Foreword -- Contents -- Introduction -- 1: The Kata Factor: Japan's Secret Weapon -- Mental Training -- The Shikata of Harmony -- The Feeling of Rightness -- The Uniqueness Factor -- Kata Comes First -- The Coming of Foreigners -- 2: The Kata-ization of Japan: The Way of the Gods -- The Way of Wet-rice Farming -- The Country of Wa -- The Mother Kata -- Handicrafts and Art -- Shikata of the Samurai -- Shikata of the Swords -- The Ritual of Tea -- The Shikata of Sumo -- The Shikata of Poetry -- Behind the Masks of Kabuki and Noh -- The Beauty Cult -- The Art of Bowing -- The Art of Ambiguity -- The Importance of the Apology -- Big Brother and Groupism -- The Way of Suicide -- The Kata-ized Mind -- 3: Kata in Japan Today: Continuing the Kata Culture -- The Role of Martial Arts -- Survival Linked with Kata -- The Compulsion for Quality -- Japanese-style Sincerity -- Building Trust -- Winning by the Numbers -- Traveling by the Numbers -- Reconfirming Japaneseness -- Baseball the Wa Way -- Copying as a Cultural Attribute -- Dressing the Japanese Psyche -- Cuteness and Infantilism -- The Shikata of Being Japanese -- Behind the Bamboo Curtain -- Dealing with Foreigners -- Kata in Politics -- The Layered Culture -- Becoming International -- 4: Kata in Business: Learning the Roles and Rules -- Risk Factors in Building Consensus -- Managing without Giving Orders -- The Japanese Way of Working -- The Dangers of Speaking English -- Coping with a Humble Mode -- Etiquette as a Weapon -- Avoiding Emotional Blocks -- The Kata of Rank -- Sitting in the Right Place -- Calling People Names -- Exchanging Name-cards -- The Structure of a Japanese Office -- Dealing with the Consensus Kata -- Following the Chain of Command -- Behind-the-scenes Management -- Inter-company Relations -- The Advantages of Illogical Thinking -- Designing as a Cultural Expression.

Production as a Religious Experience -- Packaging Makes Perfect -- Seeing Kata in Action -- 5: Weaknesses of the Japanese System: The New Playing Field -- Right-brain V s. Left-brain Influences -- The Downside of Speaking Japanese -- Speaking in Tongues -- Channeling Competitive Power -- Japan on "Clark's Curve" -- Waves in the World of Wa -- Personal Failings -- Might is Right -- 6: Can Japan Survive without Kata?: Japan Vs. the World -- The Dwindling Kata -- Inroads of Westernization -- Will the Japanese Remain Number Two? -- Japan Today.