This is not the case at all. Most Japanese people, while being a little politer and more reserved than the English, are completely 'normal'. They think that dressing up as a maid or spending eight hours in a pachinko is just as odd as your average foreign person would. The big difference is that when faced with something funky, crazy or inappropriate, their initial reaction is not to correct, criticize or shame it, but to accept that it is strange and leave it in peace. 'If you want to pretend you're a big blue dog then go for it, as long as I don't have to be involved'.
In Hyde Park, London, dressing up as Elvis and dancing the day away would earn you cat calls, swear words, general derision and quite probably some form of physical violence. In Yoyogi Park people either think 'Oh, not my thing' and move right along or 'ahh, at least these fellows are passionate about something' and watch for a bit. There's no desire to shame the Elvises (Elvice?) into hanging up their blue swayed shoes simply for being different. They're just accepted and, for the most part, left well alone.
The same goes spirit of acceptance goes for products as well. If offered a toilet that squirts, your average brit would shy away 'If I buy this, what will my friends think?'! In Japan people recognize that the squirt could do a better job than the paper and so spray away.
This 'each to his own' philosophy can has it's downs as well of it's ups of course. The lack of 'good morning's, 'how d'you do's and sarcastic 'Effing great weather isn't it mate?'s can be a little stifling at times and people keep their opinions to themselves to such an extent that it's often quite hard to know if you've made a terrible gaffe.
If only there was some way to strike a happy medium. Without using a cricket bat.
(I know there are a good few honest-to-goodness-genuine-nihonjin who read this. Have I got the right end of the stick here? If you have any thoughts then do put them in the comments. I love hearing what people have to say.)
1 comment:
Hi Dan-kun. Interesting observation. I always thought the Brits were more tolerant and individual. But it might be a metropolitan thing. I'm sure London (where I spent most of my time in the UK) is more diverse than anywhere else in the country and the same applies to Tokyo.
The Japanese are so desperately want to be the same as others. Look at the young people's fashion in Japan. Their 'individuality' is not so much of 'a unique style of your own' but one of the styles that are in offer as 'individual'. 'Harmony' is the key in the Japanese society. I think it is great that Yoyogi Park offers a place where people can do whatever they wish to do. Stress level in Japan is very high with long working hours and pressure from the society. They need to release stress in one way or another. It might be dressing up as a maid or spending hours in Pachinko halls. Why not? As far as they don't harm others, that's fine.
Having said that, perhaps as you said, the Japanese will leave others in peace no matter what they are doing and are less aggressive... And we love wacky things!
But the more I know British people the more am I convinced that we are so much alike!
Enjoy your last day in Japan!
Moto
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