The Search for One Answer; A Japundit Editoral
For the last month, I have been doing what every man secretly or not-so-secretly fears the most. Living with my mother in law.
I actually quite like her. Kazuko is her name. To describe her, I would say simply that she is a very dignified woman with poise and refinement. A very quiet but world class woman, whose brother was once the Deputy Prime Minister of Japan no less.
But today during a conversation with my esteemed mother in law, I think that I may have learned the most important lesson of all. Something rather unexpected considering I can’t recall her ever once giving me any advice or passing on any knowledge as such.
You see in all my years of researching and living in Japan and being immersed in Japanese culture, and there have been more then a couple I can assure you, I always found myself seeking a clear and definitive answer, One Answer, for any question or situation. Here’s what I mean…
“How do I say (____) in Japanese?” There must only be one correct way and thats what I’ll learn.
“What should I do in this situation when I’m in Japan?” There must only be one correct way and thats what I’ll learn.
“Do Japanese people like the South Koreans?“, There must only be one correct answer for this.
“Is it ok in Japanese culture for women to sell their bodies?” There must only be one correct answer for this.
“Do Japanese people eat with their eyes closed?” (ok this last one is a joke but you get where I’m going with this.)
With all my books read, with all my time spent on the streets of Kyoto and all the conversations over endless supply of Sake, Shochu and foaming beer from the tap with my friends in tokyo, it took two cups of tea and an hour of speaking with my mother in law to learn perhaps the most fundamental principle of the Japanese way of life:
“There is no One Answer for Anything Japanese. Understanding this is to understand the soul of the Japanese culture. Past and present.”
Somehow hearing this tidbit of information during a rare moment of openess with a woman I have rarely taken the time to speak to before has helped me to understand a little bit better the hearts of a people both strange and familiar to me and the culture of a country I call my second home.
Well, duhhhh….:neutral:
November 16th, 2006 at 2:46 pmI’m surprised you’re surprised she said that.
November 16th, 2006 at 3:48 pmI’d say that about my own culture too. Except that there isn’t an international air of mystique and hidden meaning ascribed to my culture, of course.
Yeah I was actually suprised and I guess that just shows the level of stupidity. Its the most obvious thing in the world and probably the most simplest.
I dunno why I didn’t catch on earlier.
One thing to add though… It sure makes doesn’t make it any easier to grasp the culture!
November 16th, 2006 at 9:24 pmIf only this sentiment could be universally posted on all message boards as a “sticky” topic.
November 17th, 2006 at 1:18 amI’m with overoften. Replace “Japanese” with any culture of your choice and you will still have a truism. Human nature is all about amibiguity.
November 17th, 2006 at 9:37 amYeah I think you might be right… Human nature is rather ambiguous isn’t it? I think the Japanese culture may perhaps have a leg up but when it all comes down to it, we’re all pretty much screwed up!
November 17th, 2006 at 9:59 amWell, except that you don’t have all the varieties of “no” in other cultures that you do in Japanese.
I mean, there really isn’t just one way to say no, so in that, Alex’s mother in law is right. (At which point, I expect someone to say, “No she’s not) . . .
November 17th, 2006 at 10:25 amRegarding what Charles said, I think this particular statement is a big deal because the Japanese are widely perceived as more “together” than other cultures, leading to many poorly-researched articles making broad generalizations about the nation and culture as a whole. Throw in the fact that one narrow section of the culture is over-represented in things like anime and you have widespread misconceptions about Japan.
November 18th, 2006 at 6:18 amI want to expand my earlier comment.
Culture isn’t born into us. It’s learned. So anything in life can influence your own culture. Culture changes over time. People living in the same areas have similar values and beliefs because they’ve been taught by the same people and had similar experiences.
But every individual also perceives their own culture differently. Culture is shared generally by groups of people, but everyone really has their own unique “culture”.
The thing about Japan is that it has so much history and culture that we can experience, study and easily identify.
We trick ourselves into thinking we can actually understand “Japanese culture”, when all we can every really do is understand individuals.
Everyone’s the same, but different.
Whooooo… spooky!
November 20th, 2006 at 8:27 pmNot suprising you were confused, because we, as foreigners, are constantly told “ware ware nihonjin …” We Japanese do this/like this/believe this. It’s drilled into them and into us.
March 9th, 2007 at 1:10 pmThe truth of the matter though, is that everyone in Japan has different ideas. There is no more homogeneity here than anywhere else.