Here in Japan, class is far less distinct. At least, that’s how it appears to an outsider like me. Social mobility seems to exist, but it doesn’t apply to industries. Workers are expected to devote their lives to their profession and industry, often working for their first companies faithfully their entire careers. The expectation is to work constantly to hone their skills and serve their employers. Moreover, the fabric of society is sewn with an astonishing amount of shame. It’s hard to imagine anywhere in the developed world where confidence is so low, confrontation so rare, or conformity so glorified. Corporate employees are like bees in a hive. And you don’t steal honey from the hive.
Enter Yuu Koyama. A few weeks ago I introduced to my readers this young blue collar worker, whose eccentric behavior by Japanese standards is immediately noticeable to any who share a “conversation” with him in English or Japanese.
Yuu Koyama
On our Golden Week vacation, my co-trainee Rob Milchling (link to his blog), his coworker Ayako, Koyama and I took a drive down the Izu Peninsula to coastal Shimoda. Koyama was the only legal driver, and the entire drive, he spoke softly in Japanese, without smiling or breaking determined eye contact with the wild and twisting road before him. Ayako, a Japanese bilingual English teacher, translated while guiding Koyama from the passenger seat. I share his tale here, accompanied by pictures of the stunning drive and Shimoda itself.