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(★)(Penetrating Opinions of the Good and Not So Good in American Life)(Mr Katsuizumi brings his book to the starting post with ´The Elusive True Spirit of America.´ In this chapter, he brings to our attention the misconceptions that many Japanese travelers and students have of America ; this he strives to rectify, and he does so with remarkable ease and success, by calling upon his many years in the United States, seventeen in his younger manhood, and three short trips later in life --trips he made for a first-hand grasp of America and the American way of life.／ Though an exponent of goodwill, he fearlessly speaks out on some of America´s trouble spots. He has studied, worked, and played with American students, and his associations with some of America´s leading citizens --William Allen White, Robert Frost, and others-- have catapulted him into an atmosphere of true American democracy. The Negro problem in the U.S., as can be readily seen in this chapter, he treats with fairness from all view points --it is a treatment that provides food for considerable thought.／ Originally written in Japanese for Japanese students, this English version is the result of much prompting on the part of Mr. Katsuizumi´s American friends. ´A Japanese Sees The U.S.´ are the author´s ideas as they were originally written, rendered into English by the author himself, in a simple, informal style.／ ◆About The Author : The earthquake tore the city apart, and fire left it in smoking ruin... The author, then an eighteen-year old youth, landed in San Francisco in the midst of the chaos that followed this great disaster. he could not find work ; for at that time anti-Japanese sentiment among the laborers was high. In search of a means of livelihood, he journeyed to Pueblo, Colorado, where he got his first job, at the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company.／ He had come to America with a dream : To find work, and what money he earned he planned to send back to his ailing mother in Japan. But this dream never came true ; his mother died shortly after his arrival.／ With a strong heart, he overcame the shock of losing his mother, and with an equally strong desire to learn and do better he attended night school, then went on the State Normal School in Emporia, Kansas, where he came under the direction of William Allen White and other noted Americans. In four years he earned academic credit sufficient to enroll in the University of Michigan. Here, again, he worked his way through school. His toils yielded two degrees from this famous American institution.／ Leaving Ann Arbor, he joined the Japan Delegation at the Washington Conference on Limitation of Armaments. There, he was recognized by his fellow countrymen, and was invited to assist the Japanese group at the Four Power Chinese Consortium in Peking, whose objective was to put China back on her financial feet. The Chinese revolutionists, however, repudiated all foreign loans. The author returned to Japan and began economic research studies in banking, but found himself on the go again in 1937, this time as a member of the Japanese Economic Mission to America and Europe.／ He served as adviser after the War at General MacArthur´s General Headquarters, assisting in Japan´s economic recovery. At the end of the Occupation, he became a management consultant to help strengthen Japan´s small enterprises. Today, as a member of the America-Japan Society, he actively serves on the committee for young people´s activities, helping Japanese students going to America to study. As a hobby, he writes on democratic subjects, including parliamentary procedure.) |
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