by Dahni

   My new friend the printer/artist with my gorgeous hanging behind him. What a very nice man! Neither of us could speak the other's language, but we were still able to communicate. The wall hanging was one of the things I wanted to acquire while in Japan. One day, I got lost while riding a bicycle in Moriyama and I happened upon his shop. This very same hanging was in the front window, but I did not think the store was open. The next time I came here, the hanging was gone and I figured it had been sold. I tried in vain for over 45 minutes by my small amount of Japanese vocabulary, by gesture and by pencil sketches to describe what I was looking for. At one point he showed me the very hanging you see above, but I did not think it was the same one I had seen originally. We parted and somehow I do believe that he understood that I would be back, which was my intention after arming myself with conversational English-Japanese dictionaries. Time commitments made it impossible to return until after many days. When I did return again, his shop was closed for a holiday followed by yet another the store was regularly closed.

   Time was running out, before we would leave Japan. The day before we left, I returned with pencil, paper, a little better command of Japanese and the amount of money set aside for the hanging, but I forgot to bring the dictionaries. When I walked through his door he started to laugh and had a huge smile upon his face. I believe he was both surprised and happy to see me. I'm sure you can understand this as when someone says, "I'll be back," and you think (especially after so many days), "Right, Oh, sure you'll be back (sarcasm/disbelief intended).

   I tried in vain to leave him my money, promising to return again. He would not accept my money. When I returned with the dictionaries, he opened his shop to me and gave me a tour. I met his lovely wife and petted his dog. Then we got down to business. I wanted to pay so much and he understood. Then somehow, I was able to describe the hanging I was looking for. Guess what? It was the exact one I saw in the window, the same one he showed me previously and the one you see above. The next thing was to pay for it. Perhaps in our culture we are used to and expect a discount or we negotiate a cheaper price. This is NOT done in Japan!!!  If someone wants to offer you a deal it is totally up to them, but you never expect it or ask for it. He offered me a discount and it was his way of honoring me. Another thing you do not do in Japan is tip. Goods and services are fairly priced and that is the price. The discount offered me was too great and I would not accept it. I offered him more and he would not accept that. We met somewhere in the middle, all the while he lowered the price and I tried to raise it. I do not believe he ever had someone refuse a price, because it was too low. Still, he was not at all offended and we became instant friends. My hanging was incensed, carefully wrapped and boxed. I still believe my hanging is worth much more than I paid for it, but my greatest treasure was in meeting this wonderful artist, printer and human being!

Dahni