Where does the name land of the rising sun come from?
China is where Japan was first called the land of the rising sun. This is due to the fact that the star appears on the horizon from the Japanese islands . Local townspeople liked the name. Nippon means rising or homeland of the sun, and is what the Japanese call the country. The name is deserved when compared with geographical indicators. On the world map, this country is located in the very east, and the Japanese are the first to greet the sunrise on the planet .
At the end of the 13th century, learned about Japan. Marco Polo was published . The publication described a journey through Asia. A distant island in the East called Chipingu was also mentioned in the works and translated means the country of the birth of the sun. The original and beautiful name of Japan has been fixed in many dialects of Europe.
For a long time, the Japanese called their power Yamato , that is, mountain path, but over time they stopped using this word. The first notes about the concept of the land of the rising sun in political and official documentation were registered under Prince Shotoku at the beginning of the 7th century AD. Later, the name was assigned to the Japanese state and was used everywhere not only orally, but also in correspondence.
Japan has a red light on its flag. Its official name is Nisseki and translated means sun flag. For the Japanese population, the red circle is considered a holy and ancient element . The luminous star symbolizes the emperor, prosperity, fertility and the celestial surface. It was this sign that decorated samurai armor and chain mail. He was also depicted on Shinto banners that were raised above ships.
The Japanese call their country "Nippon" or "Nihon", which literally means "The Beginning of the Sun". Japanese myths say that the ancestor of the Japanese and Japan was the Sun Goddess - this, in fact, explains the name. In the West, another name has taken root - Japan - from the Chinese reading of the hieroglyphs “The Beginning of the Sun”. After all, the West first learned about Japan through China after the travel of Marco Polo. The 7,000 Japanese islands together make up an area equal to two-thirds of France, slightly larger than Germany and exactly the same as the American state of Montana. However, due to the abundance of mountains, highlands and volcanic zones, only 25% of the land is inhabited. The population of Japan is 125 million, that is, almost half of the entire population of the United States of America. Now try to pack half of all Americans into a quarter of the single state of Montana - and you will get a clear picture of existence on the Japanese Islands.
NATIONALISM AND SELF-PERCEPTION
“Own” and “alien” in the life of a Japanese
The Japanese can behave towards a foreigner in a way that they would never behave towards a Japanese person. Abroad, they will easily do things that they would never allow themselves to do at home. And all because they clearly distinguish between the concepts of “uchi” (what is inside is “our own”) and “soto” (what is outside is “alien”). To enjoy the respect and care of others, in other words, to have a worthy status among the Japanese, you must be a uchi—“one of your own.” Otherwise, you have nothing much to count on: after all, you are a stranger, Soto, and therefore, at best, deserve condescending neglect. They simply don't notice you. For the Japanese, foreigners are definitely soto in the vast majority of cases. Japan is uchi, abroad is soto, so overseas you have the right to behave as you please. After all, no one at home will know about it anyway. An apt saying goes: “No one will remember what happened along the way.” Japan is an island country surrounded by stormy, dangerous seas, and therefore the Japanese have managed to maintain the purity of the nation for centuries. They certainly consider their homogeneity and racial homogeneity to be a huge advantage; many phrases begin with the words: “We Japanese ...” - as if all Japanese think and act exactly the same. From time immemorial, the geographical conditions of the Japanese islands influenced the character of their inhabitants. From the oldest chronicles that have reached us (around the 6th century AD) it is clear that the population in that era was already quite large, in any case, there was not much chance left for a solitary hermit life. In the 10th century, Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan, was a very large city, perhaps even one of the top three largest cities in the world. The Japanese have always lived very crowded, so the very idea of individuality, independence from a neighbor, from other people, was completely erased from the consciousness of the nation. Only someone who belongs to the category of uchi will be trusted by a Japanese with his innermost secrets. With just acquaintances, he will limit himself to talking about the weather. Mixing “genres” is impossible under any circumstances. For example, a Japanese will always pretend not to notice a stranger in the corner of an elevator or corridor. The door will slam in your face, a sharp elbow will kill someone, and a heavy case will leave impressive bruises on your neighbors’ knees—and no one will even apologize. But if you are an acquaintance, and even more so, a client, then they will roll out the carpet in front of you. The Japanese themselves take such metamorphoses for granted. The Uchi and Sotho divide the world into convenient, controlled sectors. This is a way of self-preservation. Of course, from childhood the Japanese are instilled with the idea of the need to care and love each other, but it is impossible to care and sincerely love absolutely everyone and always, so the question of priorities arises. And teach, of course, the most important thing. It’s so natural that strangers come in last! The Japanese are gregarious homo sapiens. They are simply not able to live alone, relying only on themselves. If you are independent enough to not care about the opinions and actions of others, then the differences between uchi and soto do not matter much. But if the condition for survival is membership in any social group, then being “one of the people” with the “wrong” people is simply catastrophic. So “one’s own” and “someone else’s” are very, very serious concepts for the Japanese.
Looking at others
To the Japanese, all non-Japanese are gaijin. And foreigners will never be able to become the same as the Japanese. The term “foreigner complex” is used in the Japanese islands. After all, a foreigner is a typical European with long legs and, as a rule, fair hair and blue eyes. For many years, in contrast to the Western bewilderment: “Why can’t they be like us?”, the Japanese asked themselves: “Why can’t we be like them?” Many Japanese people dye their hair brown and wear contact lenses that make their eyes appear blue. And some Japanese women even use a special cream to make their nipples acquire a more delicate pink tint. Western actors, models and rock stars, considered the height of attractiveness, are promoted by the media to advertise everything from cars to cough syrup. It is stylish and prestigious to have a Western appearance. Manufacturers make full use of this psychological factor to increase sales, and any new products are presented to the general public as “already popular” in Europe and America. The Japanese love for America runs deep. To the question: “Who would you prefer to be born if you were born again?” — 30% of respondents answered: “American.” The English language seeped into every crevice of their daily lives, albeit in a very specific, Japaneseized form. After an exhausting workout in the gym, a Japanese man will definitely drink a can of Pocari Swea to restore water balance in the body. When he gets hungry, he goes to a fast food restaurant called “Happy More” for a bite to eat. Having become unemployed, he will run to the local branch of the Hello Work labor exchange. Neighbors on the Asian continent have also recently begun to interest the Japanese. Just as the British say they want to go on holiday to Europe, the Japanese view continental Asia more as an exotic destination than as a whole world to which they themselves belong. However, gradually the attitude is changing: the Japanese wear Asian national clothes, feast on continental cuisine and engage in business and other things related to Asia. Foreign language schools are multiplying like mushrooms after rain. Each radio station broadcasts a twenty-minute foreign language lesson twice a day (except Sundays), including English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, as well as Chinese and Korean. Due to such diligent study and abundance of travel, the Japanese decided that they knew the world around them much better than foreigners would ever know Japan. Therefore, any foreigner who speaks Japanese and shows admiration for Japanese culture immediately receives the nickname “henna gaijin” - strange foreigner. All Japanese are convinced that foreigners cannot understand them, but the Japanese are able to study foreigners - they just have to work hard.
A look at yourself
If you manage to get an immediate and unambiguous answer to the question: “How do the Japanese see themselves?”, then your interlocutor is not a real Japanese. For why put into words what is clear without explanation? Who needs these clear lines of demarcation? In the Japanese consciousness, one concept imperceptibly flows into another. Definitions that are too clear are a source of potential risk of disagreement. In Japan, they don't like direct questions as much as they don't like direct answers. It is extremely rare for a Japanese person to tell you a clear “yes” or a clear “no”. The normal reaction would be more like “Ma” or “Mama”, which translated means something like “Well, how should I say this...”, “I guess so...” or “More or less.” Therefore, the Japanese perceive the question: “What is it like to be Japanese?” - like a challenge. Many Japanese live to a ripe old age without asking this question. One Japanese official explained the difference between the Japanese and Europeans in a very peculiar way. He compared the Japanese with analog devices and the Europeans with digital devices. A mechanical watch only gives correct information when you look at the large hand, small hand and dial as a whole. None of these components on their own will tell you what time it is. Moreover, using a mechanical watch you can determine that at the moment it is half past four, but in five minutes it will be twenty-five minutes to four. In order for a watch to show time correctly, the hand must rotate logically and regularly on the dial. The Japanese perceive themselves as parts of a mechanical watch, which are always in harmony with each other and move along the course of life in accordance with the laws of logic. Electronic watches report the exact time at a given specific moment, but this information is in no way connected with previous or subsequent information and is completely discrete.
Favorable image
Despite the desire not to stand out externally, in their souls most Japanese are obsessed with a kind of pride. They go out of their way to appear neat, hardworking, capable of justifying the trust placed in them, no matter how difficult the task may be. But the ideal is hidden wisdom and insightful mind. “A wise hawk hides his talons,” says the proverb. The flip side of pride is self-destruction. It is to this stage that they bring themselves in work, sports and even in entertainment. When the world criticized the Japanese for being too hard working, they created television programs explaining how to have fun during the weekend, and these programs were diligently watched by the whole country on weekends. For fear of being seen as slackers, many Japanese refuse to take vacations. To force their employees to take the allotted vacation, desperate bosses have invented the only way to force employees to rest at least a few days a year. They generally close the company for some time, condemning tens of thousands of workaholics to dull “vacations” full of hopeless melancholy and horror of the ghostly dismissal.
CHARACTER
Understanding
Throughout their adult lives, the Japanese have been taught to understand each other without words. This means that it is not at all necessary to have or express your opinion. In fact, it is much worse for a Japanese woman to be known as headstrong and self-confident than as ugly. There isn't even an equivalent for this word in Japanese. It is equally bad to call a man “decisive.” Preferences are rarely expressed in words, so everyone in Japan has to be a bit of a telepath. This circumstance can lead to a fair amount of confusion, since errors in reading thoughts at a distance are inevitable. For example, someone may think that you want to leave when in fact you would prefer to stay. And so on. This can also result in considerable expenses. In Japan, it is not customary to ask guests about their culinary preferences when inviting them to your home for a lunch or dinner party. After all, it will be too in the forehead. So the housewife will have to work hard, preparing food for almost every possible taste. The quintessence of silent mutual understanding is the word “yoroshiku”. It means something like this: “You understand what I want to do. I realized that you understood what I want to do. Therefore, I completely rely on you and expect that you yourself will bring this matter to the end exactly the way I would like to do it. And I thank you for understanding me and agreeing to take the trouble to fulfill my desire.” And all in four syllables! The Japanese have also mastered the art of not understanding each other when they are afraid of losing face. One hot summer day, a Japanese dad went out for a walk with his children. He asked the ice cream vendor what Supa Kurimu, the super ice cream featured on his van, was made from. The seller described the ingredients in great detail: vanillin, strawberry ice cream and pistachios glazed with honey and chocolate. The client could not resist the temptation. “Two servings, please,” he asked. “I’m sorry,” the seller replied, “but today we don’t have Kurimu Soup at all.” In Europe, the seller would clearly interpret the question of the father of the family as an intention to buy this product and would immediately say: “Sorry sir, but we don’t have this ice cream today,” without going into detailed descriptions. The Japanese, not wanting to lose face and embarrass a potential client, chooses a roundabout route. He describes the product in the hope that the buyer will change his mind about purchasing it, and then he will not have to admit the fact that there is no ice cream. He, of course, understands the true meaning of the question, but prefers to give an accurate answer to a specific question. And this happens all the time in Japan. Every effort will always be made to avoid or at least delay a potentially awkward situation.
Under the carpet and behind the text
The Japanese read what is between the lines, or rather, what is behind the text. Everyone knows that behind tatemae - the official attitude or what is expressed in words, there is honne - the true intentions. In other words, a non-verbal mass of emotions reflecting the true state of affairs. This remains, as it were, behind the scenes, and only those who know how to solve will get to the bottom of it. The Japanese will quietly move away - psychologically, if not physically - from someone who is unable to understand this subtlety. Moreover, the Japanese simply try not to deal with what is unacceptable to them. It is obvious that if you do not notice something, then you can assume that it simply does not exist. It is better to remain silent about things that may offend the feelings of the interlocutor or lead to an argument, especially when they concern the mistakes of people from a close circle. Since saving face is the most important thing in any area of Japanese society, damage to prestige is considered the biggest insult. It should be avoided at all costs. These are sometimes the motivations for seemingly completely inexplicable actions: for example, when a person deliberately takes the blame on himself in order to cover up someone else’s mistake. However, it is rare that a Japanese person admits this openly. Letting the genie out of the bottle and sharing information with a stranger is a collective shame. Anything that can be swept under the carpet will be swept and hidden, as quickly and thoroughly as possible. In earlier times, suicide was considered a very noble way of saving face. In our time, such extremes have been replaced by formal apologies. They smooth out awkward situations quite effectively. Things that were obvious to everyone just a minute ago dissolve without a trace, as if nothing had happened. A high-ranking official of the company bows his head low, asking for his resignation, and the slate is again pristine. People stop asking awkward questions because the case is closed. In this context, a formal apology is not an admission of guilt, but rather a means to exonerate oneself and silence accusers. In the Kafkaesque world of Japanese ritual, essence is not identical to external form, so one should not mistake appearances for reality. Sometimes form and content mutually negate each other. But it doesn't matter if it helps someone save face.
How to reach agreement
During the decision-making process, the relevant information is supplied to the appropriate authorities in the appropriate form. Whoever needs to be consulted, whoever needs to be convinced. This is the art of nemawashi. (The exact same term is used in gardening to describe the method of transplanting plants. First, the root is cut, then they wait for the cut end to sprout small roots. And only then the plant is replanted. “Ne” means “root.” “Mavacu” literally translates as “binding , fastening.") To succeed in Japanese society, you must understand the art of nemawashi and master it well. Before any meeting begins, such a flow of information passes through so many hands that the outcome of the matter is almost a foregone conclusion. From the outside, everything looks elementary simple, but in reality the process can be very complex and time-consuming. First of all, you should know in what places you need to put all these important roots of information. If you choose the wrong place and the wrong people, you will cause irreparable damage to the whole business. Moreover, it is no longer possible to pull out the planted roots. So the most subtle move can turn out to be a grave mistake if you choose the wrong soil. For nemawashi, the sequence of actions is also of great importance. If you choose the right people, but in the wrong order, your business is doomed to failure. If you contact the “wrong” people, but contact them in the correct sequence, then you risk getting into a situation where the process can become uncontrollable. Then the original problem that required the nemawashi will pale in comparison to the new nightmare.
Large group
For the Japanese, the dividing line between public and private is very vague. If someone opens his soul to you, you automatically become an inseparable part of his group. Your well-being becomes the concern of these people. They are always on hand and ready to help when needed and when not needed. They will follow you to your grave to ensure that you are given a proper burial. Your home address and family ties are made public. It is for this reason that the concept of “enryo” (respectful distancing) is emphasized in Japan. You must understand when your intervention is undesirable. With no clear boundaries between the personal and the public, or between anything at all, there is little chance for individuality in Japan. But this does not mean that there is no diversity in Japan. Residents of Kyoto, Osaka or, for example, Tokyo will immediately distinguish each other. Even within the language itself, there are many dialects spoken in different regions. However, all the inhabitants of the Japanese islands share the same psychology: they want to be taken care of and rely on each other to do this. Every Japanese is a member of some social group, and the group itself is more important than the individual members within it. Within a group, people share approximately the same views and value systems. As the proverb says, “a nail that sticks out will certainly be hammered down to its head.” The Japanese are unable to understand Western self-confidence, which is characteristic primarily of Americans. “A man must do what a man must do,” repeat the heroes of countless Hollywood Westerns. In Japan, a man must do what his social group must do.
Unsleeping Eye
Living in Japan means being under constant pressure of communication and care. Get ready to have a watchful eye constantly watching you. Someone, everywhere, every minute. It's unavoidable. If you forget to turn off your headlights during the day, oncoming cars will flash non-stop, reminding you of this; So that you do not get confused at the station while waiting for the train, you will be taken under the wing of an incessant mechanical voice. He will announce exactly where your express is now, how many seconds are left before its arrival, how full it is, the Voice will not fail to remind you to move away from the edge of the platform in order to avoid an accident, and will advise you to hurry up so as not to miss the boarding, or wait for the next one composition. He will also tell you whether you can land without looking up from the newspaper, just remember to roll it into a narrow tube, otherwise you will disturb other passengers. The omnipresent voice will not leave you even on the train: “Please go to the middle of the car so as not to interfere with the entry and exit of passengers... Next stop... When leaving the car, do not forget your things!” You'd think there would be a place on a crowded Japanese train where there would be a chance to forget them! Due to increased care from others, the Japanese lose the ability to take care of themselves until life forces them to do so. In foreign restaurants, they are invariably puzzled by the question of what aperitif they prefer. How would they know this if they were not offered a choice? Every item, every product you buy in Japan, including toilet paper, comes with instructions on how to open the package and what to do after that. Home appliances are always sold complete with thick manuals that cover every possibility of human error: “If the light bulb doesn’t light up, check to see if you accidentally forgot to plug it into the socket.” Drawings depict each step, pressing buttons, opening lids and congratulating you with a smile on the successful completion of the process. At receptions, even before the bottles of champagne are uncorked, the master of ceremonies will certainly read out instructions on how to have fun and how to leave the reception without forgetting your coat. Among the Japanese you will never be left to your own devices.
Remember what you owe
The Japanese are touched by fragility and weakness. If you make a mistake, apologize and ask for help to correct what you did, you can count on forgiveness. Those around you will express their feelings by remembering to the grave how they forgave you and how they helped you. This is the same case when he is favored before his benefactor. It means duty—what you owe. If you have an obligation to someone, then you should not forget about it, otherwise you will turn into an outcast. Japanese society is an ocean of all kinds of obligations in which millions of people flounder. Everyone owes something to someone and everyone owes someone. It is better not to return your o" in its entirety, as this may be interpreted as if you do not want to continue the relationship. But since it cannot be accurately measured, even if you really did a great favor to your former benefactor, if you insist that you did not return all of it, then it is so. Moreover, during this time your benefactor could provide you with one more service. So, in fact, neither of you two is able to calculate how much and to whom he owes, and most importantly, why. However, the relationship continues and life moves forward.
Sun cult in Japan
In Japan, they practice the Shinto religion, where the cult of the sun is prominent on the Japanese island. Its main ideas are expressed in any way by the veneration of celestial objects or natural phenomena. Amaterasu is the sun goddess who leads the Shinto pantheon. Legends say that thanks to her, people learned to make fabric, silk and carry out earthworks. She was also the ancestor of the emperor's . The greatest and most famous descendant of Amaterasu is Jimmu , who became the first ruler of the state.
Almost all the religions found in central and southeast Asia are marked by opposition. On the one hand, there is the east, characterized by the birth of the sun, order and peace throughout the territory. The opposite is considered to be the west, where demons live , and this place is identified as the world of the dead. In the Shinto religion, the confrontation between good and evil .
In the 19th century , a treatise was presented that was created by a samurai named Aizawa Seishisai . The treatise described in detail what role the sun played in Japan. According to the author, Jimmu took the place of the emperor because the land around him was divine. According to him, only the next generations of the great goddess Amaterasu have the right to rule the state. Japan is the birthplace of the star and it is here that sacred energy is released. Thanks to this, the emperor competes for supremacy over the entire planet.
Since the West is home to unfriendly and evil people, Japan stands out for its purity and openness. Seishisai claims that America and Europe are darkness , and the country of the Sun is light . The barbarians of the West, possessed by demons, are trying to destroy the bright and glorious land, perverting the morality of Japan beyond recognition.
The treatise emphasizes that the star is considered a symbol of the country, light and gods. In Japanese civilization, the celestial body is still perceived as a sign of well-being, good luck, prosperity and bliss.
Urbanism and nature
All major cities are green. This is roughly how Wasteland 2 was drawn - in contrast to the scorched deserts of Fallout, there greenery entwined the skeletons of skyscrapers. Well, the apocalypse hasn’t happened yet, but there is greenery.
Buddha statue in Osaka, you need to make a wish and sprinkle water on the statue.
N years of iterations - and here we are. Biology is highly respected here. On the 1000 yen banknote is microbiologist Hideyo Noguchi. Coins in increasing order: cherry, rice, temple, chrysanthemum, sakura, paulownia + bamboo and tangerine.
A shop on a street in Osaka, everything is original.
There is a lot of greenery almost everywhere in the city center:
Outside the cities, all the land is used; there are simply no empty plots. These are either land plants, or rice (like here), or a plant:
By the way, the photo shows a waste incineration plant. More precisely, this is a very cunning thing that went about 50 years into the future from Moscow waste incineration plants. The garbage is sorted. Moreover, I got tired of dividing the bottle into three parts: the bottle itself, the cap and the labels for different trash bins. After sorting, everything that can be recycled will be reused. What burns will be burned to generate electricity, and at temperatures when almost nothing will fly out of the pipe. The ashes will be compressed and used as building material (they have already built one island this way).
Household appliances must be returned to the store where you bought them, they will dispose of them for money. Furniture can be given to a garbage truck upon request. There are “happy days” when specific types of waste are picked up on schedule.
They do even the most terrible things beautifully and reuse something. It's a scarecrow for birds.
This doesn’t really go against the tradition of packing everything several times and it’s incredibly beautiful. Here, look:
Very touching: even when you buy yourself a boiled egg, it will be in a stunningly beautiful box, then they will wrap it for you a couple of times and put it in a bag. With cardboard at the bottom so it doesn't lose its shape. This all wastes a lot of resources. Therefore, they have now decided that recycling more than 90% is more important, and if you can avoid littering, it is better not to litter. Therefore, there is an institute “use the thing to the end.” This is combined with the cultural code. Here, the school uniform. It is sewn to order, and there are special threads that need to be pulled out and unraveled so that the shape expands and grows with the child. If you pay a little less for the uniform, or if the child grows bigger than necessary, then boys will come to prom in breeches, and girls in miniskirts. A normal school backpack can cost about 50 thousand rubles, but it is used all years from start to finish.
There are almost no trash cans in the city. When I returned to Moscow, the urns of the Botanical Garden seemed to me a terrible outrage against the beauty of nature. However, when I re-appreciated that I didn’t have to carry all the trash with me, I liked it again. All that remains is to make them beautiful and not 5 meters apart, and there will be a compromise. And yes, they don’t throw garbage in Japan. They just don’t give up and that’s it. In 10 days I saw two cans on the ground, and then in tourist places.
And these are hatches. They are beautiful or camouflaged.
Sun in modern Japan
Harmoniously combining skyscrapers, Buddhist temples, waterfalls and mountain peaks with gorges. The uniqueness of the state is manifested even in the climate. In one area you can enjoy warm weather with plantings, while in another there is snow for several months and it feels cool. The climate also depends on the seasonal winds that blow from the islands in winter and in the opposite direction - in summer. 太陽in Japanese and is depicted on the flag and is used in many national symbols.
Japan is a place where the customs and traditions of its predecessors are respected, although the state is one of the most fashionable and largest cities in the world. That’s why you want to come here again and again, because this is where you can feel the unique atmosphere of Asia with its characteristics.
Language
The Japanese write in hieroglyphs (this is a fork of the Chinese system) and two syllabic alphabet: hiragana (hirokana) for their own words that they do not understand, and katakana for borrowed words.
Plus, they occasionally use transliteration, about as often as we do. The syllabic alphabet immediately imposes a unique shade on imported foreign words. The fact is that there are syllables there, and there is nothing there except syllables. Conventionally, imagine that you have all the necessary consonants, but strictly in combination with some vowels. Therefore light will be "raito". Oh, yes, the letters “l” and “r” are one and the same (“the train runs along rails”), “v” and “b”, and also “sh” and “s”. This wild holivar about sushi or sushi was decided on the spot after the very first dialogues. They pronounce both letters - "s" and "sh" - but multiplex them by wavelength. Something similar happens with the sound “sch”, but not so pronounced. Plus katakana adds a slightly Tolyatti accent: “much” will be “macho”. As a result, the beautiful Slavic name Svetlana = Subetorana.
Therefore, the barrier to entry for learning languages is high. Fortunately, when you manage to overcome it, that is, start writing in a foreign language, then it’s easy. They repeat sounds perfectly, and many speak English very well. That is, you will meet either those who will be very difficult to understand because of their accent, or those who will speak very clearly.
