The Inland Sea

I had originally read and enjoyed some excerpts from Donald Richie's The Inland Sea (1971) in The Donald Richie Reader (2002). I have always thought that Richie has done some of the best writing about Japan from a foreigner's perspective and have been sympathetic to many of his opinions about Japan and the Japanese. After reading his journals last year after his death, I decided that there were several complete works that are worthwhile searching out and reading and this was at the top of the list. However, there are still several others to explore. It is at once a travel memoir, a love letter to a region and way of life that no longer exists, and a mediation on life in a strange country that he was not born in but elected to live in despite the fact it would never truly accept him. Richie also has musing about life in Tokyo versus the country, puritanism, the individual's place in the world, and the things he appreciates about living in Japan. He also makes some revelatory observations about his marriage and sexuality. Some of the experiences he has with locals have to be read between the lines and are not explicit admissions of couplings, but obviously are. There was an interesting scene where an old woman in Miyajima tells Richie a story about a boy who is excommunicated from the village for cutting the fishing nets-an act synonymous with barn burning at the turn of the century in America.Here are some of the more interesting observations that I largely agree with and find true even today some 40 plus years later: So the people are indeed backward, if this means a people living eternally in the present, a people for whom becoming means little and being everything. Words make you visible in Japan. Until you speak, until you commit yourself to communication, you are not visible at all. You might travel from one end and, unless you open your mouth or get set upon by English-speaking students, be assured of the most complete privacy. But to believe this is to disregard a great truth that all of Asia knows: appearances are the only reality. Japan is the most modern of all countries perhaps because, having a full secure past, it can afford to live in the instantaneous present. I answer as best as I can, aware-as one is always in Japan-that I have ceased being myself. Rather, I have become-once again-a Representative of My Country. The white man who goes native in Samoa or Marrakesh, the Japanese who goes native in New York or Paris-this is possible, but it is, I think impossible for anyone but a Japanese to go Japanese. Japanese loyalty. I cannot approve of it, and I certainly do not like it. Mindless devotion-whether of samurai or kamikaze-leaves me as unmoved as does the less spectacular variety from I come from. It is actually a kind of laziness. The Japanese carry it one step further. Nothing is anyone's fault. This is because no one will take responsibility for anything. Asia does not, I think, hoard and treasure life as we do. Life, to be sure, is nto considered cheap, but at the same time, one does not see the tenacious clinging to it that is one of the distinguishing marks of the West. There is no tradition of anything but a politely hidden suspicion of the unknown wanderer. To be anonymous is in Japan, to be nothing. Only after your name, occupation, family, history are known do you become real. Here, I thought, is a glimpse into the real Japan. This is the way the Japanese mind works. Appearances are reality without a doubt, and if the reality is not sufficient, then change the appearances. An early symptom (of the influence of the West) was that everything somehow had to become respectable-not according to Japanese standards, where everything was already respectable, but according to the half-understood and even the dissolving standards of the West. (As someone has remarked, the Japanese have fifty-three words for "prostitute" and yet do not distinguish between "lock" and "key"-which must be a commentary of some sort upon the importance they assign to things). This nightly closing of all forms of public transportation is, I suggest, but one of the many forms that Japanese puritanism takes. Europe , America-these lands are also inferior, but their ideas and products may be put to good use if they are first run through the Japanese mill and emerge unrecognizable and therefore very Japanese.I really enjoyed tagging along with Richie on his journey to the Inland Sea and within himself. Luckily, there is more by him for me to explore.

On the one hand "The Inland Sea" is about Donald Richie's visits to various locales on the sea between Honshu and Shikoku islands. On the other hand the book is also about the author's inner odyssey. The physical journey starts from Kobe and ends at Miyajima. The inner journey starts from a desire to escape and continues through loneliness and a kind of longing. I will not reveal where the latter journey goes."The Inland Sea" is beautiful, often melancholy, and sometimes humorous. It contains many insightful observations of Japanese culture. It is also a window to a searching soul.

This book has many fans but I found it dated. It is based on the author’s 1962 diary and has been updated twice retaining its original content. However, a modern book of this genre would reveal to readers much more about the author. What was happening in his life when he first visited Japan in 1962? How did he become fluent in Japanese?On the positive side the book takes readers on a fascinating journey to a part of Japan which most which tourists don’t visit. This area is historically and culturally important in the formation of this nation of islands.I would like to read a similar book about the Inland Sea written by native Japanese. Until then I recommend appreciating this travel book diary with skepticism, much like you appreciate the cultural wonders expressed by musicals like Miss Saigon, South Pacific and The King and I.

A great memoir covering the authors's visit to the Inland Seas of Japan. This book is poignant and masterfully written. A must read for anyone planning a trip to the Inland Seas of japan!

One of the classic Japan travel books, well written but easy to read, and sure to fascinate anyone who has travelled in the area.

What a well written book, full of interesting tidbits and information on the Inland Sea, and the people who live around it, and work on it. The writer seems to write with joy about his discoveries, pulling you along for the ride. No tour book could do a better job telling you about this area.

This is a book a I read many years ago and had fond memories of. It is often as dangerous to reread books you've loved as it is to revisit former lovers, but in this case I was very glad I did. The romance of a Japan that is far from the crowded cities is marvelously conveyed in this book. It is slow paced and thoughtful throughout, wistful and delicate.

Typical of travel and finding ones self books of its time. Very patronizing. Glad attitudes toward women by most men are still maturing or have men remained unchanged in their effort to make getting laid equivalent to finding adventure and finding themselves. Had a difficult time through this, hoping in the end I would feel it was worth the effort. Reading Japanese authors seem generally more enlightening if one wants to know meow about the essence and values of Japanese culture and not get them in translation through a european’s eyes

Richie's work is always beautifully written and highly interesting. It was a quick read, and yet I enjoyed it immensely.

Best reading on the train and ferry during your visits to contemporary art hubs Naoshima, Teshima, and the Setouchi Art Triennale. Gives you a sense of how Japan has changed since the 1970s -- the "boonies" when the rest of Japan was experiencing economic boom, still having reference to ancient history and culture (now no more), the beauty of the landscape, also about being a blue-eyed foreigner in this country.

It was struggle to read, and it is full of the exoticism that some Americans attach to other place/cultures (Asian, European, or even First Nations). The author looks down on any location that is modernising and declares the simplest of island lives as being truly Japanese. Who is he to demand people and places stay static in time?It's the spiritual grandfather to many Reddit posts by freshly arrived English language assistants gripped by "Only Gaijin Syndrome" and white saviour complex.