The train clanked and rattled down the tracks one lazy summer afternoon as I traveled from Kyoto to Tokyo. My car was relatively empty — a few housewives with children in tow and a few older folks going to or returning from shopping. At one station the doors opened and suddenly the quiet of the afternoon was shattered by a man who began to bellow violence and incomprehensible curses. The man was big, drunk, and filthy. As he yelled, he swung at a woman carrying a baby. The blow sent the woman into the lap of an older couple; it was a miracle that the child was not injured. The couple quickly moved away, leading the man to follow, but he stopped short and began to again scream profanities. I could see that the man's hands were cut and bleeding. As the train lurched forward, all the passenge…