Back Door Man

Here's some more information for you about Japanese culture that is probably known about, but very few people seem to know anything about it... except the Japanese, of course, who could all probably give an hour-long speech on the topic du jour... of course, it would be in Japanese, but the fact remains, the Japanese do know a lot of about themselves.

There's nothing wrong with that, of course... most Canadians probably couldn't even sing O Canada (our national anthem) without having to peek at the words written down somewhere. Sad really. Even I screwed up once when asked to sing the anthem - and for some reason immediately began singing the Star Spangled Banner (U.S. version about Canada invading their country and kicking their asses for awhile (burning down the white house) and when we thought they had enough, we left quietly, picking up our things as we left  - Canadians are very neat after all - and leaving the shell-shocked Yankees wondering just how the heck their flag was still there.... so remember the next time you hear the US anthem played for the 100th time at the Olympics - just remember that Canada Jr. kicked their butts but good, once upon a time. Hee-hee.)

Anyhow, loyal readers have all ready read about Japan's closed door policy (I will no longer write HERE for links, and will now just include it in the WORDs it relates to). At that time, it was to keep gaijin (foreigners) out and to keep the Nihonjin (Japanese people) in. I bet the U.S. wishes it had that when Canada had enough of the U.S. expansionism (54-40 or fight) a few years after we burned down the White House.

Anywho, Japan really likes doors. And who doesn't? A traditional aspect inside many Japanese homes is something called a fusuma, a sliding door that separates rooms (d'uh) that are often depicted with paintings.

The fusama are rectangular at about 90 centimetres (three-feet) wide by 180 centimtres (5'-10"-tall)... which just so happens to be the exact same size as a standard tatami grass mat. The door are no more than three-centimetres thick.

The doors are made of a wood lattice covered in corrugate (what most people call cardboard), and topped with a layer of paper or cloth on both sides. Instead of a door know, there is a round finger catch to pull the doors open via a sliding mechanism: the top rail is called the kamoi (duck's place - where you duck your head?), while the bottom rail is the shikii (I'm guessing at the meaning, but I'm figuring it means duck's ass... which is what you will land on should you fail to duck). Consider that according to my driver's license, I am 183 centimetres tall, there is always a chance I could break my shikii (or whatever the heck it means).

These fusuma doors were originally the domain of the very wealthy, then the merchants, and then the lower class, and eventually the gaijin who lived there, as they (me) desperately tried to fit in to the local culture.

The doors were hand-painted with beautiful scenes of nature - vista views, animals and mythology - the key was to make it a serene entranceway to the next room.


And, just so you know, the fusuma, the shoji (rice paper blinds), and tatami (grass mats) are the three necessities for any typical waishitsu (Japanese room). Oh yeah... you should combine it with a futon (bed roll) for optimal sleeping value, if you are seeking the total Japanese experience.

Somewhere patching a door I accidentally put my foot through,
Andrew Joseph
Today's title is performed by The Doors. And if you think it's about the back door of a house, you are sooooo wrong. Back Door Man was written by Willie Dixon for Blues legend Howlin' Wolf, and is as dirty as you want it to be.
PS: The song is about having an affair with a married woman, and using the back door to escape when the husband comes home. That's dirty, right? Hey... I jut discovered that... I thought it was about sex. So forget what I said in the paragraph just before this.