What's the connection between mob kingpin Carlo Gambino and oshibori?
What are the odds of a Japanese student of English knowing the meanings of both "made man" and "high roller"?
Why would a Roppongi nightclub mogul constantly surrounded by beautiful women be ashamed of his profession?
In 2004 I wrote an essay about a very memorable man I met at an eikaiwa (English conversation school). Over the years I could never find the right publication for the piece, and thought posting it on here was a bit of a waste. I was beginning to think it would dwell in my "unpublished" drawer for good.
On a whim I recently sent it to journalist and Tokyo Vice author Jake Adelstein to ask if by chance he knew the man it was about. He had some ideas and, luckily for me, Jake happens to be the mind behind one of the most interesting websites to come out of Japan in recent years -- the Japan Subculture Research Center (JSRC).
The essay went live on JSRC today. If you have any interest in the mob, the yakuza, or teaching English in Japan, take a look:
"Eikaiwa Underworld: Lessons Taught, Lessons Learned"
Thanks again to publisher Jake Adelstein and JSRC editor Sarah Noorbakhsh for giving the essay the polish it needed.
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