A. Sonzai
Sonzai is constructed from 2 words; son and zai. Son means subjective self-subsistence or sustain over time. Zai means that the subject stays in the same places in which the word “places” refers to social places which consist of human relations, such as home, hotel, inn, etc. By putting these two words together, we get sonzai (human existence) which literally means self-sustenance of human relations. Although sonzai looks similar to ningen, they are quite different. Ningen refers to capability of being an individual and at the same time also being a member of a society. To sum up, ningen is mostly explaining about a person as an individual. Sonzai emphasizes the dynamic structure of human being, such as human relations which concerns about the relationship between one individual to others. However, sonzai can be said as the interconnection of the acts of ningen as sonzai describes what a person (ningen) does to others. According to Watsuji Tetsuo, we can combine both ningen and sonzai becomes “ningen sonzai” which refers to the subject, who is at once individual and social, and to society, who are at once singular and composite (Kalmanson, 2010).
B. Individuality and Totality
Individuality refers to an individual as a single person, such as me, you, him, etc. Totality refers to a group of individuals, such as society, community, etc. Sonzai (human existence) is neither individual nor communal, but it’s combination of two. People are individuals who interact with other people as communal. Furthermore, neither individual nor communal can exist independently. They rely on each other. As I discussed before, community as well as individual is one aspect of human being. Community is only community if it consists of many ...
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.... According to him, both totality and individuality are important for human being. No one can live as an absolute individual. The bocchi issue in Japan also shows people are not fully individual. They love being alone to do something as they love having their own privacy. But, they still have some friends and help them to learn something new. However, the globalization urges people to become more independent and individual at the same time. By becoming more individual, we won’t be a human anymore. Therefore, we shouldn’t let the globalization drives our life and minds.
Watsuji also explained about the understanding from the origin concept. We should pay attention to the uniqueness from each nation. It will help us to attain a better understanding about knowledge. However, there are still common norms and values which can be widely accepted throughout the world.
I never even thought about this word “individualism” before I came to America. Instead of collective, normal is the way I considered as my culture, and for American culture, I would say they are selfish and unkindly sometimes back then. However, after my 2-year study here and all the research I’ve been read for this paper, now I say that neither individualism nor collectivism is purely bad or good.
-Nara’s Buddhist temples were another result of cultural diffusion, Buddhist began in India in 500s B.C.E. about 1,000 years later, it came to Japan from China by way of Korea.
Japantown, in San Francisco, is an ethnic enclave to the Japanese who migrated to the US and it is a space created by themselves for themselves to practice their old traditions and remind them of home. The Kinokuniya building in Japantown is home to many generations of Japanese and they would often celebrate traditional festivals and more than often there are many subculture groups within the Japanese here in San Francisco. One subculture that is evident is the Ikebana group located in Japancenter where they display flower arrangements called Ikebana. Being an outsider, the need to observe and research is very important to understand this art form flourishing in San Francisco. The empirical evidences I have gathered allowed me to dwell deeper into the history of Ikebana and the Ikebana group as well as the importance of this group to its fellow members.
I believe that his ideas have a great meaning nowadays as we move towards a more materialistic world. I strongly share his opinion that sometimes we should search for solitude and nature to find the answers to our questions. Society is full of flaws and problems but to make it better we have to think more about where we came from, we should think about nature and wildness.
Most American citizens remember December 7, 1941 and the significance that the incidents of that day had. The attack on Pearl Harbor was a shock to the United States of America and it engaged our country in the Second World War of that century (Pearl, 2009). Unfortunately, due to that incident, many Americans harbor many negative feelings and attitudes towards the country of Japan. While this is an understandable sentiment, it is unnecessary, because Japan is an influence on not on the United States but the entire world. Throughout this paper, we will look at the country of Japan as many have never viewed them before. Their actions of the past are just that, the past. Japan is a thriving and successful country within our environment and it is in our best interest to understand that country better. Japan, as a culture, is the
Individuality is required for a country, city, or person to prosper and possibly change the world. The success and tenacity of a group of people is primarily dependent on the distinctiveness of each person. A group of people cannot advance beyond a certain point if there is no originality among them. The theme statement, finding ones individuality is important because it allows a person to stand out in a crowd and not just follow someone else, is proved by three different sources.
A nation’s decision to go to war is not one that can be taken lightly. War requires a great deal of sacrifice and more often than not, results in a great deal of pain for an entire nation. For some, the humiliation of defeat may be worse than any physical pain one car endured. As Pearl Harbor and the Coming of the Pacific War by Akira Iriye shows, Japanese leaders decided that war with the USA was in the best interest of their nation, knowing full well the cost of war. The Japanese leaders` anxiety over the self preservation and self defence of their nation, their anxiety over perceived hostile attitudes from the west, and the importance of making a timely decision on war led them on a path that resulted in war with the USA.
What is individualism? Individualism is to be self-reliant, and a better principle of being independent. The typical American, most of the time, consider themselves as a independent “individual”. Arguably, most Americans are in the middle of individualism, and collectivism.
Individualism in today’s society is the “belief that each person is unique, special, and a ‘basic unit of nature’.” The individualism concept puts an “emphasis on individual initiative” where people act independently of others and use self-motivation to prosper. The individualists “value privacy” over community the individual thrives to move ahead in life (U S Values).
Japanese well-known product, anime and manga, have become increasingly popular throughout the whole world. Alverson (2013) have noted that in New York Comic Cons (New York Comic Convention), the amount of people attending the event has been increasing since 2000 (p. 23). Exner (2012) also appreciate the fact that anime has become mainstream form of entertainment (p. 28). So, what are they? In many people’s understanding, anime are Japanese cartoons and manga are Japanese comics. This belief is not wrong, but there are some fundamental differences that differentiate anime and manga from American comics and cartoon. Unlike comics which are mostly aimed at children, manga aim at audiences of various age and therefore have some genre that comics did not (Poitras, 2008, p. 49). This fact is also shown in the higher display of violence in anime than in Disney cartoons (Disney VS anime, 2000, p. 22). Additionally, manga stories usually tell a single tale with several volumes whereas comics generally have one story per issue (Poitras, 2008, p. 49). As noted before, these types of Japanese entertainments are becoming increasing popular throughout the whole world and many scholars are recognizing so (Fennell, Liberato, Hayden & Fujino, 2013, p. 440).
Japan's political journey from its quasi-democratic government in the 1920's to its radical nationalism of the mid 1930's, the collapse of democratic institutions, and the eventual military state was not an overnight transformation. There was no coup d'etat, no march on Rome, no storming of the Bastille. Instead, it was a political journey that allowed a semi-democratic nation to transform itself into a military dictatorship. The forces that aided in this transformation were the failed promises of the Meiji Restoration that were represented in the stagnation of the Japanese economy, the perceived capitulation of the Japanese parliamentary leaders to the western powers, a compliant public, and an independent military.
I chose to compare and contrast the United States culture with the culture in Japan. There are a few similarities between the two, such as a love of the arts, fashion and baseball. However they are more culturally different than similar in very major aspects.
The idea of individualism can seem rather abstract in our society today. People get preoccupied with how they believe others perceive them, which is in stark contrast to the idea of individualism. Take, for instance, peer pressure, which can affect not only younger children and teens but also adults. All members of a structured society will at some point be impacted by the pressures of society to be normal, and to reach the same milestones as their peers. In Edward Albee’s play, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? the reader gets shown firsthand how the desire to conform, and to be normal, can drive our actions as well as our behavior.
Japan is a large island off to the east of China it is a great country that has a rich culture. The Japanese religion is based off of two main beliefs, the belief in Shinto and Buddhism many Japanese people believe consider themselves both. The Japanese people were known to be around as early as 4,500 B.C. They have constructed their government style to a constitutional monarchy where they do in fact have an emperor, but he has limited power within the country. The main power of the country is held by the Prime Minister of Japan. Japan is made up of many islands that extend along the Pacific coast of Asia. The land area is made up of a lot of forest and mountainous area that cannot be used for agricultural, industrial or residential use. Japan also has one of the largest and growing economies in the world. They are growing every day and it is all because the people of Japan work very hard in order for their economy to flourish as it has.
Our world is constantly changing and it requires a society that is well versed in understanding the problems deriving from culture differences and tolerance of one another’s beliefs and perceptions. We are dealing with systemic problems in education, economic, government, religion and culture differences.