My name is Wendy Ehlmann and this is my book report. The book I read is called "You Gotta Have Wa", and it is by Robert Whiting. This book is about baseball in Japan. Like they even say baseball different in Japan. They say basu-baru. But that's OK because that's how they talk. You will like this book if you like baseball or if you ever wonder about how things are in America and how they are in Japan and how they are different. Either way, you will like this book. I think it is here on Amazon, but maybe not:
http://tinyurl.com/yoxbg6
Some people complain that the book is too old, cause it was written almost 20 years ago that is before most people were even born. But that didn't bother me. I thought it was fun to read anyway.
The name of the book is from a song "You Gotta Have Heart" that is in a show and the show is called "Darn Yankees". But the writer changed it to "You Gotta Have Wa" cause that is how things are in Japan. At first, I didn't know what "wa" was. I thought it was like how Helen Keller said water in that movie. That was a good movie. Or I thought it was what you say when your brother hides behind the door and jumps out at you. Like... "WA!"
But that's not what wa is. In Japan, wa means kind of going along with everybody and not making any trouble. You don't want to stand out or be different or be a trouble maker on the playground or make your team look bad by making people look at you. You don't even want to have a new idea without asking if it's OK. That's wa. It's not like in America where everybody wants to be special and that's OK to be a little different.
This book tells about American baseball players who went to Japan and how the game was different over there. The way they train the players is different. Like if a player is hurt in America, then he doesn't play because he doesn't want to make it worse. But in Japan it's not like that. There was one story about a Japanese pitcher who tore a ligament in his pitching arm but kept pitching and pitching anyway even if it hurt so bad it made him cry and he kept pitching anyway. He was too embarrassed to go to a doctor in Japan for the arm he pinched with. It would have hurt his team's wa. Then it just got too bad and he sneaked away to America to see a doctor. The doctor in America told him what was wrong and he had an operation and then he could pitch again. Then all of a sudden lots of players from Japan came to America for the doctors because they were too embarrassed to go to the doctor in Japan cause they didn't want to look like they were asking for attention and upset the wa.
Here's another eggsample of how they trainthe players differently in Japan. They had a picture in the picture part in the middle of the book. It was a picture of a Japanese catcher who was squatting down like catchers do behind the plate. But to keep him from sitting down too low, the trainer had put a piece of wood under him and the piece of wood had great big nails poking up! The nails were poking strait up at the bumpy part of his pants! You know, how men have a bumpy part in the pants and ladies don't. That part of his pants! If he had sat down, his bumpy pants parts would have been stuck with the nails! Wow! Think about that! How would you like to sit down on a bunch of nails? If you tried to train an American player like that, he would hit you with a bat for sure. Or at least call the players yoonyun. But the Japanese player didn't hit his trainer with a bat or call the yoonyun cause he didn't want to upset the wa. He just squatted behind the plate with his bumpy pants parts over the nails! I showed that picture to my dad and he said a bad word.
These are just two eggsamples of how things are different in Japan and in America. The same writer also wrote another book about Japanese players coming to America. But I don't remember the name of that book. You can find it on Amazon. Anyway, after reading this book I have decided that the best way is to play by American rules when you are in America, and play by Japan rules when you are in Japan. That way nobody gets confused.
I hope you like this book.
Wendy Ehlmann
;) byrd
That was purty eggsellent fer a dumb ole girl Wendy!
Robby Beck
Posted by: robek at July 12, 2007 11:10 PMOne more thing Wendy. I think I might see how Ikeda comes off in Japan. He seems to be charismatic and outspoken, not the least bit frightened of rocking the boat. He might even be a bit of an attention hog or drama queen. He likes to boast of his great accomplishments and the great tribulations he has overcome.
Perhaps some take vicarious pleasure in him; while others are disapproving. The former are very loyal. Maybe he is like a school yard bully turned loose on a playground full of fawning toadies; a wolf in a pasture of frightened lambs, or a brave cock in a barnyard of meek chickens and and cawing crows.
I try to think of an image that is both honest and complimentary; I just can not. One thing, I have heard is very observant and considerate. He notices the little people behind the scenes and gives them credit.
At ant rate, that he is doing it for us might just make sense if "us" are Japanese. He certainly does not mind upsetting anyone's wa. I am reminded of something a Japanese leader once said to me -- 'You are not President Ikeda, you can not do such things!' Here I had thought he was an example to follow.
robby
Who is Ikeda? I'm not a dumb old girl. Boys are stupid, not me.
Posted by: Wendy at July 13, 2007 09:05 AMWell Wendy,
First off all, NOBODY is stupid. Nor boys, nor girls. Some can maybe act like they are stupid, but they are more ignorend and not caring how others may feel.
Second, Ikeda is the third president of the Soka Gakkai International. A Buddhist lay organization founded in 1930 in Japan and founded on the principals of the 13th century Japanese monk Nichiren Daishonin. For more info about both Ikeda and Nichiren ask Byrd. Am I correct that she is your mother? You can also check things out on www.sgi-usa.org or www.sgi.org.
Also Ikeda is a famous writer and poet from Japan. Look sometime for some books written by him. Just go to Amazon.com and look for books from Daisaku Ikeda. He met a lot of different famous people like Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks, Tina Turner, Herbie Hancock and so on. He met also a lot of important political people like Michael Gorbachov.
I don't know if you practice this buddhism also like Byrd does. But maybe you should try it. Ask Byrd how the practice goes. The only thing you have to do is to chant Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo. You can od that for every thing you want to accomplish.
Greetz... :-D
Andre de Wit
The Netherlands