The Plot Thickens.

[Jellybean]

Yes, it is.

But perhaps the connection you see is not the one I see.

Homosexuality was rife among the samurai; it was a normal part of samurai life to have a male lover polish his "helmet" after a hard day's marauding.

Of course, their guys were much younger than the ones I prefer . . .

Yes, you are perfectly correct there, a447, not quite the connection I had in mind.

But, having said that, I have just finished reading, Bangkok Tattoo by John Burdett. It was recommended by the forum’s resident book reviewer, arsenal, i.e. when he’s not writing his restaurant reviews. In this, the second book in the series about the Bangkok detective, Sonchai Jitpleecheep, there is a connection to the Samurai. Without revealing too much of the story, there is a Japanese plot line and it was mentioned that homosexuality was rife amongst the Samurai, something I was previously unaware of.

So, not unusually, when I first saw the Samurai helmet, there was just a passing remembrance of that storyline and the reference to the homosexual Samurai, but not the full connection you went on to post about.

But now you have very kindly provided another very handy euphemism to spare the blushes of some of our more, er . . . conservative members. For example:

Hey young chap, me lad! While you’re down there would you mind polishing my helmet?

But in all likelihood, in reply, the young lad would probably and not unsurprisingly say, à-rai-ná? (What did you say?)

So, on second thoughts, better restrict the euphemism for inclusion in our, or more particularly, your, forum trip reports and not for general use when you’re on active duty as a cultural exchange ambassador while in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Bali, Myanmar, Singapore, Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan . . .