[krapp]

>Also, the whole samurai/bushido thing essentially doesn't exist for anyone under fifty over there.

I've been led to believe, (though I may be wrong, probably am) that it didn't really exist for the samurai either. In real life, they were elitist thugs and enforcers, and the mythology of bushido was added by old and bored samurai after Japanese society had more or less outlawed their violent ways.

[jessaustin]

It's as if the culture, history, and thought of Japan is as complex, multifaceted, and contradictory as that of any other place. Anyway, expats are often opinionated with respect to controversial aspects of their home countries.

[LanceH]

I heard it described like someone a hundred years from now found a high school handbook and decided that all high school students must be orderly, not chew gum, speak politely, respect their teachers, etc...