Some books enlighten us by aging badly. James A. Michener's novel "Sayonara," first published in 1953 and made into a film starring Marlon Brando four years later, has been dismissed as an example of Orientalist fantasy, with its gushing about the perfect wives that Western men find in Japan. Still, it reveals how much Japanese-Western relationships have evolved, and it's surprising what still rings true today — beyond the spousal back rubs and cringe-worthy accents.