Family
“…husbands
are superior to their wives and that wives should always be at the home to obey
husbands.” I found this quote interesting because it relates to America in the
1950’s. However, instead of deriving from Confucianism, the patriarchal ideal for American
family came from Christianity, In the 50’s women were expected stay home, wear
a dress, raise the kids, cook dinner, and to the housework. This is similar to
Japanese culture.
“
… in Japanese families there still tends to be a strong distinction between family
members and others.” This shows a difference between American culture and
Japanese culture. America has a wide variety of families and lacks clear family
traditional values. This is partly due to the increase in single parent families
and divorce. American families are more diverse and it is nice that Japanese
families hold a sense of unity.
Gaijin
“These
divisions reflect a basic dichotomy in the Japanese way of thinking” It is
interesting that Japanese culture makes clear distinctions between insiders and
outsiders and yet they also admire ambiguity.
“… call people from other country gaijin no matter how long they have lived in
Japan or how well they speak the language.” Immigration seems to be a big issue
for both American and Japanese culture. Here the problem comes mostly from
illegal immigration. This big political issue often leads to discrimination.
This is ironic because America is a county of immigrants. Japan, on the other
hand, is geographically secluded; therefore, it makes sense why they have clear
distinctions between insiders and outsiders.
Marriage
“Tying
together families together by marriage for political power.” Even though this occurred
during the Kamakura and Muromachi periods I am curious to know what influence this
has on current Japanese culture. This reminds me of the cliché to “marry rich”. I
wonder if there is this same cliché mentality, in Japanese culture, that to be happy all you need to do is marry a rich man or women.
Japanese-ness
“inability
to criticize others openly” I am a painter and a huge part of being in the art
field in having your worked critiques in a public setting; therefore, I find it
hard to understand a culture that does not criticize. In the past decade of so
the contemporary Japanese art market has exploded and I am curious to know if
this lack of criticism extends to the art community. If it does I would like to
know how art is taught there.
“Silence
indicates deep thinking or consideration” This has been the opposite of my experiences.
In American culture silence is uncomfortable and awkward. I remember a couple
years ago it was a popular joke to say “awkward turtle” when there was a long pause
in a conversation. At the same time however, the people I am most close too are
people that I can be around silently and not feel awkward. In America it seems
as though sharing silence indicates a certain level on intimacy.
No comments:
Post a Comment