Social behavior in Japan

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The social behavior in Japan of Japanese among each other on the one hand and in contact with Gaikokujin ( 外国人 , dt. With foreigners ; short, a little less polite: Gaijin ) on the other hand differs in many ways from other western, but also Asian neighboring countries . This is partly because Japan is an island nation and was more or less isolated until the beginning of the Meiji Restoration . As a result, the Japanese developed a pronounced awareness of their uniqueness. This view found its expression in the Nihonjinron .

language

The Japanese language knows a variety of linguistic means to express the social position and the relationship of the participants in a conversation in a differentiated way.

For this one uses the keigo ( 敬 語 , "polite language"), which is based on the Confucian hierarchy that the speaker selects depending on the context. The direction of speech, the social status of the interlocutor or a person being talked about and the group membership are taken into account. The language of politeness can be used, for example, to express that the speaker considers his or her social position to be higher or lower than that of the other person.

To express that one regards someone as superior, one uses the form of respect ( Sonkeigo ). On the other hand, to express that one regards someone as superior by subordinating oneself, one uses the form of modesty ( Kenjōgo ). In both cases it is expressed that another person is higher, but in two different ways: by addressing the other person directly as higher or by subordinating myself. Reproduced in German, this corresponds roughly to the following examples: "Only you as the boss can decide this" or "I as an employee cannot decide this under any circumstances". The shapes differ in the viewing direction. There is also a third general form, the teineigo . Keigo is therefore much more complex than the distinction between "you" and "you" in the German language and therefore represents a major hurdle in learning the upscale Japanese language. Keigo is particularly important in business life.

Japanese also knows - in addition to the neutral and polite salutation -san ( さ ん ) - a variety of salutations that can express social or professional status, group membership and familiarity or distance in the respective context. Due to the differentiated politeness, Japanese also has many variants of personal pronouns with which social contexts can also be conveyed.

In addition, the connotation of words originally used politely has turned negative in the history of language. For example, the following have become rude:

  • kimi ( 君 ) originally a name for the Tennō ( 大君 ookimi ) in the Edo period , now an expression for “you” in the male language
  • omae ( お 前 ) (honorable counterpart) formerly "you", now "hey you!" (exclamation, rude) or in a familiar context a simple "you" (also male language)
  • kisama ( 貴 様 ) (Honorable, highly esteemed [Lord]) ironically means "you asshole" in today's usage

Courtesy and criticism

In the conversation, care is usually taken to ensure that all those involved save face . Criticism is therefore indicated more indirectly or in a "confidential" setting (e.g. when drinking together).

The rejection of a request is usually formulated indirectly, for example through hesitation or pointing out problems. Conversely, requests are also often formulated indirectly so that the other person does not get into the embarrassment of having to refuse "directly". A rejection is usually expressed using the word chigau ( 違 う , [it is] different, dictionary form) or chigaimasu ( 違 い ま す , [it is] different, normal polite form) and the word iie ( い い え , no) is used almost exclusively for the Used to answer yes / no questions.

Conversely, a “yes” (は いhai ) does not necessarily mean that the content is consent: Japanese etiquette requires that the speaker be assured of attention by repeating yes. However, a "Jaja" (は い は いhaihai ) is frowned upon and is considered impolite. Even a hai, so desu (“Yes, that's the way it is”) of a subordinate to a superior does not have to mean that the speaker actually agrees wholeheartedly, maybe he does not want to expose the boss in public. Equals only use n ( ん ) or un ( う ん ).

humor

Laughter belongs in the private sphere and is therefore not so popular in public. Japanese jokes are often word games that arise very often due to the homophonic structure of the Japanese language.

Interpersonal

Gifts

Gifts are sometimes not unwrapped in the presence of the giver in order to save both sides losing face in the event of surprise and disappointment. A gift requires a gift in return, which - for logical reasons - should be of lesser value. Exceptions are thank you gifts, here the consideration has already been paid.

When giving gifts, the Japanese pay attention to the following taboos . Not appropriate are:

  • Four objects: the number "four" ( 四 shi ) is identical to the word "death" ( 死 shi )
  • White handkerchiefs have grief out
  • White flowers are only available for funerals
  • Scissors and knives indicate separation of the gang
  • Items that the imperial coat of arms included
  • Illustrations with foxes that stand for underhandedness
  • Yellow handkerchiefs and the like indicate betrayal

When it comes to gifts, packaging is often as important as the contents. For this reason, the Japanese have also developed the art of packaging at a high level. A fine example of this are Japanese shawls, furoshiki .

greeting

Shaking hands is not common in Japan. Instead, etiquette demands a bow appropriate to the rank of the person opposite . When bowing, the back must be straight. The lower rank must come closer to the horizontal (the right angle) and stay longer in the bow. Young Japanese, however, may offer the European to shake hands. There is also a combination of bowing and handshaking at the same time, especially towards western foreigners.
Basic rules of bowing:

A 5 ° bow is for neutral actions; a 15 ° bow is for the more polite act; a 30 ° bow is for a request or deepest apology.

In addition, direct eye contact should be avoided, as this is perceived by the Japanese as impolite stare.

Feelings

One rarely shows deeper feelings in Japan. Above all "negative" ones like anger , sadness and disappointment are traditionally only revealed to parents, the best friend or the spouse depending on age. For Europeans, the laughter of a conversation partner can be unusual. B. excitedly told of injustice experienced.

Smiling often hides pain and wants to spare the other person pity and a certain obligation to help.

Hara ( 腹 , belly ) - which is incorrectly derived from hara- kiri - is assigned to the male language and can mean something like belly, mind or soul . Women use the term Kokoro ( 心 , dt. Heart ) or o-naka ( お 腹 , belly ).

Tatemae ( 建 前 , facade ) is the counterpart to Honne and denotes the public attitude that is shown to maintain harmony . This often means a contradiction to the truth or the actual circumstances and a discrepancy between thinking and speaking. Honne is the counterpart of Tatemae and refers to the true intention that one hides in order to maintain harmony.

Behavior at meals

Japanese chopsticks ( Hashi 箸 ) differ from the Chinese mainly in that they are tapered and often shorter. It would be a faux pas to stick the sticks vertically into the rice, since such an arrangement is reserved for the incense sticks in rice for the deceased. In Japan, food is never passed from chopsticks to chopsticks. (After the usual cremation the bones of the deceased are moved from stick to stick ). In Japan, food is often served on plates from which everyone takes something for themselves. If there are no additional chopsticks, you should turn your own and use the reverse side of the chopsticks (public side).

When the meal is finished, the chopsticks are placed parallel to each other on the plate or in the restaurant they are put back into the paper sleeve up to 2-3 cm, the end of which is folded over so that it is easy to see that the chopsticks have already been used. Empty glasses are quickly refilled by neighbors. If you don't want anything more, you leave a residue in the glass.

Men are allowed to sip soup moderately at the table. Sneezing and blowing your nose in public with a handkerchief are just as uncomfortable in Japan as pulling your nose up loudly is not socially acceptable in Europe. It is considered a lack of body control and belongs to the abortion .

Love and affection in public

With a few exceptions, it is uncommon to hold hands, run arm in arm, or the like. Body contact is largely avoided in everyday life. However, one now occasionally sees young people who defy this rule. However, kissing in public is still frowned upon and does not take place.

Education and professional

Japanese children are trained to discipline at an early age so that they can have a successful school career. A prerequisite for a successful professional career is a degree from a good university, the attendance of which in turn requires a good school education, etc. up to kindergarten. It is mostly the mothers who are behind this education. The term is Kyōiku Mama ( 教育 マ マ , "parenting mother"). But there is also the word mamagon ( マ マ ゴ ン ), which is made up of mama and dragon .

The Japanese working world was characterized by the principle of lifelong employment until almost the end of the 20th century. But even after the Asian crisis , the high work ethic of the Japanese has been maintained. As before, many employees forego the annual vacation they are entitled to out of loyalty to the company and their colleagues, who would then have to do the work. The sickness rate is also low at 1 percent (Germany 2005: 3.3 percent), but Karōshi (death due to overwork) has been a media topic since the late 1980s. The average annual working time per capita in Japan was 1802 hours in 2005, while in Germany it was 1372 hours.

Colleagues take an active part in family events and thus create a feeling of security. The price for this security, however, is also an extremely high level of peer pressure .

For corporate identity includes the company anthem , often before starting work by the workforce is sung together outdoors.

The term salaryman is derived from the ( non-existent ) English word salary man (from English salary = salary, man = man). It describes the office worker of a good company. It used to be the goal of high school and college students to become a salaryman in reputable companies. That changed after the lifelong employment was gradually phased out.

The Japanese term for company is kaisha. This Kaisha demands more from the private life of its employees than, for example, a German company. This includes the Nomikai , the common drink with colleagues after closing time . The Kaisha demands more from its employees, but it also involves them more in the decision-making processes , especially as part of the Ringi seido .

The exchange of business cards ( 名 刺 ) plays a major role. You take the business card with both hands and read it or at least look at it symbolically. Many business cards have one side each with Japanese and "Western" writing. If a conversation takes place at the table, the recipient places the card on the top left with the written side legible for him. Under no circumstances should you put your business cards in your trouser or jacket pocket, it is considered disrespectful. There are cases for storage, or you can use the wallet. You should not write anything on someone else's business card, at least in the presence of the giver. At present, business cards often have a QR code on the back , which contains all the information encoded and which can be read using mobile phones.

Home decor

Genkan is the name of the entrance area to a Japanese apartment. When a family member enters the entrance area, they usually announce their entrance with the exclamation: "Tadaima" ( た だ い ま 'I'm back home, I'm back home'). The announcement of the return is answered from the house with "okaeri" ( お か え り 'Welcome home'). If you enter someone else's apartment, you announce your arrival with “ojama shimasu” ( お 邪魔 し ま す 'Please excuse the disturbance'), which at the same time symbolically apologizes for the disturbance. This procedure is particularly recommended when, as is often the case with Japanese-style homes, there is no bell. Shoes are also left in the Genkan, as the interior of the house (traditionally covered with tatami , i.e. rice straw mats) should only be entered with stockings or special slippers . There are special "toilet slippers" for the toilet.

In contrast to Europe and America, the bathtub is used exclusively for relaxation. Before entering the tub, you wash yourself by sitting on a small stool, pouring water over yourself, and then washing with soap.

In Japan, both traditional squat toilets and sit-down toilets are available. The latter increasingly have an electronic control of additional functions such as B. Bidet , buttocks shower and drying and others.

See also

Web links

literature

  • Florian Coulmas : The culture of Japan. 2005, ISBN 3-406-52811-2 .
  • Florian Coulmas: Japanese Times. 2000, ISBN 3-463-40392-7 .
  • Florian Coulmas: The Germans are screaming. 2001, ISBN 3-498-00921-4 .
  • Kazuhiko Kobayashi: Doing Business with Japan. What European managers need to know. 1996, ISBN 3-7844-7348-2 .
  • Klaus Kracht: Decency and Etiquette in Japan. A research area. In: Japonica Humboldtiana. 3, 1999, pp. 1-47; 2, 1998, pp. 1-58.
  • Christine Liew : Japan: On the move in a country between tradition and innovation . Trescher, 2010, ISBN 978-3-89794-161-8 .
  • Christine Liew: Shadow Runner and Pearl Girl - Everyday Adventure in Japan . Dryas, 2010, ISBN 978-3-940855-22-0 .
  • Karl Löwith : The Japanese spirit. from d. Engl. V. A. Brock. Matthes & Seitz, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-88221-661-5 . (The volume contains the two works "The Japanese Spirit" (1943) and "Japan's Westernization and Moral Basis" (1942–43).)
  • Martin Lutterjohann: Culture shock Japan. 2003, ISBN 3-8317-1187-9 .
  • Alois Moosmüller: Cultures in Interaction. German and US companies posted in Japan. 1997, ISBN 3-89325-583-4 .
  • Bill Mutranowski: You Know You've Been In Japan Too Long…. 2003, ISBN 0-8048-3380-X .
  • Andreas Neuenkirchen: Instructions for use for Japan. Piper Verlag, May 2010, ISBN 978-3-492-27585-9 .
  • Christoph Neumann: That's why the Japanese get annoyed. The unvarnished madness of everyday Japanese life. Eichborn, Frankfurt am Main 2002, ISBN 3-8218-3594-X .
  • Tadashi Ogawa: Grounds and Limits of Consciousness. Intercultural phenomenology from a Japanese perspective. 2001, ISBN 3-8260-1972-5 .
  • Diana Rowland: Japan etiquette for managers. 2010, ISBN 978-3-593-39332-2 .
  • Gothild and Kristina Thomas: Guest in Japan. Iwanowski's Reisebuchverlag, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-923975-82-1 .
  • Minoru Tominaga: Success Strategies for German Entrepreneurs. This is how you survive in global competition. 1999, ISBN 3-612-26634-9 .
  • James M. Vardaman, Michiko Vardaman: Japan from A to Z. Mysteries of everyday life explained. 1995, ISBN 4-900737-41-0 .
  • Stephen N. Williams: American and Japanese Gestures. 1999, ISBN 4-7700-2344-8 .
  • Hartmut Lamparth: Japanese Etiquette: A Handbook from 1887. Society for Nature and Ethnology of East Asia, 1998, ISBN 3-928463-65-9 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See, for example, Irmela Hijiya-Kirschnereit: The end of the exotic. (= Suhrkamp. Volume 466). Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt 1988, ISBN 3-518-11466-2 , pp. 13-16. Japanese self-exoticization section .
  2. ↑ See also Noriko Katsumi-Pestemer: Basic Japanese Studies . Volume 2, Rheinbreitbach 1991, ISBN 3-8018-0091-1 , lesson 30, pp. 310–323. Pestemer's presentation differentiates between speaker, listener and the person who is being spoken about.
  3. ↑ See: Hayashi Ōki, Shōgaku Tosho: Gendai kokugo reikai jiten. 2nd Edition. Shōgakkan, Tōkyō 1985, ISBN 4-09-501042-8 , p. 293. ( 現代 国語 例 解 辞典 )
  4. ↑ See: Hayashi Ōki, Shōgaku Tosho: Gendai kokugo reikai jiten. 1985, p. 165.
  5. ↑ See for example: Illustrated Japanese Family and Culture. (Ed.) Japan Travel Bureau. 1994, ISBN 4-533-02020-8 , p. 118. (English)
  6. ↑ The term incorrectly uses the kunyomi reading instead of the correct Onyomi reading Seppuku .
  7. ↑ Are you a “kyoiku mama” or just an educationally-concerned mother? Education in Japan Community Blog, accessed November 9, 2010 .
  8. ↑ Manfred Pohl, Hans-Jürgen Mayer (Ed.): Country Report Japan. Federal Agency for Civic Education, 1998, ISBN 3-89331-337-0 , pp. 278–285. (Section: Industry and economic structure: characteristics and problem areas)
  9. ^ Ewald Walterskirchen: Working hours in international comparison. (PDF; 68 kB) Retrieved November 9, 2010 .