Welcome
to Japan. Avoid shame to your country, town, family, and self. The
pride of your country, town, family, and self must be preserved!
Humble yourself before your superiors to show them reverence!
Although not spoken outwardly, this very deeply ingrained life-blood
of Japan (as well as much of East Asia) is known as “Saving Face”.
This has been described as the “air” in which Japanese people
breathe and live in. Since the group understanding is valued greatly
it also follows that social standing within that group is highly
important. To humble yourself before another causes their social
status to increase, while causing shame to others causes them to be
viewed negatively in eyes of others therefore lowering their status.
In Japan this is extremely important in everyday interactions. So
important that at times in the past one would rather starve than to
injure pride and cause the losing of face. Although not as radical
today, a strong element of face saving is firmly planted into the
soul of every Japanese person. How?
Rather
than hurt the personal pride of another person it is more safe to
remain silent, ignore issues, or lie. This is seen as protecting the
dignity of another, while preserving your own standing with that
person. For instance when asking someone for directions, they would
rather tell you the wrong way than tell you that they do not know,
since that would be embarrassing to them! For Westerners, especially
Americans, this is unacceptable. We are accustomed to speaking openly
and honestly with people while letting feelings come second. Because
of this we can be blind to the realities of everyday situations here.
Japanese may be afraid of Westerners as well since they do not want
to be potentially shamed in public. (What if I don't know the answer
to their question? What if my English is no good? What if they really
did mean to order that bowl of broth with no noodles?) As Westerners
we may not have a clue that we are actually causing people great
shame because they will never say it or admit it openly since that
would cause us shame! So, if a relationship suddenly ends there may
be a reason why that happened without warning! Only by understanding
the culture can a more acceptable approach to communication be taken
here. How does this play into ministry?
In
many ways Christianity always emphasizes open and honest
communication. This can be another reason why Japanese think it to be
a foreign religion as its emphasis on communication is so different.
In reality Christianity helps Japanese people to look outside of
themselves and their world to realize that there is more to this life
offered by God. Some that experience living in the West long enough
among loving Christians will experience this freedom given by God.
Many Japanese tell us that they feel judged by other Japanese because
of the standards set by society having to saving face. One thing is
certain, the saving of face here contributes to a lengthier time
period needed to invest into people in order to have good
communication with them. Because of this process it takes longer to
gain trust, and few close friendships are established. The friends
gained however are very loyal. With saving face it is always
difficult to tell if people genuinely want to study the Bible or if
they are doing so because we are 'the sensei' that is to be
respected. For these reasons as well as others the work here is
certainly a slow and steady one. Few risks are taken in ministry here
because of the potential backlash against an already sensitive system
that will not allow disagreement with ancient norms. However on the
positive side, with the right heart behind it, the saving of face is
a powerful means of showing true love and respect to another person.
Whether it be showing genuine appreciation, protecting others from
shame, or the giving of gifts there can also be much to be thankful
for. All in all the saving of face forces people carefully think
about their interactions with one another whether or not their heart
is in the right place. In the West in general we could probably use
some of this respectful sentiment in our interactions with each
other!
