Hamae Tanaka, OWP 1998

 

I was born, brought up, and educated in Japanese society whose culture is based on collectivism. Generally, it is said that the Japanese language used for verbal communication is regarded as only one means of communication among many modes. On the contrary, spoken language is used as the primary means of communication in the United States.

The Japanese communication style is complicated and quite different from that of American. Indirect and non-verbal expressions are often used in our daily life. "TATEMAE" and "HONNE" are typical Japnese attitudes often used. we Japanese people are supposed to have double psychological structures. "TATEMAE" is public words or positions of the group. "HONNE" means personal true feelings or real intentions.

The concept "ENRYO" is important in understanding each other regarding individual attitudes. It is a kind of feeling of "reserve," 'modesty," "hesitation" or "restraint." We tend to avoid assertive expressions. We would highly value indirect ways to express personal opinions in order to avoid arguments. Accordingly, most of us have tendency to choose ambiguous, uncertain, questionable, indecisive, or fuzzy terms. However, it doesn't necessarily mean that we are not certain what we are talking about.

Since it is a typical Japanese way of communication to avoid conflicts, we need to guess others' real feelings from what they expressed indirectly and their attitudes. We call guessing others' true feelings and predicting their behavior "SASSHI" in Japanese. Guessing others intentions is not necessarily easy, but it is essential in communication and the mutual understandings in Japanese society. As "ENRYO" generally has specific patterns in most cases, we could learn how to guess the other's feelings while we are growing up. Because we have the habit of being sensitive to consider others' feelings or intentions when they respond to others, the other people may feel that in conversation, Japanese thinking time is extremely long, compared to the American's response time.

It will take time to understand each value of Japanese culture, such as feelings of togetherness, trust and warmth, because American culture is on the basis of individualism. In Japanese collectivistic culture, it is more important to see things as groups than as individuals. We generally see each person related to other factors, such as group membership, interests, jobs, ages, status, sexes, and so on. The sense of belonging, solidarity or togetherness are very important for the mutual understanding and to feel comfortable within the group.

Group goals often come before individual goals. When I first came to the United States and talked to my host family, they were curious about such expressions I often used, such as "WE Japanese," "OUR ...," or "in our GROUP," which we Japanese often use in Japan. I realized the difference--they seldom used such expressions. This likely has something to do with their individualistic culture.

Another concept "WA" is highly valued in Japanese society. It's origin is one of the articles in the Seventeen-Article Constitution established by Prince Shotoku, who governed the country on the basis of both Buddhism and Confucianism in the seventh century. Many of us are not fond of, or good at asserting ourselves, because patience and tolerance have been valued for centuries and cultivated within us since we were very young. It is similar to "concord" or "accord," though it is not necessarily the same. It requires us cooperation with others and the compromise of our differences. This quality is hard to interpret or explain to native English-speaking people.

The concept "WA" is very important in Japanese society. It may require us to sacrifice personal beliefs for the in-group mutual relationship. For example, if others in the group are still working after working hours, in-group members often hesitate to leave the workplace even if they have done their duty or have a personal appointment. In terms of employment, Japanese companies generally hire people without considering specific positions. After employing people, generally in big companies, the employees are frequently transferred to new assignments in which they have no experience. The level employees are promoted to depends on their ability.

Therefore, it should be hard for many employees to have a strong sense of being a specialist in a specific career. This should be deeply related to the fact that business people first introduce themselves, according to what company and departments they belong to, rather than the specifics of their job. This kind of custom has been influenced by collectivism.

In terms of the use of names, superiors call their subordinates by their family names at work. On the contrary, subordinates call their superiors by their titles, such as " Chief," "Director," "Professor," and so forth. It's very rude to call people who are older or of higher social standing than a speaker by their first names. It's one of old Japanese customs called "Respect through Avoidance of Real Name."

At school, for another example, students call their teacher "Teacher" or "Smith-Sensei" (Smith-Teacher) in the classroom. We seldom call our teachers by their first names, or with Mr. and Ms. as students do in the United States. It's almost the same at home, too. The younger children call the older siblings "Elder Brother" or "Elder Sister." On the other hand, we call our younger siblings by their first names, though the other people call, for example, your younger siblings "your Younger Brother or Sister."

I came to this country after working as a teacher in a public elementary school and junior high schools for over 20 years. Currently, I am a graduate in education at the University of Oregon. Shortly after I became a student, I was very much impressed by the American student's positive attitude towards participation in class. Their frequent comments and questions overwhelmed me. On the other hand, what first surprised and embarrassed me in the classroom was the informality of learning and teaching postures. For example, it was not unusual to see an American student sat with her right leg properly folded under her but her left leg bent up at the knee on the chair drawn up, while another student put her feet up, shoes on, directly on the chair. I also couldn't believe that students drank coffee in class, either. Furthermore, I was extremely shocked to see a student begin to eat in class. I seldom have had that kind of informality at school in Japan.

Time sense and the sense of politeness vary considerably. I suppose the aspect of seeing things is different. For example, even though I recognize that I can make comments and ask anything in class, it is extremely hard for me to say something in class, because I cannot guess the pause between the statements. There's another example. I've never seen American students express their apology to the instructor when they came into the classroom late. Students on campus seem not to feel sorry about being late for the class. On the other hand, in Japan, punctuality is very important. If I am late for the class, I generally enter the room through a back door. I generally tell the instructor the reason and apologize for coming late. And then, I bend myself forward to get to my seat without making a noise, and take my seat. However, I realized that Japanese politeness might have hindered American students from continuing to study and made them feel uncomfortable.

I tend to compare education in the United States with my experience in Japanese education, and worry which criteria I should apply to my judgments. Although I began to have coffee in class, I could not feel good about my behavior for a while. Even now, I cannot eat something of my own while others are studying in the classroom. Obviously, my feelings still remain influenced by the Japanese standard value. However, it is not simply what is good or bad; I think we must understand everything in the context of a culture as a whole.

The real life, customs, attitudes, habits, stereotypes, and so forth as I experience in this country, was the very thing I couldn't learn from books. I found many misunderstandings while living in the United States. Staying for a month or so several times was quite different from living my own life. What caused difficulty and struggle in my life was the great difference in attitudes based on collectivism in Japan and individualism in the United States.

I would need a great deal of time to be more accustomed to the different culture. However, I am now curious about how my adjustment to American culture should affect me if I need to readjust myself to Japanese culture. It is quite tough to try hard to adapt and balance cultural values between the differences.

My experience in the United States made me very skeptical, but I am quite sure that my experience with my children in the United States would be my greatest treasure nevertheless.