving if you both leave japan. I’ve also observed that that sexless marriage phenomenon ocurrs mostly with japanese men married to japanese women, or anglo saxon men married to japanese women. it is rarely reported among my continental african or diasporic african friends. i dont have that problem in my marriage. I made it perfectly clear before we got married that I wasnt gonna stand for that crap. and as you know from reading my book, my wife was a virgin, whom I had sent away to the US for a desocializing/resocializing process. shes been in the US since 06, just graduated with her masters in law 5 months ago and has taken the ny bar in july. shes now in the process of doing an mba. this is all a part of the resocializing process. otherwise, youll be marrying a village dweller if you marry a typical, traditional japanese woman and continue living in japan. my wife’s time in the west, earning two professional degrees, will help her to understand my thinking, just as my time in japan helps me to understand hers. And since we will be living in Japan as oppose to in the US, this will make thing less difficult in our marriage. Many of my friends think thats too much work, too much thinking. But i didnt wanna be one of those western men, trapped in a miserable and unbearable, sexless marriage to a japanese woman in Japan.Hey, and if it doesnt work out, Shoko will have had two professional degrees and a greencard from the whole experience.
go to japan respectfully not to use japanese girls
Of course I have to chime in. The defacto Japanese nationalist himself. Hello Stephen.
Thanks for this site, Jake.
Could someone please tell me where I can find either _Roppongi English_ or _Making Out in Japan_? I can not find them on either amazon.co.jp or amazon.com. I would like to get them in the US if possible.
I think that neither “today” nor Stefhen have quite nailed it (pun intended). East Asian women are nicer, though by no means submissive, and Stefhen is right about the antics of Japanese (and other Asian) women. Yellow Fever, a blessed disease, is also a huge factor for non-Asian men’s happiness in Asia and non-Asian women’s misery (and what “today” said about them as well). However, I think we should not neglect the fact that a foreign man can be significantly more attractive in Asia than at home. He’s exotic (as an Asian woman still sort of is outside a big city in the US). People (jealous, sexually frustrated Western women) will say things like “poor woman’s Brad Pitt” or “zero to hero”, but what they are really saying is that you were a poor man or a zero before — gee, thanks, babe! It proves “today” right. Whether you are looking to marry as soon as possible or you want to have fun (I do strongly condemn any dishonesty as Stefhen apparently engaged in, according to the review), love is not like in the movies; you want to find the best person for you. Marriage and dating are markets like anything else. Western women are love communists 🙂
Western women: want to get laid? Try being nice, intellectually cooperative, emotionally reasonable, and sexually receptive. And have a healthy body. Cheers : )
You’re welcome Greg.
I’m staying out of the sexual politics debate.
This may sound strange coming from someone who wrote a book called TOKYO VICE, but I’m not interested in casual sex or one more notch on the bed post.
I think for anyone to be nice, physically fit, intellectually cooperative, emotionally reasonable, and sexually receptive is probably a healthy way to find a partner. The next step is to make a commitment, to be honest, and to keep your word. That’s the hard part.
LOVE AND THE BRAIN is a book worth reading for anyone who ponders these things on a deeper level.
The Dalai Lama once said something very nice about “love”. (Not that it applies to sex, but it could.)
“Love is the feeling of wishing for the happiness of another person.” It seems like a good place to start in bed and out of bed.
Why hello to you to Mr. Alexander. Surprising to see you’re now a man of very few words. thought you were going to “chime in.”
that was supposed to read, “hello to you too.”
I asked an old Japanese man in his 50s, “What is there to do in Japan?” He said, “Make money and fuck,” in that order. In Japan love hotels are every where. Girls dress very fashionable. What do you do when a beautiful Japanese girl smiles in your face? I let them take charge. If you ever wondered why they don’t move in bed? They are enjoying the pleasures as the guy works. Hate all you want but they are not stupid.
Damn my imagination, I look through these comments and I just see a forest of swinging cocks threatening to smack the unwary like an over-sized loaf.
Jake, I tried looking up LOVE AND THE BRAIN but I’m not seeing a thing. Is this strictly a Japanese book? Amazon, the LA public library system, even a google search… nada. Of course, I’m a bit of a luddite and computers seem to pick up on that fact…
Vance-sama,
LOL! That was a really funny comment.
I got the book title wrong. It’s THE BRAIN IN LOVE. My bad.
Speaking as a japanese guy, i really pity the gaijins here(both black and whites )Most gaijins that end up here are losers because they cant get a date back at home. same for for the japanese girls who date gaijins,most of those girls can land a date with a japanese guy,cause they do not fit in what a japanese guys perception of beauty is.
So its the desprate gaijin males ending up desparate japanese girls. yeah its mutualy benificial.
Wait are you a girl or a guy?
Must be a disgruntled Japanese girl. How about preferences? They are adults and they can date whoever they want. Jeez!
Speaking as a japanese girl, i really pity the gaijins here(both black and whites )Most gaijins that end up here are losers because they cant get a date back at home. same for for the japanese girls who date gaijins,most of those girls can land a date with a japanese guy,cause they do not fit in a japanese guys standards
So its the desprate gaijin males ending up desparate japanese girls. yeah its mutualy benificial.
LOL! That was one of the wittier riffs on this subject. Thank you!
what ever it is, it sounds disgruntled. kawai sou
Jake, since you were the person who recommended _Roppongi English_, and apparently you have read _Making out in Japan_, might you be so kind as to tell me the publishers or ISBNs for those books or if they can be found for sale on the web? Thank you!
I would agree with your quote from the Dalai Lama and I am certainly not averse to marriage (just need to find the right lady for me to spend eternity with), but in the meantime love can be expressed in many ways. Casual sex has many shortcomings, but it is not inherently dishonest or lacking in love : )
Greg-sama,
Roppongi English is sadly out of print but MAKING OUT IN JAPANESE is still available. I would agree with your statement about casual sex. (Let’s hope the Dalai Lama forgives me). However, the problem with casual sex comes when it means more to one person than the other or that one person is misled into believing that it means more than is intended. You’re right, I think, it’s not inherently dishonest or lacking in love. It’s kind of like the fast food of romance.
Maybe it’s a sign of getting older but fast food gives me indigestion. (LOL)
Jake-sama, Thanks again! Chris (above) and you had written _Making out in Japan_ up top. I do have _Making out in Japanese_ I and II (and other similar volumes). For those who are curious, Japanprobe.com has excerpts from _Roppongi English_. I now see it’s a book for Japanese ladies who wish to communicate with foreigners for purposes that His Holiness the Dalai Lama would not approve of. Based on what Japan Probe put up of the book, it seems kind of silly, though fascinating as a cultural/historical document. In any case, those are both language learning books (however specific the objectives). Black Passenger Yellow Cabs is apparently a completely different sort of book. Your observations about one loving more than the other in casual sex can often be true, as it often is in longer term relationships, though I would not be willing to say it is necessarily the woman doing the “loving”. And, yes, fast food does not sit well in the middle-aged digestive tract. Sorry to have taken up your time : )
Not all. Thanks for writing in!
I drop a leave a response each time I especially enjoy a article on a website or if I have something to contribute to the
discussion. It’s triggered by the sincerness displayed in the article I read. And after this article Book: Black Passenger Yellow Cabs : Japan Subculture Research Center. I was actually excited enough to post a thought 🙂 I do have a couple of questions for you if you tend not to mind. Is it simply me or does it look like like some of the responses look like they are coming from brain dead visitors? 😛 And, if you are posting on additional online sites, I would like to keep up with you. Would you list all of all your public sites like your Facebook page, twitter feed, or linkedin profile?
Well, brain-dead seems harsh. Comment is free and welcome. 😀 Our twitter feed is @japansubculture. Jake’s twitter feed is the deceptively simple @jakeadelstein. Our facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/japansubculture
just been readin about this book. the title alone gad me vexed, isnt yeeliw cabs a bit racist? to use an equivalent, if i wrote abt my sexual adventures in jamaica an equivilent would be White dude, N!gger wh0res. f@ck off with ur racist crap
Russ, just a tad angry, aren’t you? Black Passenger Yellow Cabs, White Dude Nigger Whores. Yeh, the similarities are stunning. So I guess Shoko Ieda’s book ‘Yellow Cabs’ would be tantamount to your writing a book titled, ‘Nigger Whores.”
Reaching for straws there, just a tad are we? By the way, did you see this article in last tuesday’s Japan Times?
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/06/25/issues/authors-take-polar-opposite-tacks-as-they-try-to-decipher-japanese-women/#.UdDcJxbl3zI
I’ve lived in Japan since 1986. Why? Because it liberated me. I was born in the U.S. and grew up there and was expected to act a certain way which I did not agree with. People who acted that way were rewarded with wealth, status, acceptance. Those who did not were treated as rejects, outsiders, nuisances. Going to Japan allowed me to shed my “skin”: the “culture” that my society attempted to brainwash me with. Japan is as severe or more so in its brainwashing of its citizens, but leaves the rest of us gaijin alone as we could not possibly understand its wonderful “culture”. Thus I was able to rid myself of the bondage of my own country’s “culture” and replace it with…me. The true me that I was born to be. And I realized that “culture” is nothing more than a mask that people wear to identify themselves because they have not been separated from their native environments long enough to discover their true selves or they don’t have the courage to find it or they enjoy wearing the mask so much that they don’t want to relinquish it. Men, women, we are all in the same boat. We are born into this world with the potential to find true happiness by liberating ourselves from all the chains that are put upon us by our environments. Most people never escape. They carry the burden of their imprisonment with them wherever they go. The free ones are the ones who are smiling, who are glowing, who look you in the eye when they talk to you, who greet you in the street for no other reason than to share kindness. I am currently in NYC staying at a friend’s apartment. He had recently seen Stefhen’s show and had purchased his book, and he thought I might enjoy reading it. I finished it in a week, and was so impressed with it. So honest! So many things he said which I had thought to myself about Japan. How many times have I said not so flattering things about Japan in conversation with others and been told “no, that’s not true” or “you just don’t understand the culture” or “you are in Tokyo so you are only seeing what the big city is like, not the real Japan”, and I always thought to myself “are all these people just defending Japan because they are afraid to acknowledge that the place they live, or have chosen to live, might be damaged?” It seems that the hardest thing to find in the world today is honesty, so I commend Stefhen on his honesty and courage. I don’t think he deserves to be crucified for his sexual exploits. He was a human being on the path to discovering his true self and I feel certain that he carries the burden of any suffering he caused other people on his own without being chastised by others. Thank you, SB, for writing this book so others, myself hopefully included, who have walked a similar path to self-discovery, can feel a little less confused for daring to notice the brutality of this supposed civilized country.
This is the most racist thing I have ever read of course coming from a black man I find it the normal thing they have no respect for any women
Tom…..u comment about Black men is racist…
Quite the hypocrite arnt we ?