Rather than make this a marathon post, I'm going to write a shorter post for each of the cities I've been to so far, and I'll have them update automatically over the next week or so. First, though, I'd like to introduce some information about Japan to help place my future posts into contexts.
I may intersperse later posts with these kinds of informational posts
I may intersperse later posts with these kinds of informational posts
Culture
I've certainly neither done enough research nor had enough experience with Japanese culture in three weeks to claim anything definitively about Japanese culture, but suffice it to say it differs from American culture in significant ways. Where America is an individualistic society, emphasizing the success of the individual--and ideally all individuals. Japan, on the other hand, is a more collectivist society, now organizing around the family unit--and interestingly, around corporations--despite previously focusing primarily on feudal ties. Japanese collectivism is aimed at producing wa or harmony, in which dispute doesn't arise. This very fundamental distinction extends beyond nominal organization and influences conceptualization, with Japanese identifying foremost with roles within groups: mother, son, employee; rather than as individuals in the western sense. These ideas seem to rise from Confucianism, which values order in society through well-defined roles, particularly based on age and family structure. As a result, Japanese society is one in which men with seniority have traditionally dominated both public and private spheres.
The emphasis on maintaining harmony creates a very polite and efficient, if slightly stiff society. Kata, which are defined customs for handling different, pre-defined situations, provide the oil to keep Japanese social interactions running smoothly, and therefore society as a whole. Here's an interesting looking book that explains kata better than I could. The somewhat mechanized approach to interface kills some of the potential of meaningful human connection, or certainly seems to from a western perspective. Japanese meaningfully differentiate between the inward self and the interactional self. While the fundamental inability to truly communicate ideas is one that has plagued philosophers of every culture, the Japanese system of acknowledging that inability seems to give power to it in a way that ensures distance between any two people, regardless of relationship. Again, I feel that I should offer a disclaimer, because much of the analysis is speculation. A seemingly well-researched and fascinating book on the subject of Japanese self can be found here.
On the bookshelf of the guesthouse at which I stayed in Kyoto, was this book, from the wonderful bilingual publishing house Kodansha. Called The Inscrutable Japanese , its table of contents included subjects like "Why won't Japanese make eye contact with me?" and "Why does everyone respond with yes all of the time?" I didn't have time to read very much, but I drew some comfort from the fact that these are prominent questions.
All of this being said, I've had the good fortune of spending time with some of the nicest, friendliest, most generous people I've ever met here in Japan. I don't intend to exoticize Japanese culture or its constituents, but merely to highlight some of the more striking and initially disorienting aspects.
That's it for my brief introduction post about culture. Look for more posts within the week. Tomorrow I'll post a very short introduction to religion in Japan, and after that I'll get to the travel stuff.
I'm also going to experiment with Twitter to see if I can't use it for shorter, more regular updates. You can find my latest tweets on the right-hand side of this page, along with a link to follow me if you're on Twitter.
Sayonara for now!
Mitchell
The emphasis on maintaining harmony creates a very polite and efficient, if slightly stiff society. Kata, which are defined customs for handling different, pre-defined situations, provide the oil to keep Japanese social interactions running smoothly, and therefore society as a whole. Here's an interesting looking book that explains kata better than I could. The somewhat mechanized approach to interface kills some of the potential of meaningful human connection, or certainly seems to from a western perspective. Japanese meaningfully differentiate between the inward self and the interactional self. While the fundamental inability to truly communicate ideas is one that has plagued philosophers of every culture, the Japanese system of acknowledging that inability seems to give power to it in a way that ensures distance between any two people, regardless of relationship. Again, I feel that I should offer a disclaimer, because much of the analysis is speculation. A seemingly well-researched and fascinating book on the subject of Japanese self can be found here.
On the bookshelf of the guesthouse at which I stayed in Kyoto, was this book, from the wonderful bilingual publishing house Kodansha. Called The Inscrutable Japanese , its table of contents included subjects like "Why won't Japanese make eye contact with me?" and "Why does everyone respond with yes all of the time?" I didn't have time to read very much, but I drew some comfort from the fact that these are prominent questions.
All of this being said, I've had the good fortune of spending time with some of the nicest, friendliest, most generous people I've ever met here in Japan. I don't intend to exoticize Japanese culture or its constituents, but merely to highlight some of the more striking and initially disorienting aspects.
That's it for my brief introduction post about culture. Look for more posts within the week. Tomorrow I'll post a very short introduction to religion in Japan, and after that I'll get to the travel stuff.
I'm also going to experiment with Twitter to see if I can't use it for shorter, more regular updates. You can find my latest tweets on the right-hand side of this page, along with a link to follow me if you're on Twitter.
Sayonara for now!
Mitchell
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