Honne and Tatemae
Honne and tatemae are Japanese terms that denote recognized phenomena in Japanese society.
meaning
Honne ( Japanese 本 音 ) refers to a person's true feelings and desires. These may be contrary to what society expects or what has traditionally been deemed necessary according to a person's position and circumstances. These desires are often kept hidden except from closest friends.
Tatemae ( 建 前 , "masquerade") is the behavior and expressions in public and corresponds to the expectations of society, the position of the person and the circumstances. It does not therefore have to be honorable . This is often masked by smiling or deliberately expressionless facial expressions.
Problems in everyday life
The distinction between honne and Tatemae is a universal phenomenon in human society. For some, resolving the contradictions involved is part of growing up.
Contemporary phenomena in Japan as hikikomori and parasite singles are considered examples of the growing problems of Japanese culture with a new generation that is unable, with the increasing complexity of honne and Tatemae cope in an increasingly capitalist society marked.
literature
- Andreas Schlieper: The proximity of foreign cultures. Parallels between Japan and Germany. Campus textbook, Frankfurt am Main, New York 1997, ISBN 3-593-35861-1 .
- Stephan Schödel: Interactions between culture, trust and management using the example of Japan and Germany. Deutscher Universitätsverlag, Wiesbaden 2005 (also dissertation, Universität der Bundeswehr Munich, 2005), ISBN 3-8350-0010-1 .