A Gaijin Sarariman provides a first-hand account of the lifestyles, customs, and culture of the Japanese people, particularly that of the office-workers known as sarariman, along with their historic context and relevance to the Japanese society through reciting the author’s amusing and often painful yet entertaining experience while living and working in Japan.
People who work for companies for monthly salaries are known as sarariman in Japan. They are the foot soldiers who, through their hard work and dedication, enabled the meteoric transformation of Japan into a global economic powerhouse from the ruins of the Second World War. Like the famous bushido or the ‘way of the warrior’ of the old samurai clan, these sarariman are a breed of their own, with their own work ethics and social practices. The author has spent over twenty years working closely with these sarariman from various Japanese companies and lived and worked in Tokyo for four years. A Gaijin Sarariman is a first-hand account of the author’s journey working in Japan as a gaijin (foreign) sarariman, infused with two decades of experience dealing with the local people from all walks of life providing meaningful insights into the unique Japanese culture.
