This is a new edition of the 1993 book of personal insights and memories of the American author's teaching visits to Japan as a professor of English from 1980 to 1990. Light is shed on many aspects of Japanese culture, identity and human relations. This highly readable and intimate narrative promises to transform our image of Japan. This second edition contains a new afterword by the author, which addresses a poignant trip she made back to Japan in 2005.