Synopsis
How to live with being a bad drunk?
That is the question.
Learning by Drinking is a 2019 book by self-professed “drunkard researcher” Kurishita Naoya. The original Japanese title, 人生で大切なことは泥酔に学んだ (Jinsei de Taisetsu na Koto wa Deisui ni Mananda), means: Everything Important About Life, I Learned From Getting Wasted.
This book contains true drunken stories, ranging from hilarious to horrifying, starring a number of Japan’s top eminent figures. Some of the country’s most influential actors and athletes; poets and politicians; writers and warriors, something they all had in common was their love of getting buzzed, blotto, blasted, befuddled, or just plain old out-of-their-mind drunk.
The thing is, though, that Japan is known as a society in which failure is not tolerated. If you happen to fall off the rails, you are pretty much done for good. One wrong move and you’re out. No second chances. Sadly, however, life doesn’t just end when you make a drunken mistake.
But there is hope.
This book’s subjects have all enjoyed success in their lives and careers despite their proclivity for getting inebriated on a regular basis—and the resulting alcohol-fueled mishaps. Somehow, against all odds, they are routinely celebrated as people of the highest acclaim in their respective fields. And so, in this book, we are simply going to study these distinguished drinkers to see what life lessons we can learn from them, and most importantly, from their approach to insobriety.
So sit up straight, and pour yourself a drink. It’s time to learn something.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Part One: Risk Management
- Part Two: Work Commuting
- Part Three: Career Advancement
- Part Four: Parties
- Part Five: Bosses
- Part Six: Health
- Fujisawa Shuko (go player)
- Umezaki Haruo (author)
- Kasai Zenzo (author)
- Fujiwara Toshio (kickboxer)
- Hara Setsuko (actress)
- Fujisawa Shuko (go player)
- Conclusion
