The Decay of the Angel - Yukio Mishima

17
HONDA CHOSE a day late in October for Tōru’s
first lesson in foreign table manners. The small parlor
was set for a banquet in the French style, complete
with caterer and butler, and Tōru wore a new navyblue
suit. He was informed that he must sit well back
in the chair and bring it close to the table, that he must
not put his elbows on the table or lean too low over his
soup, and that he must keep his arms close to his
sides. There followed instructions in the disposition of
the napkin and the taking of the soup, with the spoon
tilted toward the mouth for purposes of avoiding
noise. Tōru followed all the instructions carefully,
repeating over and over again sequences that did not
come easily.
“Foreign table manners may seem a trifle stupid,”
said Honda, “but when they come in an easy, natural
way they give a person a sense of security. Evidence
of good breeding gives a person status, and by good
breeding in Japan we mean a familiarity with the
Western way of doing things. We find the pure
Japanese only in the slums and in the underworld, and
may expect them to be more and more narrowly