Chrysanthemum and Sword

While ago I came across two peculiar quotations both from the same book

“ The Chrysanthemum and the Sword” written by an American Anthropologist Ruth Benedict.

One was made by the ousted Japanese PM Kan saying  [Culture of Shame] out of the book.

Other was,  in reference to my description somewhere [keep one’s place and to do the job which was given]

—- one of my friend asked me “Is that the same, what Ruth Benedict said in her book ?”

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—– What made me surprise was that this book is not yet dead and still read by the people 🙂

It seems this book is still a distinctive reference when people try to learn the Japanese culture though, shame,

it was hastily written on her misunderstanding of the culture and people’s psychology.

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As Ruth Benedict’s coined notion of  [Japanese Culture of Shame] against [Western Culture of Sin]

are both based on her miss-observations of both cultures —–

*  If  her observations had even a shred of truth, the fact such as [ 90% of the lost money totalling

£23 millions, found in the disaster zone of Japan, has returned to the rightful owner ] ! ! !

could ever happened.  While nobody was watching, why they bothered to take the money to the police  ?

And why no police man put the money into his pocket,  even in the time of utter chaos  ?

*  And, there were so many excuse or justification of the Riot and the Looting happened in

this country,  expressed even in the comments to my Blog.    Why ? ??

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The notion of the [Shame] in the Japanese culture is not against other’s eyes but to

the Eyes of the Heaven —– therefore, no escape or excuse.

And this feeling has been so deeply sublimated, even Japanese themselves doesn’t know Why = it is almost

a chemical effect,  like a feeling of  loathe a filth. —– (This is the Ethos originated from the ancient Shinto )

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In the western culture, the Right or Wrong = Morality is based on the Commandment written and

given by their Judea Christian God —– therefore, how to read it (and how to interpret ) is

depend on the case.

As the God was designed like as a person,  he use the same language and may answer you and

the matter may be negotiable with a sacrificed offering.

So that, with an excuse there is no absolute Morality.   Wrong may be easily changed to Right.

Worse still,  when the influence of the religion evaporated,  there is no basis of  Morality left.

—– yet still, Ruth Benedict thought that the western Morality is absolute and Japanese one is relative   😀

( In the same shoddy eyes,  she couldn’t see the fundamental pattern of the Japanese Ethos is the Zen —– but

she mistook it as the Confucianism)

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