I’ve heard about this for quite some time but have never seen it before–HILARIOUS.
Incidentally, on my tours at the National Yiddish Book Center, I always mention the charming anecdote about Sholom Aleichem, author of Tevye der Milkhiger, upon which Fiddler on the Roof is based. The book was so popular when it was first published that it was translated into many different languages, one of which was Japanese. It gained such a following in Japan that Sholom Aleichem went to visit Japan, on a book tour. When his Japanese readership saw the author, they were in shock.
“There’s no way this story could have been written by a Jew,” they said. “It’s so Japanese!”
Yeah, I’ve heard about it too, and I’m somewhere between amused and intrigued. Bothersome that they had co-ed dancing in the opening scene, though… that’s so central to the theme later on. Maybe that’s just the English major in me.
I’ve heard about this for quite some time but have never seen it before–HILARIOUS.
Incidentally, on my tours at the National Yiddish Book Center, I always mention the charming anecdote about Sholom Aleichem, author of Tevye der Milkhiger, upon which Fiddler on the Roof is based. The book was so popular when it was first published that it was translated into many different languages, one of which was Japanese. It gained such a following in Japan that Sholom Aleichem went to visit Japan, on a book tour. When his Japanese readership saw the author, they were in shock.
“There’s no way this story could have been written by a Jew,” they said. “It’s so Japanese!”
This has been floating around for years. I remember when I first saw it, I was totally stunned.
Yeah, I’ve heard about it too, and I’m somewhere between amused and intrigued. Bothersome that they had co-ed dancing in the opening scene, though… that’s so central to the theme later on. Maybe that’s just the English major in me.