ボイエ?デイ?メンテ- Mentor Memory

Boye Lafayette DeMente was literally born in a “holler” in Missouri without roads, much less indoor plumbing and electricity. From a very humble start he went on to have and eclectic, exotic and important impact on the world.

His name may not be as renowned as some other Japan scholars such as Reischauer, Van Wolferen or Keene. However if you had travelled to Japan from Europe or North America by ship in the 1960s, by a slow plane ride requiring a refuel once or twice in the 70s and even during the 80s 'bubble economy' when Japan seemed to be taking over the world, chances are you read one of Boye’s books on the way. He was a key author on the topic of how to do business in Japan and Japanese culture during the period when the world embraced Japan as a key G7 nation.

He also authored some of the seminal pocket books on the Tokyo subway and train systems including its complex system of exits. This was years before Google Maps and other Apps negated any need to ask for help at the wicket or koban.

In the 1990s some of his older titles (for example “Some Prefer Geisha: The Lively Art of Mistress-Keeping in Japan”) were attacked under modern political correctness with the suggestion that he was no champion of women’s’ rights or perpetuated stereotypes. Hilarious. Even a cursory look at the body of his work and articles demonstrate he had more than mild disregard and trepidation for big government, organized religion and rule by males in general. He was a free and liberal thinker, way ahead of his time.

Boye often expressed some chagrin that short ‘monkey works’ with quirky titles like “Bachelor’s Japan” outsold his scholarly textbooks that required years of research. However, he was a businessman who understood marketing well and kept his brand balanced between a variety of subjects and intensity. In this sense, he was able to not take himself too seriously, something few scholars can manage.

When I was a young graduate student in Phoenix, I used some of his books for a Japan related research project. A dust cover stated that he lived in Arizona. I actually looked Boye up in the phone book and wrote a note to ask some additional questions. He contacted me and suggested, "why don't you just come by the house". It was quite a surprise for me, having discovered a number of his books on Japan and assuming he was a famous author, mysterious Japan guru, probably far away and hard to reach. I always appreciated that he took the time to meet me with no possible benefit for him.?Of course I had no idea that he would become my good friend for the rest of his life.?

Boye provided me with a number of ideas and?contacts as to how to develop a career in Japan when we met. After I returned to Japan, we got together for a meal whenever he would make business trips to Tokyo or I visited Phoenix.

Aside from being a really great guy and demonstrating extreme humility in regards to the valuable resources he created through his writing and the business and cultural understanding he fostered between Japan, the USA and the state of Arizona, he always impressed me with how interested and curious he remained about Japan long after he could have easily felt he knew enough and sat on his laurels.?

Boye died at age 88 earlier this summer. I will miss him dearly.

Photos: A shrine in Akasaka, Boye in his Paradise Valley, AZ kitchen.

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