It might just have something to do with the way the Japanese appear to foreigners.
My father had a cousin who fought in the Pacific in WW2. After the war he was stationed in Japan in the occupation forces. He was prepared to hate the Japanese but he fell in love with them. Of course, they were mostly compliant women and children, but their manner was so dignified and demure he took a liking to them.
Like a bunch of other GIs, he came home with a bunch of netsuke and "inro" boxes. Sadly I didn't inherit any of them.
I imagine that some Japanese were relieved that they weren’t occupied by the Russians.
PS I have a question, if you don't mind. Which biography of a prominent Japanese statesman or military leader would you recommend to people who want an intro to modern Japanese history. I prefer to learn my history via bios. History books bore me.
Since Japan and China are in close proximity, it is only natural that each would share some culture with the other. My number one love of Japanese culture is Japanese gardens, which also has influence from China.
Thanks for sharing this fascinating article. The author has definitely captured the essence of the uniquely Japanese approach to nature and the value of striving for continuous improvement. As a resident of the Kunisaki Peninsula in Kyushu, one of the areas where Buddhism first took hold in Japan, I enjoy observing how the Japanese continue to celebrate being close to nature on a daily basis.
Fascinating 🧐 I have had the good fortune to visit and do business in China and Japan for many years. Your introduction captures the beauty of both people and their culture.
What’s interesting about Japanese borrowing from China is not what they decided to adopt, but rather what they decided to reject, due to their native Japanese sensibilities and the essential ethos of Japanese civilization. So Japan may have been enamored with T’ang Court costumes, Buddhism of course, architecture, and Chinese writing. But Japan rejected the essential ethos of Chinese civilization, namely meritocracy and Confucian ethics and morality. Japan loved the intricate Court titles and ranks, but rejected the Examination System and Meritocracy ideal of China because Japan is essentially Aristocratic. The Japanese prefer the Buddha over Confucius. The Chinese prefer the Mandate of Heaven and a worthy dynasty with an Emperor who is worthy of Heaven’s grace, unlike the Japanese heavenly king ruling by right of descent from the Sun Goddess. Did any Shogun or powerful Daimyo dream of displacing the Sun lineage of Japanese Emperors like a Chinese warlord claiming the Mandate of Heaven?
As a tourist and consumer , not a historian/philosopher I can simply point to:
- all china towns across the world are the dirtiest parts of the cities they in. Unlike japanese establishments that show off medical grade cleanliness
- chinese have repeatedly destroyed their own cultural/historical heritage unlike japanese. So if they don’t care about their own culture why would i
- chinese communism/mao/abuse of minorities/etc unlike Japanese democracy is off putting
It’s really easy to like japanese for a western person. It takes special interest/knowledge to get over the chinese stink to appreciate chinese same way
Water! We recently walked through parts of the Nakasendo Trail, in the mountains, and the sound of rushing water was everywhere; snowmelt provided a lot of it in late March, I assume. So powerful. And more mundane, water pressure in showers is spectacular, coming from a place with low-flow showerheads.
Good take. Lived in Japan in late 80s/early 90s…back when it was the ‘Asian Tiger’. Visited nearby countries broadly. Thought Japan was unique in the region. Learned to speak speak/read/write enough to get by/get around. Enjoyed my time there, but 4 years was about 2 too many ( tho with what’s going since Trump 2.0, wouldn’t mind escaping back….)Beautiful country outside of cities ( Kyoto the exception), best food anywhere in the world. But , at a very basic level, an extremely xenophobic country.
On two points: awe of nature (and the concomitant Japanese animism), and the strict adherence to fated roles, for the former, watch Miyazaki's "Princess Mononoke", and for the latter, consider if it is conceivable that the Japanese emperor could lose the mandate of heaven, as a Chinese emperor could.
It might just have something to do with the way the Japanese appear to foreigners.
My father had a cousin who fought in the Pacific in WW2. After the war he was stationed in Japan in the occupation forces. He was prepared to hate the Japanese but he fell in love with them. Of course, they were mostly compliant women and children, but their manner was so dignified and demure he took a liking to them.
Like a bunch of other GIs, he came home with a bunch of netsuke and "inro" boxes. Sadly I didn't inherit any of them.
Lovely story! Thank you for sharing. It always amazes me how smoothly the Occupation went, given how brutal the conflict had been.
You bet.
It takes two to tango.
I imagine that some Japanese were relieved that they weren’t occupied by the Russians.
PS I have a question, if you don't mind. Which biography of a prominent Japanese statesman or military leader would you recommend to people who want an intro to modern Japanese history. I prefer to learn my history via bios. History books bore me.
It's quite a tome, but Donald Keene's biography of the Meiji Emperor might fit the bill. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/655225.Emperor_of_Japan
Since Japan and China are in close proximity, it is only natural that each would share some culture with the other. My number one love of Japanese culture is Japanese gardens, which also has influence from China.
Thanks for sharing this fascinating article. The author has definitely captured the essence of the uniquely Japanese approach to nature and the value of striving for continuous improvement. As a resident of the Kunisaki Peninsula in Kyushu, one of the areas where Buddhism first took hold in Japan, I enjoy observing how the Japanese continue to celebrate being close to nature on a daily basis.
Fascinating 🧐 I have had the good fortune to visit and do business in China and Japan for many years. Your introduction captures the beauty of both people and their culture.
What’s interesting about Japanese borrowing from China is not what they decided to adopt, but rather what they decided to reject, due to their native Japanese sensibilities and the essential ethos of Japanese civilization. So Japan may have been enamored with T’ang Court costumes, Buddhism of course, architecture, and Chinese writing. But Japan rejected the essential ethos of Chinese civilization, namely meritocracy and Confucian ethics and morality. Japan loved the intricate Court titles and ranks, but rejected the Examination System and Meritocracy ideal of China because Japan is essentially Aristocratic. The Japanese prefer the Buddha over Confucius. The Chinese prefer the Mandate of Heaven and a worthy dynasty with an Emperor who is worthy of Heaven’s grace, unlike the Japanese heavenly king ruling by right of descent from the Sun Goddess. Did any Shogun or powerful Daimyo dream of displacing the Sun lineage of Japanese Emperors like a Chinese warlord claiming the Mandate of Heaven?
Yes, Japan's rejection of meritocracy and exams in the 600s, 700s, etc, is quite striking. It was all about blood and preferment.
We can learn from Japan. Particularly Shinrin Yoku (forest bathing) Thoreau couldn’t function unless he did 4 hours per day apparently.
As a tourist and consumer , not a historian/philosopher I can simply point to:
- all china towns across the world are the dirtiest parts of the cities they in. Unlike japanese establishments that show off medical grade cleanliness
- chinese have repeatedly destroyed their own cultural/historical heritage unlike japanese. So if they don’t care about their own culture why would i
- chinese communism/mao/abuse of minorities/etc unlike Japanese democracy is off putting
It’s really easy to like japanese for a western person. It takes special interest/knowledge to get over the chinese stink to appreciate chinese same way
Water! We recently walked through parts of the Nakasendo Trail, in the mountains, and the sound of rushing water was everywhere; snowmelt provided a lot of it in late March, I assume. So powerful. And more mundane, water pressure in showers is spectacular, coming from a place with low-flow showerheads.
Good take. Lived in Japan in late 80s/early 90s…back when it was the ‘Asian Tiger’. Visited nearby countries broadly. Thought Japan was unique in the region. Learned to speak speak/read/write enough to get by/get around. Enjoyed my time there, but 4 years was about 2 too many ( tho with what’s going since Trump 2.0, wouldn’t mind escaping back….)Beautiful country outside of cities ( Kyoto the exception), best food anywhere in the world. But , at a very basic level, an extremely xenophobic country.
On two points: awe of nature (and the concomitant Japanese animism), and the strict adherence to fated roles, for the former, watch Miyazaki's "Princess Mononoke", and for the latter, consider if it is conceivable that the Japanese emperor could lose the mandate of heaven, as a Chinese emperor could.