IH M‘ “I H x } WI | t yr I 31' w; w | I | l \ H Ell ‘ I l i CHILD~REARING PRACTICES AND CULTURAL ISSUES IN JAPANESE PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT A Pmbéem fer 7:233 Bag?” of M. A. MiCHfiGAN STATE UNWERSETY Hisaka Kakubu 3966 LBRARY MiChéjfln State University mama-1:: 3m; max-22mm EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN K (I: II; 1.11:: Ll , H _l. -.».~.1 y. u Rh .1. .1. a:i~--l’-1{x-:1-uzsu" .1'. my P r" .331 (it t. l (:1: sizes-2:; earn-.11 (ml till?" H _ A - .1. ‘Et'thti-cii- F013;. Rem M!CH\GAN STAT NW5 1 PLACE IN RETURN BOX to remove this checkout from your record. TO AVOID FINES return on or before date due. MAY BE RECALLED with earlier due date if requested. DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE 6/01 c:/ClRC/DateDue.p65-p. 15 CHILD-BEARING PRACTICES AND CULTURAL ISSUES IN JAPANESE PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT By Hisako Kokubu A PROBLEM Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Home Management and Child Development 1966 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My deep gratitude is extended, first of all, to Dr. Martha Dale, my academic advisor and chairman of my committee, for her patient guidance and constant encourage- ment. Almost weekly sessions with her greatly helped me deepen my thoughts and organize the data. Had it not been for the warm interest and efforts of Dr. Alice Thorpe, Chairman of the Department of Home Management and Child Development, the completion of my program in child development would not have been realized. My hearty thanks are due her. I am also indebted to Dr. Gordon Aldridge, a member of my committee, in whose school of social work I have learned sociocultural points of view. My appreciation goes to Mrs. Vera Borosage, Associate Director of Michigan State University Laboratory Preschool, for her insightful instructions about preschool education. 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. . . . . . . . . . . Chapter I. INTRODUCTION 0 O 0 O O O 0 O 0 Nature of the Problem . . . . . Significance of the Problem . . . II. THE METHOD OF STUDY. . . . . . . Level of Research. . . . . . . Assumptions. . . . . . . . Collection of Data . . . . . III. DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS . . . . . Child-Rearing o o o o o o o 0 Personality. . . . . . . . . Culture . . . . . . . . . . IV. IDEAL PERSONALITY IN JAPANESE CULTURE. V. THE JAPANESE WAY OF CHILD-REARING . . Dependency . . . . . . . . . Aggression . . . . Sexuality . School Teachers Parents . . . VI. CULTURAL PERSONALITY OF THE JAPANESE PEOPLE O O O O O O O O O Individualism . . . . . . . . Creativity . . . . . . . . . Human Relations . . . . . . . iii Page ii FJH JI'UOU) LU O\O\U1 U'l 13 1H l6 19 21 22 25 26 28 3O Chapter Page Suicide . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Psychosis . . . . . . . . . . 33 Neurosis. . . . . . . . . . . 35 VII. CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . 38 BIBLIOGRAPHY. . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 iv CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Nature of the Problem Since the end of the Second World War, the American way of life has been introduced into Japanese culture in- cluding child-rearing and education. It appears, however, ' that the basic cultural pattern still remains as it used to be. Japan is not necessarily successful in grasping the spirit of the West except its technology. The Japanese should be aware what cultural issues are so that they may develop cultural diffusion in such a way as to promote self-realization. .In this project the focus is placed on the Japanese way of child-rearing and its influence upon the cultural personality. By exploring this area of Japanese culture, it will be clear which part of Western theories of child- rearing can contribute to Japanese culture and which part may have some difficulty in cultural diffusion. Significance of the Problem The problem, first of all, has a personal signifi— cance to me. As a student of Child Development, I would like to know what goals have been identified in nursery l school education and in child—rearing in Japan. The general goal of child-rearing is socialization. But different socie— ties define socialization in different ways. If the process of American socialization is different from that of the Japanese, an application of American ways of child_rearing into Japanese society may cause some confusion since the goals are not always compatible. Secondly, this problem is socially meaningful, because by making clear the central issues in Japanese child-rearing and cultural personality, we can reduce the confusion which the Japanese might experience when facing various different aspects of the Western way of life. Thirdly, this problem may satisfy our anthropological curiosity. The contrast of Japanese child-rearing and per- sonality types with American child-rearing and personality types is a topic which is often discussed among American returnees from Japan and Japanese returnees from the United States. CHAPTER II THE METHOD OF STUDY Level of Research This project is not a hypothesis—testing type of research, but a descriptive and exploratory study of Japanese child-rearing and cultural personality. Instead of statistical analysis, an explanatory method will be used based on anecdotal reports. It is hoped that further hypotheses will be generated through this study. As my frame of reference, I intend to use anthropological theory, psychoanalytic theory, learning theory,and existential philosophy in an integrated manner so that it may be possi- ble to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the problem. Assumptions It is assumed that personality is formed as a result of the child-rearing process. Experiences in later years contribute to building of status personality, but the basic personality type is determined by early childhood experi— l ences. lRalph Linton, The Cultural Background of Personality fiw York: Appleton—Century-Crofts, Inc., lQUS), pp. lul- (N IA It is also assumed that Japanese culture is essentially not very different from pre-war times. Technological pro- gress after the war gives an impression that Japan has changed, but as far as psycho-cultural values or patterns of behavior are concerned, there are reported few signifi- 1’ 2’ 3 This means that most of the anthro- cant changes. pological observations in pre-war Japan are probably still applicable at the present time. Collection of Data The main data are derived from the literature on Japa- nese culture. Since Caucasian individuals may be more objective observers of the Oriental culture, articles by non-Japanese authors were selected with a few exceptions. In addition, my informal interviews with Americans who once stayed in Japan as visiting professors or military personnel extend the data. The lack of the information on the problem was covered by my autobiographical re- flection. 1James C. Moloney, Understanding the Japanese Mind (New York: Philosophical Library, 195“), p. 12. 2Douglas G. Haring, "Japanese National Character: Cultural Anthropology, Psychoanalysis and History," Personal Character and Cultural Milieu, ed. Douglas G. Haring (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1956), pp. “33-43“. 3William Caudill, "Pattern of Emotion in Modern Japan," Japanese Culture: Its DevelOpment and Charac- teristics, edi Robert J. Smith and RichardPK. Beardsley (Chicago:‘ Aldine Publishing Co., 1962), pp. 115-131. CHAPTER III DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS Child-Rearing Child—rearing represents a process of transmission of the culture of a society into which the child happens to be born. From the individual child's point of view, child—rearing is a process of social learning or a pro- cess of acquiring the rules and norms of behavior in that society. Transmission of culture or social learning is, in other words, the process of socialization of individuals. In this paper, child—rearing is used interchangeably with socialization. When child-rearing is defined as cultural trans- mission, a question is raised as to whether or not cultural innovation is included. Considering a child's creativity and idiosyncrasy, socialization or cultural transmission is not the whole of child-rearing. I do not ignore the im— portance of cultivation of the child's uniqueness. It is, however, valid to say that early child-rearing is heavily oriented to socialization both with reference to learning the culture and with reference to participation in a social group. Personality Personality is a patterned behavior of individuals to meet the human needs, primary and secondary. In this paper the focus is on the cultural personality of Japanese in general, not on each individual. Individuals in Japan must have some patterns of behavior common to each other. This commonality is dealt with as the Japanese cultural personality. The concept about common personality of the Japanese is based on the assumptions by Kluckhohn and Murray,1 who say that personality has three aspects: some- thing like all other men, something like some other men and something like no other men. The second aspect, something like some other men is focused upon as the Japanese cultural personality in this paper. Culture According to Kneller,2 there are three theories of culture. One views culture as an entity which exists as a superorganic being, the other as an abstract concept which does not actually exist, and the third as both entity and concept. lClyde Kluckhohn and Henry A. Murray, "Personality Formation: the Determinisms," Personality in Nature, Society and Culture, ed. Clyde Kluckhohn and Henry A. Murray (New York: Alfred A. KnOpe, 1956), p. 53. 2Gorge F. Kneller, Educational Anthropology: An Introduction (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1965), Chapter 2. From the standpoint of conceptualists, culture is a product of human individuals. In my judgment, culture as a concept is more valid, because in this frame of refer- ence, culture exists as a psychological state of individ- uals who could influence the cultural process if they are aware of the cultural impact. I have defined culture as the socially learned patterns of behavior to solve problems, which are commonly shared by the people of a given society. Linton's defi— nition seems to support my definition. He says, "A culture is the configuration of learned behavior and results of behavior whose component elements are shared and transmitted by the members of a particular society."l lLinton, op. cit., p. 32. CHAPTER IV IDEAL PERSONALITY IN JAPANESE CULTURE Each society has an ideal type of personality toward which child-rearing is oriented. Torrance's study of ideal personality of different countries illustrates this. School teachers of different countries, in response to the question- naire, ranked the ideal personality as follows:1 USA GERMANY GREECE PHILIPPINE 1. Independent Sincere Energetic Industrious thinking 2. Curious Humor Strive for Obedient distant goal 3. Humor Industrious Thorough Courteous Japan is not included in the above report, but there are some studies which attempt to describe the ideal per- sonality of the Japanese. Maki2 reviewing the entire history of Japan from the era of the first Emperor concluded that lE. Paul Torrance, Rewarding Creative Behavior--Experi- ment in Classroom Creativity (New Jersey:‘ Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1965), p. 228. 2John M. Maki, Japanese Militarism, Its Cause and Cure (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 19A5), pp. 113—122. devotion to the clan chief (family head, lord, emperor, etc.) has been the goal of Japanese life. It is Haring's observation1 in Japan that the Japanese remain feudal in heart or obedient to authority. Moloney2 asserts that the Japanese child-training emphasizes modesty, reserve, and conformity. The above authors, it seems to me, agree that obedi- ence is a high personality trait in Japanese culture. Un- like the United States, Japan is a more structured society in which people are hierarchically related to each other. For the maintenance of the hierarchical, oligarchy and feudal society, obedience to authority is an indispensable standard of behavior. The ultimate value of obedience is accompanied by two other values: self-restraint and ritual—prescribed behavior which may be described as etiquette-mindedness. American children are encouraged to be self-assertive and friendly to others because these two traits are highly valued in interpersonal relations in a democratic society. In Japan, however, self-assertion is considered as a lack of modesty, and friendliness as a lack of respect. Japanese children are conditioned to obedience, self- frestraint, and etiquette-mindedness. It was of interest to 1Douglas G. Haring, "Comment on Japanese Personal Character," Personal Character and Cultural Miliep, ed. Douglas G. Haring (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1956), p- 395. 2Moloney, op. cit., Chapter 1. 10 me to find that American mothers, visiting a nursery school, are anxious to know if their son or daughter is getting along well with peers. Japanese mothers, on the contrary, are more concerned as to whether their child is obeying a teacher without answering back. As for etiquette training, the first page of a kindergarten book usually reads, "Let's say 'good morning' when you meet your teacher," or, "Take off your cap to bow to your teacher." Parents also let a child practice stereotyped greeting words when he leaves for school and comes back from school. "Itte Mairimasu" (I am now leaving) and "Tadaima" (I have just returned) are loudly announced by the child at the entrance of the house. Self-restraint is another goal for which Japanese children are trained. To be obedient and etiquette-minded, children should refrain from giving vent to their real emotion so that they may not insult others. Polite wording and smiling while conversing are often used as a means of disguising real emotion. Japanese individuals often feel guilty even when they claim their right as a person or a citizen. Therefore, they never fail to add, "I am sorry, but --," whenever they make some sort of self-assertion. If they do give direct expression to their emotion or idea, they are considered to be boastful or lack modesty. Although Japanese culture today appears to be approach— ing American culture, there is still a basic difference in concepts of the ideal personality. The New Constitution and the New School education Law in Japan advocates the ll formation of democratic personality. But this ideal was 'originally imposed upon the Japanese and does not repre- sent an ideal which they have formulated. Therefore, many people may intellectually accept this new ideal type of personality, but not emotionally. As Fukutakel says, the Japanese feel that rationality in daily life leads to social isolation. They have thus some nostalgia for their tradi- tional ideal type of personality. In recent years, the Ministry of Education in Japan has appointed a Committee of National Ethics for restoring the spiritual backbone for the post-war generation. The proposal by the committee was, however, entirely based on the pre-war times standard of behavior, that is, obedience, self-restraint, and ettiquette— mindedness. One of the illustrations that today's Japanese culture is dominated by traditionalism is the study by three Ameri- cans2 of the reaction of Japanese returnees from the United States. The returnees' trouble, according to their study, is that they are scolded by their senior staff for being "rude." The returnees' friendliness, informality and self- assertion were perceived by Japanese observers as a lack of modesty. lTadashi Fukutake, Man and Society in Japan (Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, 1962), p. 19. 2John W. Bennett, Herbert Passin, and Robert K. McKnight, In Search of Identipy (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1958), Chapter 7. 12 The American goal of child-rearing is to help children be independent, self-assertive,and friendly. The teach- I ing method and curriculum in school and the method of child- rearing at home are all arranged in such a manner as to meet these goals. Japanese teachers and parents should be aware of the differences between the cultures with reference to these goals. CHAPTER V THE JAPANESE WAY OF CHILD-HEARING Child-rearing is a process of socialization of an immature child whose needs are primarily impulsive and ego- centric. The child must learn to postpone his satisfaction of needs until he meets adequate circumstances, or he must learn to sublimate his impulses in a socially approved manner. In other words, the child must learn to accept the reality principles which eventually replace pleasure princi— ples. There are two questions to consider when we introduce children to the reality principle. One is, which system of children's behavior should receive the most attention for socialization. The other question concerns the various adults who are in charge of the socialization process. As for the first question, Whiting and Child1 set up five systems of behavior as the objects of child disci- pline: oral, anal, sexual, dependency, and aggression system. I have condensed those five systems into three: dependency, aggression, and sexuality. Since oral and anal behavior are related to dependency or independency training, 1John W. M. Whiting and Irvin L. Child, Child Train- ing and Personality (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1953), p. 45. l3 1“ they were both included in the category of dependency. If we assume that obedience, self-restraint and etiquette— mindedness are the goals of the Japanese personality train— ing, then the problem is how to achieve these goals by dealing with children's behavior centering around dependency, aggression and sexuality. The methods of child-rearing as a means of achieving the goals of socialization will comprise the topics of this chapter. I will also discuss the significance of the various socialization agents in Japanese culture: parents, teachers, and different cultural institutions. Dependency Benedictl thinks that the Japanese way of child-rear- ing has a U—curve, meaning that in both earlier and older years the Japanese experience full indulgence and dependency. The evidences to support her opinion are abundant. Weaning, for example, is begun after the next baby is born. This is partly due to the superstition that prolonged breast-feeding prevents pregnancy.2 Feeding is usually irregular on the basis of the baby's needs. Toilet training is not severe. lRuth Benedict, The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Pattern of Japanese Culture (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 19A6), p. 25H. 2Betty B. Lanham, "Aspects of Child Care in Japan: Preliminary Report," Personal Character and Cultural Milieu, ed. Douglas G. Haring (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1956), p- 567. 15 The first punishment concerned with toilet training is at about the age of six years and five months according to Lanham's study at Kainan City, Japan.1 Even after school age, children sleep in the same bed with parents or grandparents. It is fairly common that children of school age are washed in the bath by their parents. Parents do not strictly set a bed-time for children. This close relationship with parents tends to pro— long children's dependency. In later years when individ- Hals face the reality of life for survival, they long for %heir early days of complete dependency upon parents. This Urge for dependency is, according to Doi,2 a unique charac- téristic of the Japanese. Parents accept children's dependency upon them as an indication of their children's obedience toward themselves. This logic is applied to any human relations in Japanese culture. Professors like those students who depend upon their teachers not only for academic guidance but also for Expersonal matters, such as marriage and job hunting. Children sense that dependency is a means of securing the care and affection from someone else. An independent child is sometimes negatively evaluated as a 1Ibid., p. 567. 2Takeo Doi, "Amae: A Key Concept for Understanding Japanese Personality Structure," Japanese Culture: Its Development and Characteristics, ed. Robert J. Smith and Richard K. Beardsley (Chicago: Aldine Publishing Co., 1962), pp. 132-139. l6 fchild who has no kawaige or cuteness. It is customary, (therefore, for children to expect their parents to select 3their mate, although some changes are now being observed in this area. Aggression It is beyond the SCOpe of this paper to discuss ways in which aggression originates. At various times in psycho— analytic theory, aggression has been described as an outcome of the death instinct.l Redl and Wineman2 have a different point of view, namely that aggression is produced by frus- tration of basic needs of children. It is hard to settle the argument between these theories. It is evident, how— ever, that most children have aggressive drives regardless of how they originate. Aggression is deeply repressed in child—rearing in Japan. Since the human relation is hierarchical, people are afraid of insulting others in a higher status by aggressive behavior. Answering—back, disobedience, physi- cal attack, property damage, temper tantrums, and angry facial expressions are punished. lH. Hartman, E. Kris and R. M. Loewenstein, "Note on the Theory of Aggression," The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, ed. Anna Freud et al. (New York: International University Press, 1949), III-IV, p. 11. 2Fritz Redl and David Wineman, The Aggressive Child (Glencoe: The Free Press, 1957), p. 27. 17 Parents' methods of punishment for those aggressive facts involve a threat of denial of love or a threat of (.physical punishment. The threat of denial of love is ex- pressed in such phrases as, "You are not my child any more," 2 or, "I will give you to someone else." The threat of physi- Ecal punishment is by moxa practice. . The prohibition of aggression is connected with the Japanese sensitivity to social status as mentioned above. This status sensitivity is strongly related to the value of chronological age as well as to family rank and occupation. Age is an important factor for deciding the pattern of human relations. Once the age of the participant in a social interaction is known, the younger person takes a subordinate role toward the elder partner. The elder partner feels at ease because he does not need to control his own feelings of aggression. The social learning of controlling aggression, in terms of age difference, is primarily experienced in inter- sibling relationships in Japanese culture. Through rela- tions with siblings, children learn the hierarchical point of View which is the central value in Japanese human rela- tions. Among Japanese siblings, there are no concepts of brother and sister in the Western sense. The Japanese language has "elder brother" (api), "younger brother" (otohto), "elder sister" (age) and "younger sister" (imohto), but no words which are equivalent to "brother" l8 and "sister." This means that children do not experience equalitarian relations among siblings. The elder brother calls his younger brother by his first name without any polite adjective, but the younger brother must call his elder brother by adding the polite title or honorific, after his first name. This is also the case for sisters. When quarrelling among siblings does occur, parents intervene to stop such quarrels under any circumstances. Parents usually lecture the children saying that the elder brother must protect the younger brother, and the younger brother must obey the elder brother. The point of the parental lecture is to make children aware of the status differences in their ages. If one of the siblings is destructive or disobedient, _parents may use methods which stimulate their feelings of sibling rivalry. "Your elder brother is better than you," is one of the examples. To restore parental care and affection, children must withdraw their aggression. Since rivalry with and among siblings is used as a means of con— trolling aggression, children develop a good deal of sensi— tivity about favoritism. They are always afraid that other siblings are more favored by parents. Children's sensitivity to favoritism is typically observed among children of grade school age. In Japan, many individuals strive to repress their aggressive feelings toward superior-status people in order to gain their favor. l9 Sexuality In the process of growing up, children display many different kinds of behavior which are directly or in- directly related to psycho-sexual develOpment. Behaviors which are primarily sexual in nature include immodesty, 1 In masturbation, heterosexuality and homosexuality. Japanese culture, however, the emphasis in Child—rearing about sex is not on those areas related to physiological satisfaction of sex, but on the awareness of the social meaning of sex or the role differentiation of men and women. As Benedict2 mentions, the Japanese are permissive about heterosexual, homosexual, and autoerotic behavior. The restriction is rather on the socially perceived behavior of both sexes. Beginning in early childhood, the differences of the role for both sexes are emphasized. Otoko-rashisa (being masculine) and onna-rashisa (being feminine) are the most important words to describe one's personality. Boys are expected to control their four emotions: happiness, anger, sadness, and pleasure. The emotionally expressive boy is shown disapproval for behavior considered to be non-masculine. This value of emotionless appearance is rooted in the Japanese hierarchical social structure. lWhiting and Child., op. cit., pp. us—uo. 2Benedict, op. cit., Chapter 9. 20 As a representative of the family any boy is expected to participate in this status-minded relationship. To avoid improper behavior, he has to keep emotionally neutral. Self-revelation might prove more disturbing to others than emotional neutrality. Masculinity, defined as emotional control, becomes, therefore, a means of self-defense. Girls are expected to be submissive and gentle to anybody, particularly to their future husband and parents- in-law. The self-assertive girls are often cautioned by their mother saying, "You cannot be a nice bride." There are more working women today than in pre-war times, but even these progressive working girls often leave the decision as to their marriage to their parents.1 Although the old teaching that both sexes should be separated at the age of seven years is now obsolete, children of both sexes are exposed to many life situations which re- quire different behavior for different sexes. The popular children's magazines are published in separate COpies. Boy's Club and Girl's Club, for example, are published by Kodansha Company.2 The ideological foundation of different treatments of boys and girls is based on Confucius' teaching. It justifies lReiko Hatsumi, "Japan: The Mercurial Women," Holiday, XXX, No. A (October, 1961), pp. 88-98. 2Shinpachiro Miyata, "Children's Magazine Today," Japan Quarterly, X, No. 2 (1963), pp. 258—261. 21 the idea that both sexes are not equal and should, accord- ingly, be treated in different ways. School Teachers In Japanese culture, school teachers receive respect from the public. The reason for this lies in their origin. The teachers were, historically speaking, from the samurai or warrior Class, which was the highest social Class in the Tokugawa era (1603-1868). This traditional perception about the teacher is still alive in today's Japan. Since parents respect the teachers, children take their teachers' words as unquestionable truth. Pupils' re— spect for their teachers produces some social distance be- tween them. The teacher—pupil relationship is not friendly, in the American sense, which advocates a person-to-person relationship. The social distance due to respect encourages Children's self—restraint, etiquette-mindedness, and obedi- ence. Children never learn to confront their own feelings. Crewe,l who taught English in Japan, reported his impression that Japanese students are trusting but do not show real affection. An American professor whom I have interviewed, said that he felt easier in teaching Japanese students than American students because the former are very receptive to the professor's lecture. lQuentin Crewe, Japan: Portrait of Paradox (New York: Thomas Nelson and Sons, 19657, p. 239. 22 The teacher-pupil relationship with its social distance blocks the growth of children's responsiveness. Their consciousness about their role as a pupil pre— vents their awareness of themselves as a person. Teachers, also, are too conscious about their role as a teacher and sacrifice their feelings of personal awareness. It is only at the farewell party after the graduation ceremony that teachers and pupils become more Open with each other and talk more frankly. In brief, the teacher-pupil relationship in Japan is the most suitable form of human relationship for the purpose of transmission of feudal and hierarchical culture, but the least suitable form for developing self—identity as a person who could function adequately in a differently structured society. Parents Japanese society was originally maintained by a clan chief. The head of home, head of relatives, head of regional area,and head of the country were respectively called father, family chief, lord, and emperor. The father was therefore the most immediate clan chief to children. The concept of clan chief does not exist today on the conscious level, but it is unconsciously adhered to by the Japanese people. Because of these historical circumstances, the children's experiences with their parents naturally become the core of their behavior pattern. The basis of their 23 relation with parents or the spirit of their familism is referred as on and_giri which are the feelings unique with the Japanese people. Benedictl explains that pp is a feeling of being psychologically indebted to someone else and gipi is an obligation to pay back this psychological indebtedness. In the event that they receive some care from another per- son, they feel that they ought to repay him. This repay- ment, gipg, is a life-long task. If they fail to practice gipi, they are criticized by the public as "a person who does not know E£££~n These principles of behavior, on and giri, are strictly taught by children's parents. Children learn the signifi— cance of on and giri toward their parents first. They then expand their learning to teachers, bosses, senior staff, ancestors, and also to peers. Parents demonstrate on and gipi themselves. They observe the ceremony for their ancestors on the anniversary of their death. They pay ceremonial visits to their teachers, senior relatives or elder friends on New Year's Day, or on other similar occasions. Children learn what on and giri mean through their parents. Gigi, the repayment of a psychological debt due to receiving someone's care, is a moralistic obligation. It is the formality which is emphasized rather than an emotional commitment. Children are supposed to learn how lBenedict, op. cit., Chapter 7. 2A to conduct themselves rather than to learn how or what to feel. It is natural, therefore, to inhibit emotional or personal responses in a life-like situation. Ritual politeness with empty emotional content is learned. Here again etiquette-mindedness, and self-restraint are neces- sary. The Japanese logic of on and giri has a negative effect in the sense that formality prevents a more per- sonal, emotional relationship. It seems to me, however, that the on and girl relationship provides the Japanese with a feeling of belongingness. Since gig; continues for one's entire life, the human relationships and obli- gations continue for his whole life. The relation is seldom broken down. The relation is also constant. The people do not feel lack of stability in human relationships. The relation is formal and superficial, but they feel secure by belonging to or relating to other people on a consistent basis. It is assumed that this stabilized feeling works in a positive manner to promote mental health for the Japanese people. CHAPTER VI CULTURAL PERSONALITY OF THE JAPANESE PEOPLE In previous chapters, it was shown that the Japanese children are trained to be obedient, etiquette-minded, and self-restrained by Child-rearing practices which regulate feelings related to dependency, aggression, age, and sex- roles. This particular kind of child-rearing may produce some general outcome that accounts for a so-called "cultural personality."1 The descriptions of Japanese cultural personality are 2.3,“,5,6 many and varied. Through my readings on Japa- nese character, the following traits were found to be typical lLinton, op. cit., Chapters 2 and 5. 2Maurice Schneps and Alvin D. Coox, The Japanese Image (Tokyo: Orient and West Inc., 1965), pp. 1-7. 3Jesse F. Steiner, Behind the Japanese Mask (New York: The Macmillan Co., 19A3), Chapter 10. “Benedict, op. cit., pp. lu5-176; 195-227. 5Haring, op. cit., pp. Al2—A23. 6Robert J. Smith and Richard K. Beardsley, Japanese Culture: Its Development and Characteristics (Chicago: Aldine Publishing Co., 1962), pp. 115-131. 25 26 of many Japanese individuals. These traits are assumed to be the by-products of the process of achieving the ideal personality: obedience, etiquette-mindedness, and self- restraint. Obedience: fear of separation from group, fear of the unknown world, no social interest, homogeneous, obedient to authority. Etiquette-mindedness: fear of inadequate etiquette, fear of being laughed at, status-minded, structured, role-oriented, stereotyped. Self-restraint: temper tantrum, repression of tenderness, non-verbal, hypocrisy, anti— rational, compulsive, fear of losing face. These traits will be discussed as to the following six aspects of the Japanese cultural personality or behavior: individualism, creativity, human relations, suicide, psy- chosis, and neurosis. Individualism Japanese people lack individualism. They have less awareness of themselves as individual beings. The reason seems to be in their concern about others' reaction. Their main goals of socialization are obedience, etiquette, and self—restraint, which are all based upon their nervousness about other people's reaction. As Gorenl says, "losing face" and "being laughed at" are the important aspects of the Japanese motivational systems in many cases. They are lGeoffrey Goren, "Themes in Japanese Culture," Per— sonal Character and Cultural Milieu, ed. Douglas G. Haring (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 19A8), p. 281. 27 afraid of being isolated from the group. They are afraid of ostracism. Since even economic structure is paternal and feudal, ostracism is not only a psychological threat but also may cause financial panic. This increases their desire to identify with their groups. The Japanese have strong identification with other social groups such as family, school and country. They need to feel that they are a part of these groups. It is, therefore, natural that they lose their self—identity when their groups are lost or broken. Benedictl reports that Japanese soldiers, when captured by American troops, cut their ties with their native Japan. They then quickly changed their loyalties to the American and offered to assist the American soldiers by serving as battle guides. Also it is common for many Japanese to believe that the higher positions in industry and government are monopo- lized by a group of graduates of a certain university. In- dividual competency does not matter. The group to which a person belongs is the crucial issue. If they have no groups to belong to, they feel as if they are worthless as indivi— duals. Crewe2 found that he was, first of all, ques- tioned about which university or company he had been affiliated with, when he went to the Tourists Bureau in Japan. He reported that he felt the Japanese were somewhat lBenedict, op. cit., p. A1. 2Crewe, op. cit., p. 20. 28 suspicious when he explained that he was there as an in— dividual, and not as a member of any organization. The Japanese identification with their groups pro- vides them with a sense of belonging and security. But this, on the other hand, blocks their development as a person or an individual who has his own taste and right in life. The Japanese must cope with these two alternatives, group-centered behavior or individual-centered behavior. Creativity Torrancel has found the following criteria reliable to identify creative children: curiosity, flexibility, sensitivity to problems, redefinition, self-feeling, origi- nality, and insight. When these criteria are applied to the Japanese people, in my judgment, they seem to lack creativity. In a structured society with strong status orientation, the people's first concern is how to acquire an adequate pattern of behavior so that they will neither be laughed at nor run the risk of offending others. Such creative activi— ties as curiosity, flexibility, sensitivity to problems, redefinition, self-feeling, originality, and insight are not welcome in feudal society. The questioning child with curiosity, for example, is treated negatively by adults lE. Paul Torrance cited in John Kord Lagemann, "How We Discourage Creative Children," Redbook, CXX, No. 5 (March, 1963), pp. uu-u5. 29 who say, "Don't be so talkative." Just as the Japanese traditional play, ppp, is valued for its wordless communi- cation, so the silent Children are highly admired. Since spontaneity is discouraged, the people's be— havior tends to become stereotyped. There are fewer individual differences. Instead of taking a risk in making a decision, they tend to turn to their authority figures for advice. This less creative atmosphere is reflected in pre- AASChool education. Much of the Japanese kindergarten pro— gram consists of group play, group dancing, and group sing- ing which are structured and directed by teachers. Little time is scheduled for individual free play such as finger painting, collage, easel painting, and wood work. Only the well—drawn pictures are displayed on the wall, in con- trast to the United States, where almost all of the pictures drawn by children are on display. The university students in Japan are another illus- tration of lower creativity. Crewel said that the Japa- nese students cannot use the expression, "I think." In— stead, thcy summarize or desoribe what the authorities on the subject state. They are not accustomed to think inde- pendently. lCrewe, o . cit., Chapter 11. 30 Human Relations The pattern of human relations in Japan is relatively formal. Western tourists in Japan feel that Japanese people are polite. This politeness, however, is the result of the repression of aggression and emphasis on social dis- tance from each other. It is hard to be frank and defense— less in the status-oriented feudal society. This was particularly so in the Tokugawa, 250-year era when the social classes were more distinguishable and where the central government's espionage was more active. People had to be polite and uncritical to each other under such circumstances. Thus, self-expression was actively dis— couraged at the same time that self-restraint and etiquette were highly developed. Crewel got the impression that Japanese students might have only one or two real friends due to their lack of emotional interaction. Formality blocks their personal interaction on a deeper level. Therefore, the drinking party is an indispensable ritual for promoting warm, per- sonal, and frank relationships. It is an unspoken rule that any talk at the drinking party should be forgiven and forgotten after the party. Japanese formality, which is based on social distance, has a negative effect upon the interaction of individuals with those of other cultures. Since the Japanese hesitate lIbid., p. 239. 31 to be involved in deep relations with others, they main— tain the outsider's position when they are exposed to a new culture. This superficial or formal contact with people of a different culture seems to be preventing the development of genuine Japanese cultural exchange. An illustration is found in the research report titled, Ip Search of Identity.1 The authors of the report say that the personality of Japanese students in the United States is not influenced by their stay in that country, because they are not actively involved in their associations with American people. They are polite but superficial to the Americans (constrictor type), or active in social life, but not involved in the ideology of the American (adjustor type) or interested only in intellectual matters, remain- ing lonely among the Americans (idealist type). Japanese formality in human relations also seems to affect the teaching-learning situation. In American cul— ture, students are generally responsive to teachers. In Japanese culture, students and teachers mutually maintain some distance resulting in less interaction. Two—way com- munication is not encouraged. If the focus of education is changed from the transmission of knowledge to the total personality development of the student, it will be neces- sary to work out new and different ways of developing warm interpersonal relationships between teacher and student. 10 Bennett, Passin, and McKnight, op. cit., Chapter 10. 32 Suicide Statistics show that the suicide rate in Japan is the third highest in the world.1 Most psychiatrists seem to agree that suicide is associated with depression. Sadler,2 for instance, says that suicide is an attempt to escape from depression. Landis and Bolles3 and Coleman” also reported that their Clinical experiences indicate that depression often pushes clients to suicide. English and 5 have stated that many suicides occur while the Pearson individual is severely depressed. If depression is related to suicide, what makes the Japanese depressive? According to Fenichel,6 depression is caused by turning aggression inward to oneself. Suicide is self-attack or self-punishment. As previously stated, the Japanese are trained to withhold their aggression toward their authority figures. This is the reason that homicide 1"Birth and Death Statistics," Britannica Book of the Year,_l962 (Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1962), P- 95. 2William Sadler, Practice of Psychiatry (St. Louis: Mosby, 1953), p. 365. 3C. Landis and M. Bolles, Textbook of Abnormal Psy- chology (New York: The Macmillan Co., 1950), p. 138. “J. C. Coleman, Abnormal Psychology and Modern Life (Chicago: Scott, Foresman and Co., 1956), p. 217. 5O. 8. English and G. H. J. Pearson, Emotional Problems of Living (New York: W. W. Norton and Co., 1955), p. A89. 6Otto Fenichel, Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis (New York: W. W. Norton Co., 19A5), p. A00. 33 is an unusual crime in Japan. Moloneyl observed in Okinawa that the incidence of crime is negligible. Inner-oriented aggression may eventually be expressed by suicide which indirectly indicates one's revenge to the external world. Unlike the United States where aggression is outer-oriented in a competitive social system, the Japa- nese people generally have no such outlets for their aggres- sion. Since Japanese Child-rearing practices are oriented toward the development of a strict super-ego, the potential for directing aggression outward toward other individuals is severely inhibited. The problems for the future, I think, are concerned with the strengthening of ego functions so that the ego will be able to cope with repressed aggres- sion more realistically; the ego should also then be able to negotiate more successfully with a too-strict super-ego. Psychosis According to Moloney,2 the prOportion of psychotics to the whole population is 49 out of 100,000 in Japan, and 400 out of 100,000 in the United States. He explained that sufficient skinship in child-rearing prevents the occur- rence of psychosis in Japan. Through the skinship, children develop their perception of the external world. When the lMoloney, 0p. cit., pp. A9-50. 2Ibid., Chapter 5. 3A skinship is sufficient, children feel closeness to the external reality. They seldom escape into the fantasy, because the reality is perceived as something pleasant and close. As far as my review of the literature is concerned, there were few discussions about the cultural origin of Japanese psychosis. Moloney believes, as mentioned above, that early skinship prevents later psychosis in Japan. I want to develop from this theory the following hypothesis: The Japanese early dependency experiences including skin— ship may be a Cause of psychosis under unusually severe circumstances or unfamiliar cultural settings. It is possible that early dependency experiences of the Japanese have served to develop their narcissism and fantasies of omnipotence, along with a weak ego. This re— sults in a lack of ability to tolerate frustration in later years when the reality of a life situation is ex- tremely different from their expectations. The reason that most of the Japanese do ppp develop psychoses is due partly to their skinship, but also very greatly to the stabilizing effect of the Japanese culture. Individuals who are forced to live in a culture which is very differ- ent from the familiar Japanese culture, with its strong feudal tendencies of earlier years, often show a panic reaction. The ego, in panic, then loses its integrating power, and psychotic behavior may result. (*1 U1 There are some data to suppoer the above speculation, especially with reference to the development of neurotic patterns. One study1 reports that of a group of twenty— three Japanese students in the States, half of them showed evidence of symptoms such as the physical conversion of anxiety and tension; inability to study was also common. All of the twenty-three students showed emotional fatigue. It is reported that foreign students from other countries did not show compatible adjustment difficulties as fre- quently as the Japanese students. Neurosis Haring2 says that the normal Japanese are similar to 3 Occidental neurotics in compulsiveness. Moloney states that there are many cases of character neuroses in Japan. The basic mental mechanism of the Japanese neurotic is explained by Doiu in the following manner. He states that the frustrated gmap (the passive dependency need) pro- duces a compulsive need to restore the pmgg relations. Since Japanese children have had experience with full dependency, lBennett, Passin, and McKnight, op. cit., p. 124. 2Douglas G. Haring, "Aspects of Personal Character in Japan," Personal Character and Cultural Milieu, ed. Douglas G. Haring (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1956), p- 405. 3 Moloney, op. cit., pp. 40-41. uDoi, op. cit., pp. 132—139. 36 They tend to become fixated in this early stage, even as adults. The demands of the reality principle, however, do not allow them, as adults, to satisfy their desire for éflié (which, in this case, would involve a return to an earlier, immature state). These feelings produce frus— tration, and many adults attempt to restore the "frus- trated" amp: by disguised means. An example of this is seen in the tendency of the Japanese to bow several times when they meet someone. Since they feel the gmpg need in— side themselves, they feel guilty about it and as a result, become extremely polite. Benedictl says that in many cultures child-rearing has a discontinuity in cultural conditioning. When the conditioning lacks coherence in every stage of child development, the child is frustrated since he is treated in different ways at different stages of his life. Inco— herent conditioning produces psychic threatening. This theory of Benedict's can be applied to Japanese culture, too. A child's early experience of gmge is dis- continued after school age, which puzzles and threatens him. This is likely a cause of Japanese neurosis. The way to cure Japanese neurosis is, in my judgment, to get rid of the urge for amgg or passive dependency need. The Zen Buddhists used to teach that they should kill their lRuth Benedict, "Continuity and Discontinuity in Cultural Conditioning," Childhood in Contemporary Cultures, ed. Margaret Med (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1963), p. 27. 37 father, teacher, and ancestor and any other authority figures. Needless to say, killing means psychological independence or freedom from these authority figures. When they have nobody to lean against or depend upon, they do not need to strive for approval, affection or care from him. In other words, they are free from need for gmgg. Some Western theories of psychotherapy emphasize the warm relationship betWeen the therapist and client. The dependency needs of the client are, in some ways, similar to the Japanese feelings of gmpp. Westerners who were ex— posed to severe discipline at early age may need to experi- ence deep feelings of dependency as part of their corrective emotional experiences. By way of contrast, the Japanese may need experiences which help them gain insight into the fact that they have a personal identity in their right, and that it is acceptable for them to feel that they need not be an identical copy of other Japanese individuals. These individuals perhaps need to realize that their behavior does not have to conform to a stereotyped ideal, in all cases . CHAPTER VII CONCLUSIONS In the previous chapters I have described Japanese child—rearing and personality, ideal and cultural. The basic assumption was that methods of child—rearing deter— mine the later personality. There is something, however, to consider about this assumption. There is no doubt that Child socialization is prima— rily accomplished at home and later at school. Today's psychology—oriented teachers and parents are many times exclusively concerned with human-relation variables, ignoring the cultural forces which determine the form of human relations. Fromm's criticism1 of Freud is likely true when he says that Freud forgot that the family is merely an agent of the society. In this paper I have attempted to explore the social and cultural foundation of various human inter-relationships in Japan. Without an awareness of cultural issues, it is hardly possible to develop a deep understanding of child—rearing and per- sonality. lErich Fromm, Beyond the Chains of Illusion: ,MY Encounter with Marx and Freud (New York: Pocket Books, Inc., 1963), p. 64. 38 39 The second problem is how we Japanese people should respond to or evaluate the Japanese culture when we are facing other cultures. Should we ignore other cultures and stick to our conventional culture in the name of cultural relativism? I think that we must face the reality of today that most all of the world cultures are making contacts with each other. We are, in a sense, forced to make a decision toward our own culture as well as others. According to Kneller,l there are four possible alternatives to take when confronting other cultures. One is to re- affirm the traditional values, the second to overcompensate by new values, the third to adopt new and old values in- consistently, and the fourth to integrate old and new values into a coherent system. Since I place the greatest value on the individual's development of his potentialities, the first alternative is denied. According to Torrance's study,2 about 70 per cent of creative Children are not included in the high I.Q. group. This must be even more true in Japanese culture. We cannot re-affirm the traditional Japanese culture for this reason. The second alternative, that of overcompensation by the adoption of new values, would be hard to practice in Japan, where identity of the self is based upon a national lKneller, op. cit., Chapter 7. 2E. Paul Torrance, Guiding Creative Talent (New Jersey; Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1962), p. 63. A0 ideal or image. Many Japanese people would be afraid of discarding their culture for another. Only those who were able to cut their identity ties with Japan would be able to substitute a new value system. War brides, for example, who were rejected in their native land, are apt to become extremely interested in American culture and ways of life. The third alternative, which involves the inconsistent practice of both old and new cultural patterns, appears to be closest to the present Japanese reaction. Certain aspects of the school systems, for example, were changed in Japan, but the human relationships inherent in such a system con- tinued to be maintained on the old value system. There has been no true integration of two value systems, the old and the new. The fourth alternative, that of integrating different cultures into a coherent system, is desirable. The Japanese people need to be aware about what they might profitably learn from other cultures and also ways in which they could use their own cultural heritage to enhance and encourage the development of the individual. If the Japanese people really become aware of the fact that the development of individual potentialities is not sufficiently encouraged as compared with Western culture, then they will, perhaps, be more reasonable about attempt- ing to learn from other cultures, and possibly more SS? lective in the practice of their own cultural habits. Al In order to become aware of their cultural issues, the Japanese must transcend their culture. As long as they are emotionally attached to their culture, their per- spectives are limited and their flexible choice of action is restricted. In this respect, approaches from the stand- point of existential philosophy may prove helpful for the Japanese. According to Sartre,l the core idea of existentialism is "existence precedes essence," which means that each in- dividual has a right to choose his act or to define himself. For this basic value, existentialists never hesitate to rebel against authority. This courage to choose one's own course of action is what the Japanese need today. Conformity to traditionalism sacrifices the indi- vidual's self-decision and self-actualization. The Japa- nese could learn from the existentialists the courage which they need to encounter reality. This courage, how- ever, may result in social isolation. But social isolation, together with self—realization, is more worthy than social acceptance alone without an opportunity for self-realization. Without this conviction, the Japanese cannot transcend their feudal culture. A... ..L..__ ‘1 1Jean Paul Sartre, Existentialism (New York: Philo- sophical Library, 19A9), p. 16. BIBLIOGRAPHY Books Benedict, Ruth. ”Continuity and Discontinuities in Cul— tural Conditioning," Childhood in Contemporapy Cultures, ed. Margaret Mead. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1963. ,,._,__,_,,__,_ The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Pattern of Jppanese Culturp. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1966. -‘__. Pattern of Culture. 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