The Magatama Doodle - One Man's Affair with Japan, 1950-2004

By Hans Brinckmann

Global Oriental, 2004
ISBN-13: 978-1901903737 

Review by Hazuki Saisho

This is a memoir written by a former Dutch banker, Hans Brinckmann. At the age of eighteen, he came to Japan, which was still under US occupation.

He recalls that the Japanese could not travel abroad and lacked any signing authority. Such humiliating times the Japanese people had to live through, yet they were not bothered much by their situation. Although most of the anecdotes are personal - about his Japanese colleagues at the bank, his friends in Kyoto, his wedding with a Japanese from Nagoya - the book gradually takes shape through the writer's sensitivity and firm, observant eye, and what emerges are two main themes: an account of post-war Japan's high growth era and the story of a young man's journey to maturity.

Hans was perhaps unaware that he was part of an elite: foreigners who believed in Japan and helped the country get back on its feet. At the age of twenty-nine, he became Tokyo branch manager and raised finance for Japanese industry, 'guaranteed' by his own confidence in Japan - a task that must have been more arduous than one can imagine. How did he convince the headquarters? "I had faith in Japan." No wonder he felt proud of Japan at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympic Games.

However, eventually the enchantment broke. After becoming Japan area executive for an American Bank, he began to lose patience with the people from the Bank of Japan and the ministries. He could not stand their amae [presumption on the indulgence of others] and their stubborn refusal to open the Japanese market to the world. The title of the book, The Magatama Doodle, derives from a habit he noticed among some Japanese men of authority: that of doodling imaginary comma-like figures [which to him resembled ancient magatama beads] on the table whenever they wanted to avoid a decision. Hans, caught in the middle, wrote in his journal, Our destiny is to embrace life, not to confront it."

Did Hans bid farewell to Japan for good? I am not going to tell you. All I can say is that his thoughts on Japan are more convincing than those of any other commentator, because Hans witnessed first-hand how Japan recovered from defeat. He lived through that period as a young man.

After putting the book down, I looked at the cover photo of the young Hans standing on the ramp in front of an airplane.For a moment I saw General McArthur arriving at Atsugi airport superimposed on the image. But that's all wrong - for Hans is far from an intimidating figure. He wears a suit and a flower in his lapel, and he smiles. A boyish, mischievous smile.

This review originally appeared in Japanese in the national edition of the mass-circulation Asahi Shimbun (24 April 2005) and was translated by Hiromi Mizoguchi. The review is of the Japanese edition of the book.