Week Six Many Faces

Many faces, yet all true

What I really find interesting is the levels of politeness that exist within Japan. There are entirely different ways to say virtually the same thing, but a lot more politer, depending on the situation you’re in. The Japanese will use the more polite Japanese at work or in formal situations. Using apologies to express gratitude for example, as I had mentioned in an earlier journal. When you are with your friends though, you would refrain from talking like this. My friend from Minnesota and I were talking about this and he mentioned a book he read which mentioned that the Japanese people have five ‘masks’: One for formal occasions, one for work, one for family, one for friends, and one for oneself. These different ‘masks’ call for different codes of behaviour including different levels of polite language. I might be completely wrong in saying this, but in North America, it seems that many of us look for the sincerity in people and try to see what’s behind the mask. In Japan, there is no looking behind the mask because all there is, is the mask. The idea of looking for the genuine person I think is very much a Western idea, yet again, I could be completely wrong about this. What’s really confirmed this idea of certain attitudes in certain places within Japan is not only in the language, but also the lifestyle. In Japan, you never wear your outdoor shoes inside your house. At the front of every house in Japan is a lower level than the rest of the house for leaving your shoes. You can then put on your indoor shoes after taking your outdoor shoes off. Most of us take off our shoes when we go inside a house anyways, and is just plain sensible if you think about it, yet I had heard that the reasoning for this in Japan is that you live a life outside of your house, and you live a life inside of your house. A lot of dirt and attitudes come home with you, but should not be let inside your house, and therefore left at the door.
Another element of Japanese lifestyle, one which I think everyone should try, are the onsens, or natural hot springs. Japan is of course along the Pacific ring of fire and is no exception to the large amount of thermal energy which exists in this part of the world, and therefore creating some of the best hot springs. These hot springs aren’t used in the same way that we use hot tubs back home, where you just plop into a hot pool of water with your bathing suit on. Instead, onsens are used as a bath. And just like bathing at home, you would not wear a bathing suit. Yes, that’s right! Nude! Family, friends, co-workers and total strangers bath together in the same hot spring, and no one thinks anything of it. What I really love about this is that any sort of hierarchy system that exists in Japan is broken down when you are sitting and relaxing in an onsen. It’s difficult to tell who’s the president of a major company when they’re not wearing any cloths.