| Have you ever wondered about... |
Cultural Contrast? |
Source Information: We Japanese, by Frederic de Garis and Atsuharu Sakai,
Books I, II, and III combined, 2002, Kegan Paul Limited, England
Anecdotal information
By Emy Murakawa
Probably one of the first things that comes to mind when we think of contrasts between things Japanese and things Japanese-American is the written word. In Japan, text is perpendicular, written from top to bottom and read from right to left, whereas English is written horizontally, from left to right. It doesn’t end there. Footnotes are printed at the top of the page in Japanese writing. And have you ever addressed a letter to Japan? It is done in reverse of how we would normally address mail in the U.S., with the country and city coming first, and with the name coming last. And, whereas it is usually customary for us to put the return address on the front of the envelope, in Japan it is almost always put on the back.
More and more, Japan has become Westernized or Americanized, and the cultural divide is shrinking. There are still some things which we probably don’t even notice, but when we do, might make us smile. Have you ever heard “atchi-kotchí” for “here and there”? Literally, “atchi-kotchi” is “there and here”! Most Americans stir their coffee or cocoa clockwise, and most Japanese will stir counter-clockwise. When beckoning, the Japanese will wave with the palm down, using mostly only the hand, whereas the American will beckon with the palm up, using mostly only the hand, but sometimes using the whole arm. Drinks here are served “on the rocks” or cold, whereas saké, is served hot.
In Western swordplay, the sword is usually held in one hand, but in Japanese swordplay, the sword is held with both. Shoes are worn for protection and generally cover the whole foot, but traditional Japanese footwear (geta or zōri) leave the whole foot visible. The Japanese sock (tabi) segregates the big toe from the other toes so that the thong of the footwear can pass between and be held in place.
In the U.S., when approaching from opposite directions, people (pedestrians and motorists alike) generally pass to the right, whereas in Japan (and Great Britain and Canada), the rule is to pass on the left.
Something I remember from when I was very young, but haven’t noticed lately, was that wrist watches were worn with the watch turned to the inside of the wrist. I remember being told that the women wanted the watch to be seen as jewelry and that marking the time could be done privately, less overtly (my impression was that marking the time would be rude in company).
Japanese carpenters used to (and still may) plane toward their bodies and American carpenters plane away from themselves. Japanese strike their matches away while Americans strike their matches toward themselves.
The number 7 is considered lucky by most Americans, but in Japan, all numbers containing 7 are considered unlucky. We think of the number 13 as unlucky, but the unlucky number in Japan is 4 (shi) because of the word shinuru, to die.
How do you count on your fingers? Most of us point the index finger to convey 1 and then raise subsequent fingers, finally raising the thumb at 5 and starting over or using the other hand to continue. (Think of how little children tell us how old they are.) The Japanese count on the fingers of one open hand, beginning with the thumb until all the fingers are folded at 5, and then continue on the same hand by turning up the little finger for six and continuing until the hand is open again. I have to admit, the Japanese method seems more efficient and quicker for counting, but we’d have to keep the other way for non-verbal little ones to tell us their ages!
Can you think of others? It’d be nice to have others contribute to the Cultural Corner, and you are all invited to submit ideas and articles. You may submit to my attention by e-mail to office@vjcc.com.