According to Japanese author and psychologist Hayao Kawai, one of the fundamental tenets in American philosophy -- the importance of the individual -- is unfamiliar to the Japanese and, if given a foothold, could harm their society.
A professor at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies, Dr. Kawai delivered the 1993 Mansfield American-Pacific Lecture on "Japanese Mythology: Understanding the Hollow Center" at the Library on April 8. His presentation was the latest in a series of presentations on "National Values and International Differences: Moral Visions in Japan and the United States."
"The distinctions between 'I' and 'other' in Japanese are not as clear-cut as they are to Westerners," Dr. Kawai said during his opening remarks. "For a Japanese, the use of 'I' is defined by others. ... A Japanese exists primarily as part of a group to which he or she belongs.
"A Westerner might express his or her own wish first, but then is open to compromise for others," he continued. But "a Japanese would first wait for the opinion of others, assess the general tendencies and then adapt to a single unanimous opinion." Dr. Kawai explained that this difference in philosophy may be confusing and frustrating for Americans who conduct business with the Japanese. He gave the example of an American businessman who sought a decision from a representative in a Japanese company. When asked for a reply, the Japanese businessman said he would speak with his supervisor about the matter. But when the American questioned the Japanese supervisor himself, the official insisted on discussing the issue with his subordinates.
Dr. Kawai ascribed the differences between Japan and America to the distinct mythologies that have shaped each culture over time. While the concept of a single, strong and omniscient God has dominated Western beliefs, the Japanese celebrate several triads of gods, which place one, virtually nonacting deity in a "hollow center," surrounded by two balancing and protecting gods. "When we think of a 'central principle' it connotes a strong central power," Dr. Kawai explained.
By contrast, for the Japanese, "balancing is attained by the whole structure, which does not have to have a center actively ruling every element in the structure. They can coexist in a balanced way, without one ruling the other, but each always influencing the other. Therefore, each act always affects someone else. That is why the Japanese have to apologize for so many actions."
Dr. Kawai admitted that the Japanese tradition of consensus does not encourage argument or debate, nor does it acknowledge absolutes such as "right" and "wrong." According to Dr. Kawai, Japanese society depends on a linkage of many elements to function smoothly. Thus, if enough disruption occurs, a strong central figure may take advantage of the instability and begin to dominate society.
"When the equilibrium [among Japanese] gets upset, anxiety deepens," he said. "Then there is a great demand for someone to reestablish the equilibrium." In the mid-1930s, this "someone" was the Japanese military establishment, whose members also called upon the culture's mythology to insist that Japan, as "the country of the gods ... could never be defeated.
"At present, there is a similar danger," he warned, explaining that, if his countrymen feel "pressured" enough to perceive a disturbance in the general balance, they may seek "someone to step into the hollow center to reestablish equilibrium. ... This could lead to fascism." But he insisted that if a majority of the components of Japanese society are kept strong, they will prevent any single threat, however powerful, to the hollow center.
Dr. Kawai conceded that his faith in Japan's religious beliefs was badly shaken after his country lost in World War II. "I came to hate Japanese mythology," he said, adding that, during his studies abroad, teachers in the United States and Switzerland helped him to reexamine and appreciate Japanese mythology once again.
He spoke admiringly of the Japanese belief in compromise over desires of the individual, which he says encourages flexibility. "When something goes wrong in one position, another worker can spontaneously jump in, because at all times the workers are in a balancing relationship with each other."
But such a system discourages creativity.
"A creative person cannot survive in the system, because [they] disrupt the balance," he said. "So, many creative people have to leave Japan. That's why we never make the big discoveries but always improve on the discoveries of others."
Dr. Kawai ended by warning his compatriots against falling into a dangerous trap. Japanese businessmen traveling to developing countries sometimes behave in "tyrannical ways," he said. When in the United States, which is led by strong, central power figures, a Japanese entrepreneur may begin to feel "full of might" and be tempted to move "into the center and behave like a tyrant."
He told the story of the mythological "Leech Child," a deformed but potentially aggressive ("male sun") figure who was abandoned by his parents and left to die. According to legend, the child later returned as the god of merchants. Dr. Kawai said uneasily that his popularity in Japan's religious pantheon is on the rise.
Those who succumb to such "mercantile" tendencies while in the United States may find themselves reverting back to the "hollow center" approach, he said.
Dr. Kawai urged his fellow Japanese "not to hurry to put the mercantile Leech Child into the center" but to include it into "the Japanese pantheon in a harmonious way.
"Recently in Japan, much is told about gaiatsu, pressures from outside," he said. "But for me, it is not a force from outside but from inside to make us remember the existence of the male sun god Leech Child, whom we Japanese threw out long ago."
