Japan and its myriad culture from my eyes

Flora Kanamdinlu Remei *

Glimpses of Japan as chronicled by Rajkumari Sunita in winter of 2010.

I have often wondered what it would feel like to have the sun greeting me everyday during all the walks of life. Is the sun same everywhere, I used to inquire always. Sun greets me first in my native state Manipur and then embraces the rest of the country.

Then I thought further, what about the rest of the world? Is there a special place where the sun yawns while the warmth stretches out? My recent visit to the Land of the Rising Sun told me that there is a magical place – Japan.

Narita Airport did not help much with my jet lag but my spirits were high and Tokyo was waiting for me with arms wide open.

The whole experience of being in Japan amidst one of the most polite and gentle people changed me in a way that I never expected earlier. Walking in the city was a gorgeous and sensual experience but what stuck me the most was the unique way Japanese adhere to their tradition. Humble in its way, Japanese culture taught me that bowing is not just a form of greeting but also a way of showing respect. Bows are the traditional greeting in East Asia, particularly in Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Being an Indian where our culture is accustomed to casual approach towards punctuality, my observation and interaction with Japanese overwhelms me in valuing time. What drew my admiration towards the Japanese culture was their absolute respect for time and punctuality. I observed that Japan has a very sophisticated governance structure where rules and regulations are well organised, enforced and followed.

A good example is how the Japanese-be it a motorist or a pedestrian does not violate but follow traffic laws quite strictly. Perhaps this is a sign of an individual sense of duty towards the country and the willingness of the people to cooperate.

Another thing I noticed was their sense of cooperation and sensibility for each other that while travelling in subway trains, I saw people in escalators would stand on one side so as to give way to the people in hurry. These incidences gave me an insight into the remarkable way Japanese culture has developed.

Our” Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” policy can take one or more cue from the culture of cleanliness and hygiene in Japan. For instance-Waste bin are hardly seen in public places, yet a single piece of waste are not seen littering around. People would take their waste along with them instead of disposing off in public.

I felt impressed with their ways of conduct towards cleanliness as growing up in institutions like Little Flower School, Imphal and Miranda House, University of Delhi, we were imparted with similar moral values to respect our surroundings and keep them clean. And I saw Japan imbibing that culture in their daily walks of life.

Another thing which made my trip meaningful was visiting Universities. Visiting Japan as an international student from India, I was enchanted with the warm hearted and humble nature of the professors and the students which helped me build friendships with varying degree of comfort levels. They took me around to key places in the campus and introduced me to various people. I witnessed that there were also lot of students belonging to other nationalities. Interacting with them helped me to realise one thing that we often had more similarities than differences in life.

As I stepped into the campus of University of Tokyo, I could sense that the crowd vibrancy and character assimilated to those of the campus life of colleges in Delhi University. Packed with young, energetic and lively students, this is the place where one would find the intelligent and smart minds of the country.

Students of Utokyo (short form for University of Tokyo), in an average have better proficiency in speaking english than their peers from other institutions. While interacting with a Law faculty student, he mentioned that majority of students in Utokyo study law to get into the civil services of their country.

The University of Tokyo’s law faculty is the single most important source of elite bureaucrats in Japan. However, one of the odd culture, I found among most Japanese youths was their less interest in pursuing higher education which I felt that it has to do with their job hunting system.

A social transformation I observed was the Americanisation of the Japan culture. The contemporary Japanese society seems to show a great fondness for American values and lifestyles. Be it art, architecture, music, fashion, food or entertainment there was a transformative influence channeling towards an Americanized way. However this is an aspect of the cultural globalization and liberalization which brings interconnectedness and extend social relation that transcends national borders.

The only problem I faced while in Japan was language barrier which made it a little difficult to communicate with the people at times. Apart from that I had a great experienced from Bowing to Chopsticks to Sushi. One can also get to experience the different seasons, though I have experienced the Japanese summer which is very hot, humid and can also be very rainy.

But the most beautiful season in Japan is said to be the spring season which ranges from march to early may as the weather is great with mild temperature and the Sakura flowers bloom to its fullest (also known as the Cherry Blossoms).

A land of foodie’s paradise, with the finest and most varied cuisine, with the people who are very polite, respectful and friendly and with a place so neat with so much of things to see and explore, Japan truly indeed is a fascinating country to visit.