Glossary, Overview, and Essay: Japanese Life and Culture

Compiled by Greg McCulley, 19 September 98

            Kuni-during the late Yayoi period, the basic community system of Japan that is described in The History of Wei.� Kuni are significant because they represent the emergence of a more organized political unit than had existed before;� though Kuni were comprised of a single family for leadership, but were the primary political and socio-economic units for a given geographic area which a given Kuni controlled.� There were about 100 of these, each with their Uji-gami (god) that served as protector. By 297 AD, most of the Kuni had been consolidated into around 30 Kuni (by way of conquest and consolidation), and later became subordinated to the Yamato clan, the foundation of what would become the Japanese state.

          Uchi/Soto- Uchi means inside; soto means outside.� These terms also refer to the Japanese social awareness of membership/nonmembership in various groups. If one is uchi, the group provides security and a form of shelter from all who are soto, or outside the group.� This cultivates an us/them mentality.� In other contexts, uchi refers to cleanliness and safety, while soto connotes dirty, unclean, and unsafe.� A tangible example of uchi in some social strata would be the use of toilet slippers before entering a toilet room.� Those are mean only for use in that room.

          Giri/On-� Giri is the sense of obligation, of honor to a higher person or to repay a debt in kind.� On strictly defined is the benevolence of a lord, leader, parent, but also refers to the debt, both social and psychological, to one?s superiors and ancestors.� Socially, giri is the obligation to repay a gift with a gift, a favor with a favor, of equal or greater value.� This breeds the national passion for gift-giving, and it is a fully integrated part of Japanese culture.� On, with its connotations a little more abstract, places one in a position of inferiority to those who are positioned higher than one in a profession, in education, or in the community structure;� to ignore On (which is often compared to filial piety) is to be on-shirazu, not knowing one?s debt.

          Bansho Shirabeshoo- (1877) Literally, the institute for the study of barbarian books, this school became Todai, or Tokyo University.� Bansho Shirabeshoo taught military science, natural science, medical science and language translation.� It is significant because it represents the change in Japan to learn as much about the West as possible in order to compete with it, or at least survive its arrival (Commodore Perry and gunboat diplomacy).

           Honne/tatemae-Honne means private feelings, tatemae means the public posture.� In Japan, these two are opposites and an active part of social interaction.� In Japan, one strives to suppress one's honne, to restrain and control it.� While the tatemae is what one shows to the world, the fa�ade, the "face" that one must exhibit in order to maintain harmony.� The balance of these (or, the imbalance really;� the subjugation of tatemae over honne) is a cornerstone of Japanese interpersonal communication in society.

           Group hierarchy/relativity-group hierarchy refers to the inter- and intra-group ranking of relationships.� Relativity refers to how some aspects of culture are not always universal, but situational.� Hierarchy in Japan goes back far into her history, rooted in a long past of hereditary rule.� Today, there is hierarchy in almost all relationships.� Arts, schools, clubs, leaders in clubs, length of time as a member of a club, all these contribute to the structure of ranking relationships with a larger hierarchy in Japan, and as a part of maintaining tatemae, one must observe these rules.� Relativism refers to how, in a society rooted in groupism, sometimes other aspects of culture must be subordinated to the group relationships or requirements.� Therefore, things like ethics must be relative in modern Japanese society.

       Meiji Civil Code of 1898 - �a collection of laws drafted 30 years after the Meiji restoration to instill order in the country against the backdrop of "catch-up with the West", an important national objective of the Meiji period.� Some provisions of the code include:� women became the legal dependants of men, men owned all property, women had very little recourse in divorce, adultery applied really only to women, and men could engage a concubine for the purposes of offspring production. The Code really codified of much of the Ie family system that was already in common practice.

         Kokutai no Hongi - ��Kokutai means national policy, so the Kokutai no Hongi represented the cardinal principles of the national entity of Japan, and it taught Japan's character and divine mission.� It also reinforced the Emperor's direct rule over his subjects and its purpose was to combat the social unrest caused by Western influence.

         History of Wei - the first dynastic history of Japan, written the early 1st century AD, during the late Yayoi period.� This work describes the land that the Chinese encountered upon their visit to Japan, and provides us with our knowledge of the land and people of early Japan during that period.

         Shijuku - private academy, of the 5 major types of educational constructs or methods, the shijuku can be said to be the most truly a private academy.� Existing during the Tokugawa period, these schools were located in the instructor's home, and the curriculum was based on the knowledge and experiences of the instructor.� Shijuku were found mostly in cities.

      Japan's continental contact came though Kyushu in southern Japan, which is a short distance over water to the southern tip of the Korean peninsula.� During the Yayoi period, after the collapse of the Chou Dynasty and the expansion of the Chin/Han Dynasties (all of China), more contact with mainland peoples occurred.� They brought with them different pottery methods and new metallurgy techniques.� Most importantly was the introduction of wet rice (paddy rice) to Japan.� This expansion added to the population and diffused the indigenous culture.� With more people, better food, and better tools, the transition to an agrarian society occurred.� Also from the mainland came a way to manage this new society: land segmentation, allowing for smarter use of the land.� All this caused migration back to the inland areas, and later into the Kanto region, where the Yamatai culture developed later.

         Groupism is an intrinsic part of life in Japan, and the constructs of its incorporation dictate many of the behaviors of the Japanese.� Some attributes and functions of groups are:� a) there are no absolutes about groups;� b) groups are the focus of most socialization, rather than in the West, where focus is on the individual;� c) groupism begins during kindergarten, with sharing of tasks and group duties;� d) group members are generally warm and personal with one another, and there is a definite division between members and nonmembers (uchi/soto);� e)� internal group cohesion is maintained by competition with rival groups for resources.� This groupism affects behavior in that for the Japanese, membership in the group is the center of one's life, not necessarily in being the leader of that group.� Members of groups are often similar, be it uniforms, artistic tastes, or occupation, and therefore this sameness is reinforced via social interaction. As a result, groupism is the basis of socialization in Japan.

            There arose a domestic conflict in Japan in the late 19th century as Japan struggled to "catch-up" with the West.� There were two sides to this conflict:� a liberal side that wanted to adopt Western ideas and new thought, and a conservative side that sought to re-infuse traditional Confucian values into society.� The leadership at the time used education as one of its means to reassert more control over society and restore order.� The Establishment Period of educational development in Japan (1868-1885) saw an attempt by the government to increase control over schools; one had to get permission first at a local office.� To focus this control to the needs of the government, the Education Ministry was established, and the Education Order was published in 1872 that established the mandatory 4 years of schooling rule.� This higher degree of control by the Meiji government was directed at a form of socialization which would take what it could from the West, whilst creating loyal, educated subjects to the Emperor.

          The significance of the Education Order of 1872.� The EO 72 was published by the Ministry of Education to modernize Japan?s prior method of education, and to administer compulsory education laws (4 years minimum at the start).� It represented a shift in leadership to a more structured educational system, and took over the 5 older, inconsistent systems. The purpose of the order was to make Japan competitive and viable in the world she found herself in late 19th century, and yet still create loyal subjects to the throne of Japan.�

           With the Education Order of 1872, more control was exerted by the government in schooling.� The infrastructure of the 5 older systems was turned into a foundation for the new school system.� As a matter of fact, in order to make this change work, the old systems had to be utilized.� 256 middle schools arose, and the terakoya, gogaku, and shijuku were used to form the basis of 53,700 primary schools.� In 1877, Tokyo University was established.� The backdrop for all this was the Meiji leadership's attempt to get Japan on even footing with the rest of the world, notably the West.� Industry had to be developed;� a formidable military had to be formed;� an effectual means of governance had to be trained the next generation;� in short, Japan took what she needed from the West in order to survive the coming of the West.� From France, centralized administration education was adopted, and from the US, the 3-level school phase system was taken.

        The  historical roles and function of the Ie.� The ie refers to the traditional unit of legal, economic, and political activity, and the family-like management of towns and businesses.� Ie were larger than just families, though.� They included any splinter groups that were needed to extent the Ie's business or holdings to another town, and also could include local business partners.� It is formed around a core family, with the splinter groups being referred to as bunke.� The Ie is an important part of Japanese history in that it dominated much of the way of life for many years, especially in rural areas where an Ie would be in total control of an area.� The leader, more like a manager than a king, was like a step-father to all the apprentices under his control.� In this capacity, the Ie was the principal unit of professional association and employment.� In 1947 these groups were abolished by the new constitution, although some Ie survive in areas that have certain, limited clientele, or in occupations that are handed down by generations, such as crafts, farming, and the clergy.

������� The Jomon Period, from 10,000 BC to 300 BC, is divided into 6 subperiods:� incipient, initial, early, middle, late, and final.� Those people who lived in Japan at the beginning of the Jomon were normally characterized by a lifestyle of hunting, gathering, and the beginnings of pottery making.� The name Jomon comes from the type of cord-marked pottery made by these people.�

������� The initial subperiod saw the growth of the use of marine and coastal resources.� This is evidenced by the appearance of large shellmounds of refuse shells.� We also see the development of the pit house style domicile.� Stone tools were used by these people, and they also created clay figurines.� Most of the settlement occurred along the coastlines, with a primary diet of fish.�

������� By the early subperiod, we see 2 distinct spheres of development.� There were those in the Broadleaf evergreen forests in the south, and deciduous trees to the east.� Evidence of the 2 groups lies in the differing pottery styles of the groups. This indicates little or no contact with one another.

������� As the population grew, migration occurred as a result of the need for more food.� The people moved further inland.� This was during the middle subperiod, and by the late and final, we see the introduction of a communal lifestyle.� With this, food supplies again became scarce, and migration occurred to the north and south.� This furthered regionalism between the 2 aforementioned spheres.� In the north, the culture was more ritualized and tight-knit, with the south being a more fragmented and mobile culture.� This polarization marks the end of the Jomon.

������� The next period, the Yayoi (300 BC-300 AD) saw the introduction of wet rice from the continent and an infusion of cultural influence from the Korean peninsula.� With the fall of the Chou dynasty in China, and the expansion of the Chin/Han dynastic era, more and more Chinese made their way into Japan.� They brought new methods of pottery, metallurgy, and agriculture.� This made farming more efficient because of the land segmentation techniques the Chinese introduced.�

������� With this, another migration lead to the Kanto region in the mid-to-late Yayoi.� Iron was also introduced for tool and weapon making.� Warfare was now more common, as competition for defensible land became tighter.� As described in The History of Wei, we now see the emergence of kuni, the political unit of the time.� These were geographic, similar to a prefecture, although a kuni could be fragmented in its possessions.� There were about 100 kuni, and they were ruled by the Yamatai, who in turn were ruled by the princess Himiko (3rd century AD).� The Himiko's brother was the secular leader, while the Himiko herself was similar to a shamaness.� At this time, though, the mystical religion and civil government were still one operation.� The leaders of this period were recognized by the Chinese court, which provided the legitimacy needed for the identifiable beginnings of the state known as the Yamato.

������� The Yamato Period (300-710) saw unification of the scattered peoples of the� kuni system, mostly during the 5th century.� The center of the Yamato state was in the Kinai region, and we see the emergence of a single leader.� The use of arms was required to maintain power, but this method was set aside in favor of diplomacy.� Instead of violence, religion was used to manage the masses. Each kuni had a protector god that stood within a certain ranking system.� This facilitated the relative hierarchy of each kuni.� So, in this new Yamato state, longevity was attained and maintained via the use of these god's rankings, the kuni chiefs, or uji, and the manipulation of wealth.

������� Groups play a vital role in the Japanese social structure.� A great deal of the Japanese language is devoted to describing the essence and requirements of groupism (uchi, sato, on, ninjo, giri, honne, tatemae).� Japan's history of groups can be traced to the initial geographic settlings on the island, during the Jomon Period, but that is perhaps too abstract for this discussion.� Rather, necessitated groupism occurred in the Yayoi Period, with the introduction of wet rice.� Also known as paddy rice, this method of agriculture is extremely manpower-intensive, so a sense of cooperation was needed for survival in this system.�

������� Much later, with the appearance of the Ie system, we see the implementation of groups in profession, civil management, and even family planning.� Everything revolved around the family, Ie, and its survival and prosperity was of paramount value.� Even the leader was subordinated to the group, since he was merely a custodian of the group.�

������� In modern Japan, we see groupism as early as preschool and kindergarten.� Children are taught that to fit in with the group is much better than being an individual.� There is a phrase in Japan: "The nail that sticks out gets hammered back into place."� So from an early age, this socialization is a part of life.�� Almost immediately, there is a transformation from biological individual to social group member.� Exclusion from the group carries a highly negative stigma.� In fact, the worst punishment in Japan is not death, it is ostracization, or being left out of the group.�

������� The family is typically the first group a person is� involved with in Japan.� For women, this is often the most important group because the majority of Japanese married women are homemakers.� Other groups in modern Japan include school groups, hobby clubs, art clubs, business associations, office associations, and sport groups, with golf and skiing being some of the favorite sports.� For men, the typical group of choice is the work group.� Most of the time spent in a Japanese male's lifetime is spent with his coworkers, to spending time with this group is vital to the satisfying development of ones career.� For the Japanese, to be devoted to your chosen group is the only way to be.� It is through subordination of one's self to one's group, and not domination of that group, that brings to the Japanese pleasure and pride.� To be a member of a successful team or company is the aim, not being singled out above the other members of the group.

������� Through all this, we see how groups have a strong historical foundation with the Japanese, and that throughout Japan's history, groups have molded a great deal of the constructs of interaction and socialization. It is through understanding these groups, this groupism,� that we may better understand the individuals themselves.