| Chapter 1: | Autobiographical Self |
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Respect for humility is deeply ingrained by metaphors such as 
, minoruhodo koubewo tareru inahokana (lit., the good rice stalk bends low), which directs Japanese people to be humble. During my PhD studies, one of my professors asked the students to write a composition, highlighting our contributions to the class. Because I value modesty, I consciously refused to highlight my contributions. From my point of view, everyone was a valuable contributor.
Ki-shou-ten-ketsu
Jack-in-the-box style of prose
Leave it in Japan
In Japan, we have a method for well-organized expression called kishoutenketsu. Kishoutenketsu, 
, consists of four parts—ki, the introduction, shou, the development, ten, a deviation from the topic, and ketsu, the conclusion. This style of articulation is highly valued among Japanese writers. Hinds (1987, 1990) examined how the kishoutenketsu style was used in various aspects, not only of what was culturally accepted as being appropriate writing in Japanese culture, but also its proliferation in Chinese and Korean culture as well. I think that the ten part, the unexpected and seemingly irrelevant change of topic, seems strange to Westerners, where it is natural to the Japanese reader. Japanese people love detective stories because they employ kishoutenketsu. I was taught in school that good writing expects readers to interpret for themselves while bad writing is markedly explicit. This difference creates problems for Japanese writers of English as kishoutenketsu and the inductive strategies related to this style of writing are relied upon by Japanese students when writing in English (Mulvey, 1997). Asuka, one of the participants in my master’s research (Yoshimoto, 1999), wrote an argumentative essay saying that going abroad to study is a good thing. Before her conclusion, she brought up new information that was not previously introduced or even hinted at, which constitutes a very odd transition from a Western point of view. Her teacher noticed these elements and mentioned that new information should not be introduced near the end of the essay.