36 Views of Mount Fuji: On Finding Myself in Japan [Paperback]

Cathy N. Davidson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 25, 2006

In 1980 Cathy N. Davidson traveled to Japan to teach English at a leading all-women’s university. It was the first of many journeys and the beginning of a deep and abiding fascination. In this extraordinary book, Davidson depicts a series of intimate moments and small epiphanies that together make up a panoramic view of Japan. With wit, candor, and a lover’s keen eye, she tells captivating stories—from that of a Buddhist funeral laden with ritual to an exhilarating evening spent touring the “Floating World,” the sensual demimonde in which salaryman meets geisha and the normal rules are suspended. On a remote island inhabited by one of the last matriarchal societies in the world, a disconcertingly down-to-earth priestess leads her to the heart of a sacred grove. And she spends a few unforgettable weeks in a quasi-Victorian residence called the Practice House, where, until recently, Japanese women were taught American customs so that they would make proper wives for husbands who might be stationed abroad. In an afterword new to this edition, Davidson tells of a poignant trip back to Japan in 2005 to visit friends who had remade their lives after the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995, which had devastated the city of Kobe, as well as the small town where Davidson had lived and the university where she taught.

36 Views of Mount Fuji not only transforms our image of Japan, it offers a stirring look at the very nature of culture and identity. Often funny, sometimes liltingly sad, it is as intimate and irresistible as a long-awaited letter from a good friend.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

English professor Davidson recounts her travels in Japan in the 1980s; BOMC selection in cloth.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

One of America's most significant exports is the English language and the culture that accompanies it. Thousands of Americans have gone abroad to teach English, and hundreds of them have written books about their experiences. These books tend to reveal as much about their authors--and thus our shared American culture--as they do about the host culture in which they find themselves. A professor at Duke who has visited Japan four times, Davidson writes perceptively, frankly, and personally about her struggles to understand Japanese ways. She also attempts to reconcile those ways with her own life. Davidson has much to say about the role of women in both cultures and of the problems of trying to live in both worlds, but, unlike most authors of this genre, she is nonjudgmental and fair. This is one of the best "explanations" of Japanese culture, and our problems in understanding it, that has come along in years. Highly recommended.
- Harold M. Otness, Southern Oregon State Coll. Lib., Ashland
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Duke University Press Books (October 25, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0822339137
• ISBN-13: 978-0822339137
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #976,924 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cathy Davidson teaches at Duke and writes for the Washington Post, Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, Inside Higher Ed, and has been featured in Fast Company, the New York Times, and on blogs and in tweets the world over! She is the Ruth F. DeVarney Professor of English and the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Duke University and has published over twenty books on technology, education, and the history of reading,writing, and printing. She is currently on a 50-stop international author tour for Now You See It: How the Brain Science of Attention Will Transform the Way We Live, Work, and Learn (Viking Press), which Publishers Weekly has named "one of the top ten science books" of the Fall 2011 season. With the team at a nonprofit she cofounded called HASTAC ("haystack"), she administers the annual $2 million MacArthur Foundation Digital Media and Learning Competitions. You can find out more at www.cathydavidson.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Maybe I'm a grumpy old man..., July 30, 2001

By 

James R. Hoadley "Nagano Jim" (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 36 Views of Mount Fuji: On Finding Myself in Japan (Paperback)

...but I just didn't like this book.

I live in Japan, and the Japan the author describes just doesn't jibe with what I see around me every day. The author claims that her status as a university professor do not make her experiences special or unique. However as someone who has been in a similiar situation and now leads a more normal life, I say that it MUST. I also found her criticism of other foreigners unfair and prone to caricaturization. While there is value in observing the "ugly tourists" and those who have "gone native," it is also important to look inside to see if we can find any of those people inside ourselves. The author chooses not to, and comes across as somewhat elitist as a result.

I was confused by the author's representation of her linguistic skills. She often claims to have little language ability, but then she also claims to have complex communications with people who do not speak English. I had great difficulty justifying the two ideas, as my own experience has been that even when you think you know what is going on, you probably don't. And I speak, read and write Japanese quite well.

I had difficulty with her presentation of a Japanese man who has an outspoken, artistic, independent French wife as typical. I have known a few people like that, and while I'm glad they are my friends, I wouldn't dare try to pass any of them off as typical.

Finally, I got the feeling that the author wasn't really "going to" Japan as much as she was "running away" from America. In her book, Japan generally receives favorable treatment, while America is often criticized. The author seems to have a thinly-veiled Lafcadio Hearn complex, where she wants to replace her American identity with a Japanese one. I have lived here for quite some time, and while I enjoy many aspects of living here, I know it is impossible for an outsider like myself to ever be assimilated. I have accepted my role as a perpetual guest, and I have learned to respect and enjoy my American identity. (At least when not surrounded by Americans acting like idiots.) Not only does the author seem to want to give up her American identity, it seems like the image of her desired Japanese identity is romanticized and unrealistic. That is an unhealthy way to live and an invitation for disappointment....

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Sugar-coated Japan, March 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: 36 Views of Mount Fuji: On Finding Myself in Japan (Paperback)

I am currently living in a small seaside city off the coast of the Japan Sea and have been living in Japan for approximately the same amount of time that Davidson lived here. I read Davidson's book when I first arrived here, when I was just as enamored with Japan as she was. Everything here was new, exciting and exotic. But now, a number of months later, I can't relate to this optimistic, sugar-coated view of Japan. This book is perfect for the tourist of Japan. But for anyone wishing to stay longer than three months here, this book presents a wholly unrealistic view of life abroad. Life in Japan is just that: life. Some days I want to stay here forever; other days I would leave in an instant, if I could. I would like to relate to the Davidson in the book who, despite her inability to learn the language and her rather short stay here, was able to create bonding relationships and form a complete, expert-like opinion of Japan. Yet I found this view of Japan (and all of the 36 other views) totally unrealistic and helplessly romantic.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading for all "gaijin", March 22, 2000

By 

Jimmy P "jimmyp" (Suginami-ku, Tokyo Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 36 Views of Mount Fuji: On Finding Myself in Japan (Paperback)

This is an excellent book. It should be required reading for anyone interested in living in Japan and for all foreigners currently living there. Ms. Davidson portrays the Japanese people with insight and "dead-on" accuracy. You'll come away with a better understanding of Japan and Japanese culture. It was both humorous and though provoking. This is the best book I've ever read about what it's like to be a "gaijin" in Japan. I highly recommend this book.