To discover a nation's heart, examine its heroes. What sort of heroes are popular in Japan? Often they seem skilled at working collectively.
Moreover, few Japanese heroes joke around the way American heroes do – there's something almost painfully earnest about them. Whereas American heroes generally win
in the end, in Japan that outcome is less certain. Many Japanese heroes experience heoric
defeat. Their bravery is not in victory, but in their willingness to sacrifice themselves for a deeper cause.
Alas, less and less Japanese today have that spirit.
Japan is a place where most adults read comic books while young students are forced to read serious literary works.
I wish the opposite were true? Perhaps the educational system is upside-down. It seems one of the best ways to create an aversion for great literature is to force young students to read it,
then test them on minute trivia regarding it. Disassemble great stories in a dry, academic manner til they are sapped of vitality.
Politically, there's an advantage to this: when 90% of a population reads merely comics or magazines about sports and fashion,
the populace becomes easier to manipulate.
Many forms of information are too restricted in Japan.
In Tokyo there are under 20 TV and slightly over 20 radio stations. Information is tightly controlled.
Why aren't there more radio stations broadcasting to specialized audiences? It seems
the government wants people to have uniform interests. However, too much uniformity makes a society bland.
Uniformity is good for automobile parts, but not cultures.
Japan has a reputation for cleanliness. If you look closely, however, it seems undeserved. Trash abounds.
The only time you are likely to see Buddhist priests in Japan is when they are asking for money or doing
funeral services. In other Asian countries, priests often interface with the
community actively and talk with people who enter temples. In Japan, most temples amount to basically
closed museums and funeral reliquaries rather than places of living Buddhist practice.
Moreover, the way too many Japanese priests
eat meat, drive expensive cards, drink heavily, and enjoy sex openly. This makes many people disillusioned
with organized religion. The corruption of the priesthood among all sects is rampant.
Perhaps each person must learn to live like a priest and each action should be an
process of daily worship. Ultimately, I believe there should be no distinction between laity and priesthood.
Any person with a state of inner renunciation in their heart is a "priest" in the true sense of the word.
Moreover, any priest attached to the world, no matter what color their robes might be, is a lay person.
Many Japanese seem to feel about Koreans the same way Greeks feel about Turks.
Instead of affirming their deep similarities, they often focus on
differences. It is as if siblings from the same family harbored a
sense of "us" vs. "them". People who are secure about who they are do not need
to berate others from different nationalities.
Things Japanese can feel proud of: (1) a high degree of general literacy, (2) a basically honest
police force and relatively low crime rate, (3) a commitment to preserving cultural treasures, and (4)
a language of superb subtlety.
If Japanese really revered Mt. Fuji, they'd take stronger steps towards cleaning up
the cities at the foot of this mountain and moving the military practice range away from that
sacred peak. Mt. Fuji is surrounded by urban sprawl, smokestacks, gunfire ranges, and parking lots.
Fujisan is most beautiful from a distance: close up, its blemishes are all too clear.
Japan pays far too much attention to the United States and not enough attention to other parts
of Asia. This overly American-centric thinking will, I believe, have unfortunate consequences.
As America's power gradually declines and China's rises, Japan is likely to find itself in a precarious position.
To discover a nation's heart, examine its heroes. What sort of heroes are popular in Japan? Often they seem skilled at working collectively.
Moreover, few Japanese heroes joke around the way American heroes do – there's something almost painfully earnest about them. Whereas American heroes generally win
in the end, in Japan that outcome is less certain. Many Japanese heroes experience heoric
defeat. Their bravery is not in victory, but in their willingness to sacrifice themselves for a deeper cause.
Alas, less and less Japanese today have that spirit.
