John W. wrote:
> necoandjeff wrote:
> 
>> Does anyone know the origin of driving on the left side of the street in
>> Japan? I seem to recall hearing from someone a long time ago (it may have
>> even been my Iaido buddies) that it was actually an established custom 
>> long
>> before automobiles, and that passing on the left had to do with drawing
>> one's sword (if you were to pass on the right it would be difficult to 
>> draw
>> your sword and strike in the event you are attacked since you draw 
>> from left
>> to right.) A friend, on the other hand, seems to think it was a more 
>> recent
>> development and had to do with an early association between Japan and
>> British motor car companies. I did a quick Google search and didn't 
>> come up
>> with much.
>>
> Did a Yahoo! search for [japan driving on the left why] (no brackets), 
> and came up with ample results. The first one I checked out was 
> Japan-Guide, which led to http://www.2pass.co.uk/japan.htm. Confirms the 
> samurai theory, with some historical notes from folks who witnessed the 
> behavior.
> 
Note that the above site also mentions that Japan got their rail system 
from the UK, and that enforced the previous samurai behavior. Somehow 
the notion that the British rail system is more efficient is... interesting.

John W.