A Geek in Japan Quotes

“when you arrive in Japan, you realize that sake means “alcoholic drink” in general. Thus, if you drink a beer, you are drinking sake; if you drink whiskey, you are drinking sake; and if you drink rum, you are drinking sake. So, when we order sake in a Japanese restaurant outside Japan, what is the specific name for the drink they serve us? It will probably be nihonshu, which is the Japanese word used to refer to the alcoholic beverage obtained from rice.”
― Hector Garcia Puigcerver, Geek in Japan: Discovering the Land of Manga, Anime, Zen, and the Tea Ceremony

“When you give a present, you are giving part of your spirit to the other person. That’s why presents in Japan are so very important, even if they’re small presents of no real value. This belief also has significance when you buy something secondhand. The Japanese are reluctant to purchase things that have belonged to someone else, maybe because the previous owner’s spirit still lingers inside them. One of the advantages of this belief is that thefts in Japan are almost nonexistent: stealing something from someone would be like stealing part of their spirit.”
― Hector Garcia, Geek in Japan: Discovering the Land of Manga, Anime, Zen, and the Tea Ceremony

“Nou aru taka wa tsune wo kakusu”–Talented eagles hide their claws.”
― Hector Garcia Puigcerver, Geek in Japan: Discovering the Land of Manga, Anime, Zen, and the Tea Ceremony

“The 70-year-old president of a company on Okinawa said to me, “When you are young, you fight vigorously to carry out your projects and dreams, you think you can conquer the world on your own. But when you are in your later years, you think about everything you have done and realize that everything you have achieved in your life has been thanks to the people around you.”
― Hector Garcia Puigcerver, Geek in Japan: Discovering the Land of Manga, Anime, Zen, and the Tea Ceremony

“Another curious example of the influence of Shinto on the Japanese way of being is that things that belong to you partake of your spirit. When you give a present, you are giving part of your spirit to the other person.”
― Hector Garcia Puigcerver, Geek in Japan: Discovering the Land of Manga, Anime, Zen, and the Tea Ceremony