This Book….
A classical eastern country, it possess a rich heritage which forms the basic of achievements in the various fields of the arts. The Japanese folk tales are as exciting as its toys are pretty; its jokes slick and spontaneous, proverbs meaningful for all times, verses charming whenever you read them and stories as readable as the best anywhere in the wolrd. This book is a view, admittedly a limited view, of the Japan of the achievements but from my knowledge of the country, an honest and genuine view which seeks to inform readers that there is much more to the country and its people than only technological and scientific progress.
During the last ten years, it has been my previlege to visit Japan more than once as a marine engineer. I have travelled by sea and by land from Hachinohe to Moje, from Nagoya to Wakayama, in fact almost all over the country. During these visits, I have had occasion to come in contact with a cross section of Japanese people and realize that it is a friendly and affectionate nation, full of the old eastern charm which is fading away from other places of Asia. I was first surprised, then excited and finally impressed by their humaneness.
This book comprises selections from such Japanese literature that I had a chance to read and gather. Some knowledge and information is from my readings but most of the material has been collected through conversation with my Japanese friends. I have simply put these togethers in the from of a book to present a view of the country which is different from the known image of Japan.
I hope that the book will be accepted as it is a genuine effort to capture the spirit of Japan and read as such both in Pakistan and Japan and seen in the later country as a picture drawn by a friendly visitor.
Altaf Shaikh
IHI Shipyard, Tokyo
1980