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In my newspaper column some months ago, I reprinted a short essay on youth by Samuel Ullman, an author unknown to me. Then I got a call from Ullman's great-grandson, Richard Ullman Rosenfield, a psychologist. He told me that he had beenintrigued（好奇的）with the "spiritual journey" of the essay, especially in Japan. Gen. Douglas MacArthur, I learned, often quoted Ullman's "Youth" essay and kept a framed copy over his desk throughout the Pacific campaign. It's believed that the Japanese picked up the work from his Tokyo headquarters. Unlikely as it may sound, this essay, written more than 70 years ago, is the underpinning of much Japanese productivity and the basis of many businessmen's life philosophies. Many carrycreased（有折痕的）copies in their wallets. "Anyone worth his salt in Japanese business knows and uses this essay," says one longtime Japan observer, "It is our Popeye'sspinach（菠菜）," said Tatsuro Ishida, who was deputy chairman of Fujisankei Communications Group. "It touches me at the core of my heart," says Kokichi Hagiwara, the 67-year-old chairman of Japanese/American-owned National Steel in Pittsburgh. "This kind of enthusiasm is indispensable, We must have the spirit of youth to make change." Some Japanese leaders see the essay as a bridge between the two cultures, If Westerners can understand Japanesereverence（崇敬）for it, maybe they can better understand the Japanese businessman's quest for spiritual sustenance in the midst of material abundance. | 
