I want to become Japanese

This is a translation of a Japanese T-Shirt I have.

I have a fascination Japanese culture, especially classical Japanese culture.

I suppose it started when I read James Clavell's 'Shogun' as a teenager and then I got that adolescent fascination with ninja and martial arts and so on, but there's more to it than that. Traditional Japanese culture is both very alien to the West, complex and highly refined.

It's influenced by Zen of course, which I have a special fascination with. And it is the birthplace of Akira Kurosawa, one of the greatest film directors - or even one of the greatest story-tellers - of all time.

What with being a father and saving to buy a house, incredible as it sounds, I've yet to visit Japan in person - although its certainly high on my 'To do' list.