Japan Culture Series 13: Hedataru to Najimu

To a degree whether we realize it or not our personal space plays a key role in our daily relationships with one another. For instance, in the United States we recognize that it is wise to set boundaries in our relationships with co-workers. Most people would probably not share a lot of personal details of their lives with a co-worker as opposed to a spouse. We tend to setup boundaries within our social interactions to govern our daily lives. To move from a casual acquaintance to a close friendship requires that we go through certain invisible social steps all the while paying close attention to social cues of each party involved so as to see whether it be possible to gain a closer relationship or to maintain the present casual acquaintance.

In Japan this process can be described with two terms, Hedataru and Najimu. Hedataru means to separate or set apart while Nijimu means to become attached to or familiar with. Relationships in Japan begin with a distance known as Hedatari, then move through Hedatari, and move into the closeness of Najimu. Moving through these stages requires much time, restraint, and patience. Unlike the United States or Latin cultures where relationships can be developed rather quickly, in Japan it seems to take a lot of time. Japanese people tend to keep at a distance as many of their social interactions tend to be far more formal. From the student to the teacher, the customer to the dealer, or the child to the parent much distance as well as formality is observed by default. With a more formal society it not only takes more time to develop close relationships, but it is also more rare of an occurrence. To be invited to someone's house for instance is not only rare, but also indicates that a major change in relationship has occurred. Once Najimu has been established trust will increase. Interestingly enough, since Japan is a highly formal society there are outlets seen as necessary for shedding Hedataru with strangers such as drinking together as well as attending the Onsen together without clothing!

As missionaries it takes considerable time for us to establish relationships not only as foreigners, but also in respect to Japanese societal norms. If we fail to observe these customs we will be seen as barbarians, much akin to something like walking into a five star hotel without shoes or a shirt on! Imagine the embarrassment! However, once relationships are established Japanese tend to be far more open to the gospel. It appears that they tend to get truth from relationships rather than objective sources much like the post-modernist person does in the western world. This could be one of the reasons why it takes more time for Japanese people to become Christians. We must remember to remain firm in keeping our testimonies which includes avoiding drinking, Onsens, and local pagan-rooted festivities. Unfortunately to Non-Christian Japanese these choices can all be seen as blocks to establishing a friendship. However, we will continue to trust God. Please pray for us as we continue to build relationships with Japanese people.  

Japanese Culture Series 12: Iitoko-Dori

Japan is known throughout the world as a country that blends ancient traditions together with modern life into one society. How is this even possible? This is what the Japanese call Iitoko-Dori, and it resonates strongly within Japanese culture. From ancient times Japanese culture has been known to blend elements together from differing world-views to create a unique society. At one time in ancient history Japan was at the end of the Silk Road, which made it the place where many ideas ended up. Traditionally a Shinto nation, Japan later encountered Buddhism as well as Confucianism and Christianity. The 'best' elements were taken from each world-view to combine together into a uniquely Japanese culture. The harmonizing of seemingly conflicting ideas took precedence over focusing on any one idea as the only or best truth to behold.

As Japan opened up to the world during the Meiji Era its leaders realized that they needed to modernize rapidly. During this era they gathered information from Western nations in order to carefully chose the elements of those societies that they deemed were the best and set forth to modernize Japan. Unlike other countries with ancient traditions, they were successfully able to rapidly change their nation while retaining many ancient beliefs. After World War 2 Japan was able to quickly adopt a new belief system of materialism and rapidly rebuild their nation while keeping to many of their ancient beliefs. Even today Japan is known as a country that tries to find the best ideas from other nations to either absorb or improve upon as noted in the successful automobile and electronics industries.

How can this belief impact missionary work? On the positive side there is very little religious conflict. In Japan the people often have a difficult time believing that there is only one truth. In Japanese society it is perfectly acceptable to hold to multiple religions with conflicting ideas by only holding to parts of each respective system. It is said that Japanese are born Shinto, have a 'Christian' wedding, and a Buddhist funeral. However, when rapidly adapting new ideas there has been little regard for the impacts on the people. For instance in modern Japan material success has become the main goal with the cost being a society in which competition is high from a young age, stress is high, work hours are long, and suicide rates are high. Change is slow in this area since ethics are considered to be relative due to a combination of belief systems. Japanese know that these societal conditions are not normal, but will not speak out against them until the entire group desires a change. Please pray that the Japanese will realize that Iitoko-Dori is not the ultimate truth in life!

Japanese Culture Series 7: Shudan Ishiki

In Japanese thinking the concept of Shudan Ishiki or “group consciousness” is vitally important to every day life. Every interaction is closely tied to being aware of what the group thinks and does as opposed individual actions. In other words, in Japan, the group is more important than the individual. Two dominant categories exist in Japanese thinking: the uchi and the soto. Uchi being those inside the group (family and associates) and soto being those outside the group. Life consists of remaining in the uchi while avoiding soto status. Because Japanese people tend to think as a group, what benefits the group is seen as the correct thing to do, even if the individual suffers from the decision. For example, if a Japanese company decides that it is beneficial for the company to send a family to live in Mexico for the next three years then the individual will need to comply lest he face great shame and loss of employment!

Loyalty to the group is essential which can be good or bad depending on the group’s core values. Often times it is more important to retain group solidarity to maintain harmony rather than oppose the group even if opposition is the right thing to do. If an individual opposes the group, he risks being excluded from the group, which often times is unbearable for those living in a group-oriented society. A common saying exhibiting this in Japan is, “The nail that sticks up is pounded down”. The nail being representative of an individual.

How can this impact missionary work? In general a strong group culture tends to create a unified church. New decisions within a church tend to take a lot of time as everyone has to agree before it can be done. But, when the decision is made everyone is in agreement. Church discipline on the other hand may be difficult as maintaining harmony is vitally important, unless the power of the group could be used to help change the individual to fit group standards. However, there are some issues with group culture as well. In the instance of evangelism an individual may not want to become Christian because it would likely place him outside the group in his family structure if they are not Christian. (Even if becoming Christian is the right thing to do!) Once a certain level of comfort exists within an established group there appears to be little need to take risks that would threaten the group, which could be another hamper to evangelism. Please pray for us as we learn to work with the Japanese church!