Japanese Author Recounts Steve Jobs' Affection for Japan

Japanese writer Hayashi Nobuyuki has penned an insightful reflection on the life and legacy of Steve Jobs from a most original perspective - the late Apple CEO's fascination with and affinity for Japan and the Japanese culture.

A comprehensive article published today by Japanese news site Nippon.com goes into great detail with regard to how all elements of Japan (from its good people to its finest culinary staples) exerted influence on Jobs' life, both personally and professionally.

Jobs’s exacting craftsmanship, which regarded simplicity as a virtue and insisted on a perfectionist attention to detail, won Apple a particularly enthusiastic following in Japan. And the CEO himself maintained a great fondness for Japan throughout his life.

It has been well documented that Jobs was a Japanese Zen Buddhist. But, according to Nobuyuki, Jobs' "first point of contact with Japan was Zen. Put up for adoption as an infant, he embarked on a lengthy search for himself as a young man. For a time, he even underwent ascetic training in India."

Just how fond of Japan was Jobs? Despite his well-known stubbornness, Japanese food made Jobs weak in the knees. "Soba noodles and sushi were particular favorites," Nobuyuki writes, noting that Jobs had been a fruitarian (someone who only eats fruit) in his early years and remained a strict vegan for the remainder of his life. But he always "made an exception for Japanese food."

To read the very interesting article in full, click here.

Source: Nippon