Does Japan hate individualism?
Beware of Oversimplified Claims
Japan is collectivist. Japan is a rice agriculture-based society so it is all about harmony. Japan loves order and everyone follows the rules. The streets are so clean because everyone is so considerate and always throws their trash away correctly. Japan is a homogenous nation. Japan is so weird and exotic. The Japanese have a special “ethnic spirit” 民族性 unlike any other nation. etc, etc.
Many of these claims come from some, albeit exaggerated, cultural truths or overly extrapolated linguistic artifacts.
I see these claims all too often. Many were promulgated in the right-wing nationalism of Nihonjin-ron discourse by Japanese themselves and Westerners alike.
The Problem of the Proverb
The notoriously incorrect, but ubiquitously utilized
出る杭は打たれる
”The sticking up stake will be beaten down.”
is a perfect example.
This phrase is almost 500 years old. The most recent reuse in print, since its origin in the early Edo period, was in 1946 in the novel, 「錦」nishiki, by a Kansai literary figure, 須井一 Sui Hajime. Secondly, this idiom does NOT mean that Japanese society does not allow sticking out, i.e. individualism. It actually refers to the feelings of resentment that people feel towards the successful or skilled.
「出る杭は打たれる」ということわざの意味は、才能や手腕があって頭角をあらわす者や、さし出たことをする者は、とかく他から憎まれたり、人から非難されたりするということである。
その用例は江戸時代前期から見られる。
The meaning of the proverb, “The one who stands out will be beaten,” is that those who stand out because of their talent or ability, or those who do extraordinary things, are often hated by others or criticized by others. This illustration has existed since the beginning of the Edo period.
In other words, in response to this resentment, the jealous parties bully or denigrate the excellent, successful individual. Therefore, to assume that Japanese people do not want to stick out misses the very human insight of this proverb. It is an indictment of the actions around the individual who “sticks out,” not an ethical calling to everyone to not stick out. People are likely to bully those who succeed or stand out because of jealousy. Therefore, it is less a reflection of the Japanese culture and the specious “Japanese spirit” than an insightful expression concerning humankind’s tendency towards resentment of others’ success.
It is true, however, that there is a strong culture of 同調圧力 or peer pressure/pressure to conform. I will not opine here on this socio-cultural phenomenon simply because to do its extremely complicated interpersonal and systemic basis justice is beyond the space available for this short article.
Lastly, making wide sweeping claims about the nature of a sociocultural framework or an entire diverse nation through a single linguistic artifact is a paltry excuse for evidence of a highly complex sociocultural phenomenon.
Japan and the Japanese people are not a monolith. Peddling these oversimplified cultural claims should be seen as the Neo-Orientalism that it is, yet it is all too prevalent when discussing Asian nations, especially Japan. These claims are oversimplifications at best and racist at worst. So I encourage everyone to look upon any cultural generalizations, especially of cultures not your own, with a critical eye. The more complicated and multifaceted reasons for any socio-cultural realities are much more fascinating. The Cambridge Guide to Modern Japanese Culture is a wonderful introduction and the works of its editor, Yoshio Sugimoto, and contributors, such as Harumi Befu, (who unfortunately passed away last year) are some of my favorite books on Japanese culture.
