The very first time one became aware of the ubiquitous Japanese public address system was sitting inside an old farmhouse. The old black phone started to chime… ding dong ding….
One was shocked and dismayed when a large display of the controversial product RoundUp, made by Monsanto is now available at the local home center. This problematic herbicide with the active ingredient glyphosate has its fair share of detractors globally, as well as famous lawsuits related to the health risks associated with glyphosate.
The Gods of Music have anointed Ueda Hiromi as one of their own, a Goddess who now travels this mortal coil spreading joy where ever she may go. Here, exuberance exudes from her heart to all, via her Goddess-like unparalleled musical skills and divine presence.
It was just the other day when one called a dear old friend in Miura Peninsula for a catch-up after a very long time, where she confided to me that her father was actually in the 特攻隊 (tokotai - kamikaze squad).
Recently there has been some controversy concerning a decrepit, past-expiration-date politician, who has historically been looked upon by the common Japanese with palpable distaste while being widely considered somewhat of a moron.
What is the window tribe? It has to do with the corporate ladder, and the dreaded desk beside the dreary window.
Shoes On, Shoes Off/ Now, say this title again with the voice of Mr. Miyagi, the karate master to his young disciple, Daniel LaRusso, the downtrodden and bullied boy.
Putting in a lot of thought about a solar array after the typhoons (now known as Megaphoons), in September of 2019, knocked out a large swath of our prefectures electricity for a full 3 days in this area, and in some other cases for weeks.
Seeing the Japanese as katified throughout the evolution of this ancient civilization, one would have to say there are some bright spots, not only for the future of Japan, but for the shared future of an advancing civilization based upon ancient moral codes.
The deep influence of a writing system and language on a society can not be overstated. Language is a concept, and the Japanese society is built upon the constructs rooted in complex ideograms imported from China around 700 CE.
Keep in mind the social harmony one see in Japan is based upon following proper kata etiquette in daily behaviour, and remains the guiding constitution in all Japanese relationships. To understand this further one must look back into the indigenous belief system of the Japanese, known as Shintoism, and then one can see from whence this all came.
When recalling the way New Year’s Eve was celebrated so many years ago now, the images of these New Years Eve parties were very boisterous and rollicking, ringing in the Happy New Year with drink, dance, song, mirth, merriment, and gaiety.
The core principal of Japan’s kata cultural from the earliest times has been the promotion and maintenance of harmony. Personal behaviour, as well as all relationships, both private and public, was based upon strictly controlled harmony in the proper inferior-superior context of Japanese society, which continues up until this day.
One could say the most used and significant word in Japanese is shikata. In particular, and most significantly, the form and order of the process.
Having an awareness and understanding of kata is paramount to gaining comprehension of, and deal with the Japanese. The entire traditional Japanese culture, starting with personal etiquette, and then in how one learns to do all routine things in life, was, and still is based on precise kata.
Proverbs are indigenous to all cultures, and often expose the deeper roots of the philosophy and psychology of a society. Japanese culture is especially rich in kotowaza or proverbs, as Japanese culture is ancient and has been highly sophisticated for a very very long time.
Japan’s traditional etiquette continues to be one of the most structured, refined, and sophisticated patterns of behaviour ever imposed on any people. From infancy, the Japanese were trained physically and verbally on how to behave in the prescribed Japanese manner.
Watching recent events around the globe, it’s easy to see the police as adversarial, but are they? Not where I live. Called kōban in Japanese, this is a small neighbourhood police station found throughout Japan.
Like many things in Japanese culture, coming to an understand of key social concepts and the significance of their meaning to the Japanese takes intention and awareness to fully understand. One must say gaining an in-depth understanding of “kao" or "face", and the gravity of protecting one's face is of paramount importance to successfully interacting with the Japanese.
There is a specific reason why one thinks perhaps she has some kind of the special powers, as she continues to conjure up things from other worlds, and manifest them into our world. The first inkling I had that my wife was a (good) witch, is she conjured up our beautiful black cat by doing the following...
Among the most important tenants of Confucius philosophy are the obligations children owe to their parents, the young owe to their elders, students owe to their teacher, and that all people owe to their superiors. These obligations are natural and inherent.
Imagine waking up as an eight-year-old and seeing a stranger sleeping in your living room. For most, this would be a most unusual occurrence, however, not in my childhood household.
Some of the Japanese social conventions took much longer to internalize, and some of these lesson were really tough. The age old custom of the Japanese attaching the honorific san to the first and/or last names of the people one addresses is perhaps one aspect of Japanese etiquette which may seem like trivial nonsense to some foreigners.
When observing the first winter flu season in Japan, one was quite taken aback by people wearing what looked like white surgical masks. And thought, there are lots of doctors and nurses out and about today. When inquiring to a Japanese friend, as to why the citizens were wearing masks, they replied, “In this season, if you are feeling even a little unwell, you cover your face with a mask so as not to give something unwanted to anyone else”.
