John W. wrote:
> 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.

I haven't been to Britain but given how impeccable the Japanese rail system
is, I'm guessing that the pupil has basically become the master here. The
BART system here in San Francisco sure could learn a hell of a lot from the
Japanese...

Jeff