"Oh, like the Kojiki," said Hagakure. "That's an ancient text that explains how Japan was formed out of the sea and the birth of the gods. You have that stuff too? Neat."

Neat.

"Oh yeah, I'm from Japan, it's a bunch of islands in the middle of the ocean. I'm from the Tohoku region of the main island of Honshu. It's really nice. We get a lot of snow in the winter."