Japan and the West: The Perception Gap by Keizo Nagatani David W. Edgington

Author:Keizo Nagatani, David W. Edgington [Keizo Nagatani, David W. Edgington]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780429814785
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 43329236
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 1998-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Perceptual distancing between interdependence and independence

Reference to the relative value or de-emphasis on individualism and interdependency can be utilized to help explain the differential resolution of family conflicts in these two films, as well as the gap between the North American interpretation and its re-definition in Japan.3 The Euro-American tradition defines the individual as an independent and autonomous unit of action within any social group. The ability to act independently, and with self-reliance is highly valued, while great emphasis is placed on individual freedom of choice. In Kramer vs. Kramer the necessity of the individual to strive for self-actualization, self-fulfillment, and freedom of choice is recognized. When other relationships prevent or destroy this possibility the act of separation is not only validated but in a sense applauded as an essential step toward further individuation and self-actualization. Kramer vs. Kramer esteems individuation and the successful attempt of the two marriage partners to separate.

Japanese society does not place the same value on separation and individuation. In Japan, high cultural value is placed on group-oriented behaviour as opposed to the Western ideal of individualism and self-reliance; the needs of the network frameworks within which people find themselves take precedence over individualistic needs and goals. According to Nakane, 'the Japanese ethics puts high value on the harmonious integration (wa) of group members' (Nakane, 1970, p. 49). Minami Hiroshi (Minami, 1953, 1980) emphasized the central role of giri (duty or obligation) in defining Japanese morality. Minami perceives giri as codes of behaviour that define relationships between people, and according to which proper behaviour varies with each circumstance depending on the relationships of those involved.

Socialization for this stronger collective orientation and situational ethic, means that the Japanese sense of individual self-identity may not be as rigidly defined as it is for Euro-Americans. The Japanese word for 'myself is jibun, literally meaning 'my part', suggesting some larger whole. The Japanese scholar Mori Joji tried to capture the difference between the Japanese and Western sense of self by comparing egos to eggs. Mori (1977) characterized the Japanese personality as a 'shell-less egg' (karanashi tamago). As 'shell-less eggs' Japanese have some awareness of a sense of an individual self but it is defined by the soft fluid membrane found just under the shell of an egg, in contrast to the outer hard shell of the egg which forms the boundary for the Western sense of self. The parameters of the Japanese sense of self are therefore more flexible, changing over time, and more readily merging with others.

Hamaguchi finds it so difficult to speak of a Japanese person's sense of self in the highly coded term 'individual' (whether the English word, or the equally coded, most frequently used Japanese translation kojin) that he created a new word to define the Japanese sense of self. Hamaguchi (1982, 1985) took the Japanese word for person, or human being, ningen, a combination of two characters already suggesting a person in society, flips the characters and utilizing alternate readings created the new Japanese word, kanjin, or 'person in a context.

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