When he was a young reporter, writing
for the Straits Times on the Korean War,
my brother-in-law was based in Japan.
His girlfriend, Itsuko by name, taught him
certain refinements concerning hygiene
that had not been part of his upbringing:
for example, to dry between his toes.
Sometimes I embarrass friends by asking
if they include this in their own routine –
although that implies a further question:
do they, in the first place, wash between them?
Apparently not everybody does.
