Tokyo Junkie: 60 Years of Bright Lights and Back Alleys...and Baseball is truth in advertising as it’s a memoir mostly of Tokyo from a bygone era-roughly the early ‘60s through the ‘80s bubble. Whiting does later enter the realm of the 21st century and provides coverage of the 2011 TÅhoku earthquake and tsunami, Covid-19 and the predicaments of hosting the 2020/1 Olympics. Early on, Whiting seems about on target with his insight “...the Japanese already have their own religion: Japan and the idea of being Japanese.” As a writer, he is most of all a journalist, and he frequently writes in broad strokes. Without the singular focus of his two most notable books which examined the Tokyo underworld and Japanese baseball, this one is more ramshackle, but certainly more heartfelt, homespun and obviously personal.
With Tokyo being so highly advanced on many levels, it’s hard to reconcile the prevailing thought during the time of his arrival in early ‘60s Tokyo that the city was sadly considered a backwater (by deployed American clergy and military factions). However, I appreciated learning more about Sophia University as Whiting fondly recounts his time studying there and connecting him to work opportunities (i.e., English teaching) in the rapidly rising, expanding and multi-layered city. Whiting writes with appreciation on how Tokyo formed him for the better after leaving the limiting environment of Eureka, CA and the regimentation of the Air Force. He also exhibits the spirit of adventure and curiosity that was embodied by the late Anthony Bourdain who he mentions as a symbolic fellow traveler. Days turn to decades in Japan and Whiting further elaborates on what he thought propelled the Japanese during the formative era of Tokyo as he cites their inspiring effort, determination, honesty and Gaman. (I was not previously aware of Japan’s women's volleyball team defeating the Soviet Union for the Gold at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games.) He also ventures deep into the Yakuza underworld and their lucrative connections to Tokyo construction, supposedly based on planned obsolescence, and by turn corrupt and entrenched politics.
His smattering of recollections range from “had to be there” moments to the distinctive experiences regarding the overall rise of Tokyo to what many consider (including myself) as the most exciting and preeminent city in the world (with Osaka being a close runner-up). Whiting’s mention of the “abundant hydrangeas” in the early summer evoked memories for me of being in Japan for the first time. He even details the rockabillys in Shibuya’s Yoyogi Park which were featured in Wim Wenders’ documentary Tokyo-Ga. The architecture of Kenzo Tange, former New York Yankee and good guy Roy White who made the effort to learn the language and Ayumi Ishida, singer of Nippon standard “Blue Light Yokohama,” all make appearances in Whiting’s first-hand accounts.
Like most of East Asia in this century, there is a palpable excitement and optimism about the future in Tokyo which stands in marked contrast to the repetitive and perfunctory patterns found in the United States. As a dynamic megacity which challenges attempts at comprehension, Whiting understands that Tokyo needs to be ever-evolving into something it has never been before. Still, many doubted how Tokyo was going to feasibly conduct the Summer Olympics and Paralympics even before Covid-19. Without general spectators, things will be done much differently than attempts to reach the sky high standards set by Beijing in 2008. Facing another seemingly insurmountable challenge, Tokyo and the Japanese will once again characteristically rise to the occasion with Wa and go well beyond expectations.
