Celebrating Sameness in Japan

When I first put my son into nursery school, the mothers had to go all day with the children for a while.  This was quite a challenge for me, and when the end of the day came, I was virtually ready to grab my child and run out the door.  But instead, we had to all wait until each child and mother was ready to leave and sitting around the table.  Then, we had to sing "the goodbye song" to each child.  Finally, we all got up and got in our cars which were parked in a straight line and left together, at precisely the same moment.  This is a glimpse into the Japanese culture of doing everything together, the same way.  There is a popular child's song..."Together, together, everyone together," and as my Japanese friend said that not only means "together" but "the same."  I used to be surprised when a very young Japanese friend would call me "selfish," when I parked differently from the other cars in a parking lot, i.e. face-forward instead of backing in.  Another friend criticized my way of cutting vegetables as not being "correct."  Here, there is one right way of doing almost everything.  Americans may think this is very constricting, and certainly many Japanese claim not to like it, but in reality, as a Japanese woman recently told me, it is very comforting to know what the expectations are in every situation.  If you have clear rules to follow, it increases the chances that things will go well.  This tends to keep people from thinking for themselves, but let's face it, it also leads to the kind of admirable behavior we saw in Tohoku where people were waiting patiently in line for food and taking their turn without complaining.  So now, do you expect me to recommend marketing strategies that appeal to this desire for rules or the-Japanese-way-or-hit-the-highway mentality?  Ha! Japan is not so simple.  In my next blog, I'll talk about the other side of the contradiction that is Japan.  Until then, contact us if you're confused...www.noah-digital.co.jp/english/