Japanese vs. American Culture

It is easy to get caught up in every day life, and  I am no exception. Recently, I was thinking about random things and I realized that if I moved to Japan and tried to fit in, it would be very difficult. There are so many differences between cultures and I hadn’t really taken the time to think about how fascinating they are. I am half Japanese and one of my Mom’s favorite lines is ” You are SO American! In Japan, you would not get away with that!”

It’s true. In the U.S., we have the freedom to say whatever comes to mind, even if it is not very nice. There is freedom of speech in Japan as well, but the biggest difference in my opinion is the definition of respect in each country. Here, respect is only basic– say please and thank you, be nice to your teachers, be honest.

In Japan, respect  and honor is the basis of almost everything. Manners are extremely important. You treat your family members kindly. Sibling rivalry is not as common. If you  are someone’s guest, you bring food to share or presents if you are coming from farther away. It is considered rude to laugh loudly or with an open mouth so many people cover their mouth if something is hysterically funny. Something else that shows how different the two cultures are is the display of emotion.

In America, big emotion is meant to be shown. Hugging is common and it is okay to yell and cry. In Japan, huge emotion is usually kept under wraps. A lot of guessing is done because people do not sit down and talk about how they are feeling. To me, this would probably be the most difficult thing to get used to. On the other hand it does save people from getting feelings hurt and it could prevent the pettyness and gossip that is so common in the U.S. Overall, I think each culture has a mixture of good and bad values. I would love to learn more about them!