Over the last six months I have started to wonder what the subliminal meanings behind anime storylines meant. This has led to an interest in the Japanese and their culture. The Japanese and their culture are a vast and fascinating subject and I hope that others will follow me into trying to find out more about both.
Like TV in the UK, Japanese TV reflects the culture of the people it is made by. Anime therefore contains the Japanese ideals of life, these ideals may not be easily obtainable in real life and are added for escapism. The major Japanese ideals are endurance and a sort of Esprit de Corps. This puts the emphasis on the good of the group, rather than that of the individual. This is in a dichotomy with the Shinjinryui (new humans) in Japan, but still applies to most of the population.
The idea of endurance is to endure misfortune, pain, etc. without complaint. To complain would be to show the wrong attitude, to the Japanese people it is almost a case of "no pain, no gain". You may remember Clive James showed us Japans' Endurance TV programme. This programme was popular in Japan, because it was an extreme parody of real life. It is argued that the cases of suicide in Japan are a result of endurance, as it is a way of getting out of a situation. Thus, an anime like Area 88 is teaching endurance.
The good of the group, rather than that of the individual, is also well covered in anime. Usually this is shown as a single hero trying unsuccessfully to defeat the enemy, it is not until he gains the cooperation of others that the evil is overcome. This lesson in cooperation to obtain a common goal runs in the Japanese version of the three little pigs. The first two little pigs escape the attacks of the big bad wolf so that they can join the third pig, they cooperate and entice him down the chimney. In the usual English version of the story the first two pigs get eaten but the third one with more foresight and individual cunning, defeats the wolf.
Japanese culture plays down individuality; However I did say that anime is also escapism, so there are many heroes that show a lot of individuality. The book "Images of Japan" sites Fuji Santaro, Asatte Kun, Mappira Kun, and Hoshi Hyuma, as heroes with individuality. From the same book it concludes that in the Japanese media it would appear that there are few double acts, but I am not so sure. What about Nadia and Jean, or Briareos and Deunan, or even The Dirty pair?
Group cooperation means the Japanese do not feel guilt purely because he/she has broken some law laid down by Moses or Confucius. Guilt is because he/she senses that he/she has let the group down, or fails to meet the group's expectations. The Japanese have a shame culture which contrasts with the guilt culture that we have in the UK. This helps to explain the low crime rates in Japan.
If a Japanese person steals, he/she is breaking the rule of cooperation. This means bringing shame on their family, the company where they work, and anywhere else they have a psychological contract and belongs to a group.
Japan has a long tradition of individual responsibility and a strong sense of the importance of individual effort and willpower. There is a Japanese proverb "Seishin itto nanigotoka narazaran" (Where there's a will, there's a way) and "Jigo jitoku" (One must pay the consequences of one's misdeeds).
Moving on to the subject of crime, violence and sex (Manga Video territory!!). The abundance of violent and erotic media available in Japan allows the Japanese, especially the men, to escape from the real world. This is in order that it is possible for the Japanese to live in harmony in a quiet uneventful real world. In Ian Buruma's book "A Japanese Mirror" he writes that the Japanese are able to maintain tatemae (how they appear to the outside world) of harmonious existence with their friends, relatives, and colleagues, due to the amount of vicarious and fantasy violence and eroticism that they are exposed to.
Of course, this all sharply contrasts with what happens in the UK. I personally believe this is why manga and anime have such a reputation of being full of sex and violence. The Japanese allow sex and violence in the media, because they don't have a problem with it in the real world. Though the Japanese appear quite prudish, it is not a problem to the Japanese. Society it seems needs a certain amount of sex and violence; in the UK we get this in real life, as we can express ourselves quite easily. For the Japanese it is much harder, and they get it partially second hand through fantasy media. In a country such as Japan, they have had enough post-war problems without crime.
This fantasy top-up is similar to the "fast car" top-up in the US. The strict laws prohibit fast driving, so the film industry satisfies the "want" by producing films crammed with fast car chases. In Japan, another example of the media filling in the "want" gaps, left in real life are with Newspapers and TV news reporting.
In 1984 a con man was hacked to death live on TV. A news team were reporting live outside the con man's home when two self-styled philosophers forced their way into the house. They hacked the occupant to pieces, and then clambered out and gave an instant, blood splattered interview on live TV. The TV report complete with slow-motion replays, was how one bedridden old lady was informed of her son's demise.
The most popular Japanese magazines are Focus and Friday, these have been described as a Japanese version of "News of the World" with the same production values of "Life". They carry articles that are about Sex, Death and Fame, preferably in that order. The naked body of a dead actress is perfect, or a colour close-up of a mangled car or plane crash victim.
All this escapism is good for the Japanese community, and I think that this is why anime and manga have a firm following both here and in the US. Generally, I think that this is a good thing, and perhaps if we had more escapism in the UK our crime rates would come down. Although I admit that Manga Video have gone over the top.
There are drawbacks with living too much in a "Cartoon Book World" as Peter Tasker puts it in "Inside Japan". In 1983 Kazuo Suzuki was arrested for convincing rich women that he was the nephew of the Queen of England. The fact that he could only speak Japanese was ignored by the women. They were used to Gaijin (foreigners) in manga speaking colloquial Japanese. So the poor women were totally fooled by a blond tint of the fraud hair, and his facial restructuring.
Moving on to the Japanese themselves, they believe rather conceitedly that they are better than everyone else. Gaijin means people who live outside (Japan). The Japanese have long been isolated from the rest of the world. The complexity of their language has meant that there have been many communication problems. Again quoting Peter Tasker:-
"Children who watch foreigners on TV every day seem amazed to be confronted by the real thing, and bellow out their one single completely sentence of English 'This is a pen'. Their parents have different conversational gambits 'Can you use chopsticks? ' Or 'Which Japanese foods can't you eat? ' The subtext of the statement is the same, I am Japanese, You are a foreigner and that distinction is of overwhelming importance."
Even as late as during the last century, Japanese scholars were debating whether the Dutch raised one leg to pee. Japanese are probably the most racist people in the world. Even Japanese citizens who originate from outside Japan find themselves subjected to racism. John Lowe who lived in Japan for many years has said "In Japan, you may be liked, but never accepted".
Having had 2 Japanese people living in my corridor at Reading University a few years ago, I can say that the Japanese tend to stick together and don't want any contact with outsiders. I found this rather strange, at first trying to talk to them, I found this difficult. I did find one Japanese student who was prepared to talk to me; he turned out to be Welsh.
A poll of Japanese housewives living in New York showed that there was very little contact with American neighbours or the American scene. THE Japanese abroad keep themselves to them selves, but I would expect that if I were in a strange land I would search out people that spoke my own language. I have been told that Manchester university has a good Anglo-Japanese relationships.
Back in the 16th century Joao Rodrigues wrote "They (the Japanese) are so crafty in their hearts that nobody can understand them, Whence it is said that they have three hearts. A false one in their mouths for all to see, another within their breasts only for their friends, and a third in the depths of their hearts, reserved for themselves alone".
Why this was written is simple to explain. There is a chasm between tatemae (face) and nonne (real intention), thus when a Japanese person says yes he/she may actually mean no. To say no would be impolite as it gives the impression that you don't care about the other person. Thus it is better not to say no straight away, but politely cancel at a later date.
Also some Japanese language is nonverbal, which is guaranteed to confuse the average Gaijin. I am not actually convinced that I am sure what nonverbal communication is, and have even less idea how it is done. This communication is called haragei (tummy talk).
Basically the Japanese use vague words which are open ended, but what they mean is transmitted by a glance or other body language. The ideal would appear to be to live out your emotions rather than verbalise them. You may be interested that this is the origin of hara-kiri (belly-cutting). It was believed that the soul was in the intestines. So by disembowelment you could show people what was really in your soul.
It is for these reasons that communications between the Japanese and Gaijin are so difficult, the Japanese are well known for this.
One reason for this is that they live in cramped and overcrowded conditions and need their own space. Watching Television, reading manga, magazines and newspapers is how most Japanese spend their leisure hours, they spend triple the time watching TV they spend on any other leisure activity.
A Japanese man might be a photography buff, but the idea of joining a photography club would not occur to most Japanese men. Being on your own crops up quite a lot in religion. In the Zen tradition, inspiration comes from a stroll in the garden, not from fellowship as in the west.
Some Japanese TV is rather strange. In one programme contestants have to guess which Japanese foods a foreigner will dislike the most, a drama series about extramarital affairs. We all know about anime but, Peter Tasker reflects that all the huge robots with insignificant human heroes in the robots chests are supposed to have morals about the power of high technology and the danger of being without it.
Finally a word or two about 'Japlish'. Have you ever wondered why so many anime shows have English words cropping up? Japanese culture has borrowed so many words from other cultures such as 'Disco', 'Nite Club', etc. The answer is of course fashion, the Japanese don't however necessarily know what the words mean. 'Bum' was a brand of crisps, 'Pis' a refreshing soft drink. Japlish slogans can be just as nice - 'My life, My gas' was not trying to sell indigestion remedy, but fuel.
That is it, I hope that this article has whetted your appetite. The Japanese people and their culture are a fascinating subject, check out you local library for books.
Thanks to Kanji Bates for proofreading, and John Dobson for inspiring me to write this and Helen McCarthy for being Helen.
Copyright Anime KT 1993