Friday, June 22, 2018

Japan Culture Series 19: Saving Face



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!

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