One fine day Charles Danziger found himself transplanted from a tiny studio apartment in Manhattan's Greenwich Village to an even tinier room in a student dormitory in Japan that gave a whole new meaning to the phrase "Standing Room Only." Moving from fumbling foreigner to accomplished cosmopolitan was an enlightening experience, and Danziger's encounters led him to write this book.The American Who Couldn't Say Noh is a provocative and entertaining series of vignettes on the vagaries of daily life, business, and traditions in the Land of the Rising Sun. Both informative and offbeat, it provides an inside look into such curious institutions as love hotels, "office ladies," and sumo wrestling, making it the perfect introduction for anyone encountering Japan for the first time, whether for business, pleasure, or travel.On Affection: "Traditional Japanese couples might avoid walking hand-in-hand or cooing over each other, showing their closeness simply by addressing each other with the intimate form of 'you.'"On Manners: "One's true feelings are often sugarcoated with an idealized facade, or tatemae. Like an attractive mask presented to the outside world, the tatemae blurs the unpalatable truth and thus allows the speaker to avoid disappointing the listener and losing face at the same time."On Exchanging Namecards: "If you are not handed a card in return for your own, you have just been given the classic Japanese brush-off." Read Less