I've always been fascinated by culture differences, and Japan has been my first direct experience. Although, honestly, the culture shock wasn't as severe as I thought it would be. It seemed natural for me to travel and understand their culture, at least a lot more than I originally thought. Regardless, I still noticed some differences that not everyone talks about:
*Disclaimer, no pictures. You picture loving people should look at Carol's post of Japanese food. If you're brave enough to read forward, I give you a virtual hand five.*
Privacy
- Bathrooms are designed so differently in Japan. The walls of the stalls are taller (even though the average height is shorter). The door and walls of the stall either touch the ground or come within an inch of touching the ground. The gaps between the door and the walls... there are none! In America, we have large gaps in the sides of the door, whereas in Japan, I saw none. My guess is that Japan likes to be a lot more private when it comes to using the bathroom. Their toilets are more advanced than my TV (if I had one), in that they play beautiful bird chirping and waterfall noises when you sit on the heated toilet. I can imagine I would be spoiled if I came from Japan to America, where we have cold, quiet toilets.
- I think Japan has a phobia of germs, especially in terms of bathrooms. Squatters don't require touching the "toilet", and with non-squatters, like Western toilets, they suggest you wipe the toilet seat with alcohol wipes. However, America might also have a phobia of germs, because all, ALL of our bathrooms have soap. Japanese bathrooms? You have about a 75% chance of finding soap in the bathroom. And towels? Ha. They're so green that they expect you to have your own towel. I like that!
- By the way, while we're talking about bathrooms, squatters aren't that bad. It's a workout, and honestly, it's fun to aim for once, being a girl. Too much?
Women's Rights
- Speaking of being a girl, I liked noticing the similarities of female rights over in Japan. For example, women are really starting to enter the workforce. I'm sure, much like America, it's not necessarily equal yet, (especially in technical, science fields) but the idea of women starting their own careers is wonderful.
- However, it seems that right might be interfering with birth rates. My theory (again, I'll admit that I'm judging this solely on my own ideas) is that since women (and men) are pressured into providing success and money, it makes raising children not as valuable. Also! They value older family members so much more than American families (as in, they don't support nursing homes as much, they live with family longer into adulthood, etc). The middle generation will have to support their parents AND their children. That's a lot!!! Having children is a serious business in Japan. I doubt they have many nurseries, child day care, baby sitters, etc. How is a working mom going to be, you know, a mom? Would a woman rather make money and survive on her own, or spend money and raise children? Women are getting to choose now (well, starting to), rather than follow a dictated path from society. Of course, like America, some women might have the option to work, but are pressured to follow other paths. I know I saw a lot more working women than pregnant women or women with small children, so I saw the low birth rate at first hand.
- Beauty standards. It all seems pretty much the same, except that Japan might be expecting a universal form of beauty, rather than America starting to accept many forms of beauty. While in the subways and in the city, I saw many ads supporting some product. The males all looked rugged, etc and pretty unique. Female models, however, seemed to have the same features.There is a universal form of beauty, it seems. V line, double eyelids, wider eyes, dark brown hair (not black), same eyebrows, similar noses, etc. Everything seems similar, I noticed. Yet, in real life, Japanese women are as diverse as American women.
Respect
- Respect is so key in Japan, especially compared to America. They bow, at varying degrees, pass objects on with two hands (more effort shows more respect) and most especially, I didn't feel like a foreigner. There were a few times I came up with the wrong money accidentally, and they still smiled and thanked me. As soon as we arrived in Hawaii after the trip, all of us encountered tired, irritated immigration officers. Coming from Japan, it was a huge difference! I've heard that Japan culture focuses more on "greater good" or "greater for the people, rather than the individual". Clearly, that's different than America's philosophy on society morale.
Artistic Expression
- Tattoos are discouraged. The only tattoos I saw in Japan were on non-Asian males, who were likely visiting. I've heard it has to deal with the tie between tattooed people and mafias, which is a hush hush topic in itself. I find it interesting that tattoos are discouraged, especially when artistic expressions are encouraged in other forms, like... clothes!
- Their fashion, wow, it's all over the place, in a good way! Many different forms and styles, and almost anything you wear is game (except maybe too much skin, especially around the chest area). But seriously, they wear socks with sandals! And socks can be cats! Or have stylish holes in them! And they have areas where you can dress up as your favorite manga character! Which, leads me to my theory that they gained their love for fashionable artistic expression because that's what the artists could draw in manga!
- Makeup is simple, limited and yet, totally encouraged and stylish. They're more focused on keeping healthy skin, using sunscreen, just using a light foundation, and very limited eye makeup. If anything, lip color is the main form of "color" make up. In America, I would say that falls mostly with eye shadow, but in Japan and some other countries, they would probably rock lipstick before rocking eye shadow.
- Manga and animes seem to mirror the artistic expression pretty well. Little to no tattoos, lots of different fashions, simple makeup and universal beauty. Wearing different clothes seems to be the best way to express yourself differently. I find it interesting that America tends to prefer fashion stays universal, while celebrating different tattoos and makeup.
Work and Education
- Ranking is really important in their culture. I'm sure everyone knows everyone's ranking within the class, whether they want to know or not. It provides self esteem, I'm assuming, and they're interested in our ranking as well. I had one Japanese person ask me who was the highest/smartest in our visiting group. It took me by surprise, because no one asks that in America. It's taboo, especially for an acquaintance to ask. Most importantly, I didn't know! I had my guesses, but the question threw me off more than my own answer.
As I'm sure you've noticed, there are so many other topics about culture that I didn't discuss. Hopefully, this post has been thought provoking and it reminds us all that culture is how we identify with ourselves and people. Of course, individuals can have different cultures than their people, and different/similar cultures with other countries. Either way, it's important for us to observe and reflect on why we do what we do, why others do what they do and how we can continue to be open minded and keep learning. Thanks for reading!
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