Culture in Modern Japanese Society Japan is an ancient civilization that has thrived on it's island home for centuries.

The culture that has developed over the years is both tied to it's ancient roots and embracing modern society as it surges into the 21st century. Japan is a fascinating country and !as pleased to find that there !ere many more similarities to my !estern culture than had perhaps e"pected. #o!ever$ the differences abound and !e can learn a lot about Japanese culture by ta%ing a loo% at them. &ne of the first things that struc% me about Japanese culture !as the e"tremely polite !ay of addressing others. 'hether !e !ere entering a department store$ finding a seat at a cafe$ or chec%ing in at our hotel$ the staff and other patrons !ent out of their !ay to greet you and help you !ith !hatever !as needed. &ne particular e"ample that stands out in my mind is !hen !e entered a department store$ (ust as it !as opening. )ach staff member stood at opening of their section and bo!ed and gave the traditional shop%eeper greeting as !e passed by$ inviting us to enter their department and begin shopping. *ater$ as !e !ere buying some cosmetics$ the saleslady graciously sat us do!n and not only sold us the items$ but also politely let us try things first$ as%ed about our needs$ and generally made us feel li%e honored guests. +o matter !here !e !ent$ !as impressed !ith the politeness in addressing customers$ strangers$ and ac,uaintances ali%e. -nother fascinating part of Japanese society is the emphasis on fitting in and not being different. t goes along !ith a deeply held value in the shared good of the community. n Cultureshoc%. Japan$ /aul +orbury states that$ 0there is a natural inclination in Japan to see% consensus in all aspects of decision1ma%ing$ combined !ith the desire to avoid conflict2 3456. #e concludes that this comes from a long history of highly structured oligarchies that focused on the Japanese ideal of wa$ or harmony. 7ecause of this deep need for harmony and agreement !ithin the community$ 0Japan is very much a 0!e2 culture2 3+orbury$ 426. noticed this group mentality coming out in things li%e the !ay business people dressed. -lmost every businessman !ore the uniform of business$ !hich !as a long sleeved$ button up !hite shirt !ith blac% or gray slac%s. Sometimes the shirt color varied slightly$ but

al!ays in muted tones li%e light blue or gray or perhaps pin stripes of some %ind. n general$ if you sa! a group of business men together from one company$ you !ould see that that all had very similar clothing in %eeping !ith the communal agreement. 7usiness !omen$ although some!hat differently dressed than the men$ usually had on a dar% s%irt and a light colored blouse. /eople going to and from !or% rarely deviated from this 0uniform2 of business. #o!ever$ on the !ee%end$ you !ould see more people in different colors and !ith less conformity. -nother !ay this conformity is seen in Japanese culture is in the traditional roles played by men and !omen. -s a general rule young people get married by the age of 28 or so. Men go to !or% and !omen stay home to care for the children and ta%e care of the home. 9ivorce is very uncommon and until ,uite recently !as actually almost financially impossible for !omen !ho did not have pensions from !or%ing and did not have any legal rights to any part of the husband's pension. 'e became a!are of the terrible stigma around divorce !hen !e got in touch !ith an old high school e"change friend. The man had spent : years in the ;.S. ncluding high school and some college and is some!hat less culturally tied to Japanese customs that those !ho have not spent much time outside the country. -fter finally meeting !ith him$ it became clear that he !as in an e"treme depression. 'e spo%e to him about his family and he opened up about the divorce. -fter the divorce$ he !as to have no contact !ith his children. <athers never get custody in Japan$ but they also don't pay child support or have legal visitation. t is as if the father has died and no longer e"ists in his children's lives. n addition to the stress and sadness of no longer seeing his children$ our friend seemed to have lost a certain identity in the culture. #e no longer !as a married man$ so he moved bac% into his parent's home. The loss of identity$ and understanding of !here he fit in a society that values structure and traditional roles so highly$ seemed to be at the root of his depression. The shame doesn't seem to come from the divorce itself$ but in the lac% of conforming to the societal roles set for a man of his age. Societal roles of men and !omen and the need to conform to them seems to be at the root of a lot of Japanese culture. -nother place it sho!ed up !as in the role of !omen in the !or%place and

across society. 'omen very rarely hold positions of po!er in the !or%place and often stay home to care for children rather than climbing the business ladder of success at !or%. &ne very interesting observation made on this during the trip !as during a conversation !ith t!o Japanese !omen !ho my travel partner had %no!n in high school. 7oth !omen had (obs and$ in fact$ one of them !as a successful business person !ho o!ned three upscale nail salons that did very !ell and afforded her a high level of respect from other business people !e ran into. #o!ever$ during one conversation$ my travel partner$ !ho is male$ mentioned something about his boss and used female pronouns during the conversation. 7oth !omen acted in surprise that he had a boss !ho !as a !oman. #e has a high level (ob in the insurance industry and told them that he had had more female bosses than male bosses in his time in his career. They seemed shoc%ed and %ept coming bac% to that piece of information !ith open mouthed stares and many ,uestions about ho! normal it !as to have female bosses and ho! the men responded to having a boss !ho !as female. -pparently$ it is very$ very rare for !omen to hold manager positions in Japan and almost never !hen they !ould be overseeing male !or%ers. !as very surprised by the degree of surprise that they sho!ed at this information. t !as as if they had never before contemplated the fact that a !oman might be able to hold a manager's or a higher level position in business. n addition$ they !ere ,uite intrigued by the fact that men might respond positively to having a female boss$ or might not actually thin% much about it at all$ but see it as (ust a normal part of life and the !or%place. -nother piece of evidence as to the roles of men and !omen in Japanese culture !as the high regard placed on marriage. +ot only is divorce very difficult and uncommon$ but marriage is highly regarded in other !ays. Most !omen have married by about the age of 28. spo%e to one young !oman in a salon !ho !as 22 and felt that she still had a couple of years to e"plore the !orld and travel before she settled do!n. #o!ever$ it did seem that she e"pected to settle do!n and get married$ although she !as some!hat (ealous of me and my freedom as !as a single !oman in my thirties !ho still had the freedom to travel and e"plore the !orld !ithout being tied to a husband and children.

-lthough she e"pressed a bit of (ealousy about my life$ it did not seem to be something she thought of as even an option for herself. n the boo%$ Cultureshoc%. Japan$ +orbury mentions that up!ards of 45= of Japanese marriages are still prearranged marriages$ although love matches are ,uite popular and are more and more common. believe can see !here arranged marriages !ould come into play !hen there is such a strong e"pectation for young people to marry by their mid t!enties. f you cannot find a love match yourself by the time you hit 24 or 28$ in order to conform to the e"pectations of society$ many young people might turn to relatives to help them loo% for a suitable mate so that they aren't seen as nonconformist or outside of the norms of society. -nother very interesting thing !e noticed !hile traveling throughout Japan !as the role of the retired and elderly !ithin the culture. Most people in Japan !or% until their early to mid si"ties$ but they tend to en(oy long lives and often have healthy lives into their >5s. 'hen people retire$ they often start to do some sort of volunteer !or% and one of the things that !e sa! !as groups of retired volunteers that directed traffic at busy intersections. -lthough they have retired from the !or%force$ it is seen as important to retain a role in helping out the community. &ther common retirement volunteer activities involve s!eeping and cleaning the streets and volunteering at tourist attractions. 'e actually had the opportunity to be guided around To%yo one day by a retired man !ho !or%ed !ith a free tour guide service that matched tourists !ith local guides !ho !ould sho! off the city to people from all over the !orld. The only thing !e paid for !as our guides entrance to the museums !e visited and his lunch at the restaurant of our choice during our travels. &ur guide !as very en(oyable and spo%e very good )nglish and helped us understand a lot of things about Japanese culture as he had lived in the ;nited States for a number of years !hile he !as still employed. #e seemed to see his volunteer service as not only something interesting to %eep him busy$ but as a service to the community and country that !as his duty to perform as a retired person !ith e"tra time on his hands. The one place in the ;nited State that still creates a lot of dissent !ith its nonconformity is the area of se"uality. #omose"ual activity can be the cause of a lot of concern in some communities and

yet it is becoming more and more accepted as an 0alternative2 lifestyle. n Japan$ !e noticed a big difference in the !ay being gay !as handled. <or one thing$ although To%yo is a huge city !ith millions and millions of people$ the 0gay district2 !as about one bloc% long and !as not very busy. There !ere a fe! businesses that catered to gay pornography$ a couple of bars and even one bar that held drag sho!s. 'hat !as interesting !as that !ith all those people in the city$ there !as not much of a gay culture. Most li%ely this means that people !ho are gay or lesbian in Japan are probably not openly homose"ual. &f course$ being gay !ould be seen as not conforming and !ould li%ely be hidden so as not to stic% out and be seen as abnormal. -lthough there didn't seem to be open hostility to!ards gay people$ there !asn't a lot of celebration of it either$ !hich ma%es me thin% it is (ust one of those things that happens and is not really spo%en of or ac%no!ledged. #aving the opportunity to interact !ith the people of Japan on a personal basis in our travels throughout the country helped me to see the culture of Japan as more than (ust something interesting to read about in a boo% on culture. t gave me the feeling that although there are these many differences bet!een our cultures$ basically !e are all very similar in our human need to feel a part of a larger culture. 'e$ in -merica$ often see conforming as something that is unnecessary or possibly even negative$ !hereas in Japan it is seen as a staple of a functional society. %no! that do not al!ays fit the norms in -merican society because am single$ have no children and 'm over :8. #o!ever$ 'm able to live my life and celebrate my life decisions as something that ma%es me uni,ue and still see myself as a valuable member of society. n Japanese society conforming to the norms of society is seen as creating a functional society and so that is !hat is to be celebrated. These vie!s are not necessarily good or bad$ but they do determine ho! !e decide to live our lives and !hat gives us a feeling of !orth and accomplishment in our society.