Boyé Lafayette De Mente (November 12, 1928 – May 12, 2017) was an American author, journalist, and adventurer who wrote more than 100 books mainly related to the culture of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and the

Japanese language is the principal language of the Japonic languages, Japonic language family spoken by the Japanese people. It has around 123 million speakers, primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language, and within the Japanese dia ...

. He also wrote widely of

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

as well as

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Early life and education

De Mente was born November 12, 1928, in Mayberry,

Reynolds County, Missouri Reynolds County is a county located in the Ozark Foothills Region in the Lead Belt of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,096. Its county seat is Centerville. The county was officially organized on February 25, 1845, and w ...

. He attended and graduated from McKinley High School in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

Career

From 1946 to 1948, he served in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

as a

cryptographer Cryptography, or cryptology (from "hidden, secret"; and ''graphein'', "to write", or '' -logia'', "study", respectively), is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of adversarial behavior. More gen ...

based in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

After that, he joined the U.S. Army Security Agency (1948–1952) and was sent to

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

to work as a decoding technician. During his tenure with the agency, he founded and edited ''The ASA Star'', an agency newspaper.https://www.facebook.com/CulturalGuru During the 1950s, De Mente served in a variety of editorial positions with publications based in Tokyo, including ''Preview Magazine,'' ''Far East Traveler,'' and ''

The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...

''. In 1987, he became Associate Publisher of the Tokyo Journal, Japan's oldest English magazine sold globally. Together with Editor Glenn Davis, they made Tokyo Journal the first publication in Japan to produce a magazine on a computer from scratch using

Apple Macintosh Mac is a brand of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 1984. The name is short for Macintosh (its official name until 1999), a reference to the McIntosh (apple), McIntosh apple. The current product lineup inclu ...

computers. He later returned as a regular contributor to the Tokyo Journal, which continues to print articles he left to the magazine in tribute to him. He also acted as an extra in a number of Japanese films in the early 1950s. In 1957, he accompanied the Australian adventurer

Ben Carlin Frederick Benjamin Carlin (27 July 1912 – 7 March 1981) was an Australian adventurer who was the first person to Circumnavigation, circumnavigate the world in an amphibious vehicle. Born in Northam, Western Australia, Carlin attended Gu ...

on the Tokyo–

Anchorage Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolita ...

leg of his

circumnavigation Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical object, astronomical body (e.g. a planet or natural satellite, moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first circumnaviga ...

of the world, together with Carlin becoming the first to cross the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

via an

amphibious vehicle An amphibious vehicle (or simply amphibian) is a vehicle that works both on land and on or under water. Amphibious vehicles include amphibious Amphibious cycle, bicycles, Amphibious ATV, ATVs, Amphibious automobile, cars, Duckboats, buses, truc ...

.PAIR TRY TO DRIVE PACIFIC
– ''The Sunday Sun''. Published 11 June 1957. Retrieved 2 October 2012. De Mente subsequently graduated from Jochi University in Tokyo, and The American Institute for Foreign Trade (now

Thunderbird School of Global Management The Thunderbird School of Global Management (or simply Thunderbird) is a global leadership, management, and business school at Arizona State University, a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. It was founded in 1946 as an i ...

) in Glendale, Arizona.

Death

Boyé Lafayette De Mente died May 12, 2017, in

Paradise Valley, Arizona Paradise Valley is a desert and mountain town in Arizona east of state capital Phoenix. The town is known for its golf courses, spectacular mountain views, numerous upscale resorts and restaurants, natural beauty with desert landscaping and gor ...

. He was 88.

Published works

*''Behind the Japanese Bow'' Passport Books; First edition 1993. . *''The Japanese Have a Word for It: The Complete Guide to Japanese Thought and Culture'' *''Etiquette Guide to Japan: Know the Rules...that Make the Difference'' . *''Women of the Orient: Intimate Profiles of the World's Most Feminine Women'' (Rutland, Vermont and Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Co., 1992) *''Some Prefer Geisha: The Lively Art of Mistress-Keeping in Japan'' (Tokyo: The Wayward Press, 1966) *''The Chinese Have a Word for It : The Complete Guide to Chinese Thought and Culture'' . *''Samurai Strategies: 42 Martial Secrets from Musashi's Book of Five Rings '' 2005 Tuttle Publishing *''There's a Word for It in Mexico'' (Lincolnwood, Illinois: NTC Publishing Group, 1996) *''Japan's Cultural Code Words: 233 Key Terms That Explain the Attitudes and Behavior of the Japanese'' 2004 Tuttle Publishing *''The Japanese Samurai Code: Classic Strategies For Success'' 2005 Tuttle Publishing, *''Japan Made Easy'' (New York:

McGraw-Hill McGraw Hill is an American education science company that provides educational content, software, and services for students and educators across various levels—from K-12 to higher education and professional settings. They produce textbooks, ...

, 1996) *''Kata: The Key To Understanding & Dealing with The Japanese!'' 2003 Tuttle Publishing *''Instant Japanese: How To Express 1,000 Different Ideas With Just 100 Key Words and Phrases! '' 2003 Tuttle Publishing, *''Sex and the Japanese: The Sensual Side of Japan'' (Rutland, Vermont and Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, 2006) *''Etiquette Guide to Korea'' (North Claredon, Vermont: Tuttle Publishing, 2008) . *''Eros' Revenge: The Brave New World of American Sex'' Phoenix Books 1979, . *''SABURO: The Saga of a Teenage Samurai in 17th Century Japan'' 2008 Phoenix Books *''America's Famous Hopi Indians: Their Spiritual Way of Life & Incredible Prophecies'', Phoenix Books, 2010, *''ARIZONA'S LORDS OF THE LAND! – he Culture, History & Wisdom of the Navajo Indians' Phoenix Books, 2010, *''Visitors' Guide to Arizona's Indian Reservations'', Phoenix Books, 2010, *''THE GRAND CANYON ANSWER BOOK! – Everything You Might Want to Know and Then Some!'', Phoenix Books, 2009, *''Amazing Arizona!: Fascinating Facts, Legends & Tall Tales!'' (Phoenix, Arizona: Phoenix Books/Publishers, 2010) *''WHICH SIDE OF YOUR BRAIN AM I TALKING TO? – The Advantages of Using Both Sides of Your Brain'', Phoenix Books, 2009, *''WHY THE JAPANESE ARE A SUPERIOR PEOPLE!'' Phoenix Books, 2009, *''Mistress-Keeping in Japan!: The Pitfalls & the Pleasures'' (Phoenix, Arizona: Phoenix Books/Publishers, 2009) *''Samurai Principles & Practices That Will Help Preteens & Teens in School, Sports, Social Activities & Choosing Careers'', Phoenix Books, 2009, *''AMAZING JAPAN! – Why Japan is One of the World's Most Intriguing Countries!'' (Phoenix, Arizona: Phoenix Books, 2009) *''Exotic Japan!: The Sensual & Visual Pleasures'' (Phoenix, Arizona: Phoenix Books, 2009) *''THE ORIGINS OF HUMAN VIOLENCE! – Male Dominance, Ignorance, Religions & Willful Stupidity!'', Phoenix Books, 2010, *''Bridging Cultural Barriers in China, Japan, Korea and Mexico'', Phoenix Books, 2009, *''The Bizarre & the Wondrous from the Land of the Rising Sun!'' Phoenix Books, 2010, *''THE MEXICAN MIND! – Understanding & Appreciating Mexican Culture!'', Phoenix Books, 2011, *''Japan: Understanding & Dealing With the New Japanese Way of Doing Business!'', Phoenix Books, 2012, *''WHY IGNORANCE, STUPIDITY AND VIOLENCE PLAGUE MANKIND!'', Phoenix Books, 2010, *''WHY ORIENTAL GIRLS ATTRACT WESTERN MEN! – The Erotic Side of the Orient!'', Phoenix Books, 2009, *''ONCE A FOOL! – From Japan to Alaska by Amphibious Jeep!'', Phoenix Books, 2009, *''China: Understanding & Dealing with the Chinese Way of Doing Business!'', Phoenix Books, 2012, *"''HE INCREDIBLE POWER OF SERENDIPITY – Highlights of an Uncommon Life! A Very Personal Memoir'', Phoenix Books, 2012, *''JAPAN A New Way of Getting the Most Out of a Japan Experience!'', Phoenix Books, 2012,

References

External links

Boye De Mente
goodreads.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Mente, Boye Lafayette De Living people Writers from Phoenix, Arizona American emigrants to Japan American non-fiction writers American male journalists American expatriates in Japan Sophia University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)