The Japanese Smile
By Keiko Okajima
It has been said that many Japanese
sometimes smile in situations where people outside Japan wouldn’t.
For example, some people smile or grin when
they miss a train or a bus even though
they had run as fast as possible to catch it.
Another one is that when some students can’t
answer the questions their teacher asks in class, they often smile in a
meaningless way.
Or, when the atmosphere in a group is
strained, the mood of the group is changed to a peaceful one more often than
not once someone smiles or says a joke.
Why do we Japanese sometimes behave like
that? It could be said that there is an unspoken agreement that we should not
break the peace of a group. I think that expressing anger, sadness, regret, or
other negative feelings is considered to ruin the harmonious atmosphere of the
group.
The other meaning of some smiles might be
covering or hiding embarrassment. Why embarrassment? Because many people don’t
like to behave in different ways from the ones most people are used to. So,
when something unexpected happens to them or they make mistakes in easy tasks,
they sometimes smile to cover their feeling of embarrassment.
Originally, it has been said to be one of the
characteristic of the Japanese that they treasure the harmony of the group. Japan is what
might be called a group society.
But, nowadays, the younger generations don’t
always use such smiles. With the passing of time and other customs being
introduced from other countries, The Japanese way of thinking or behaving might
be gradually changing.
When they feel angry, they show it. When they
feel sad, they look sad. When they feel embarrassed, they express their
feelings in public.
We can’t stop the passage of time or know
where the nation will go, but it could also be important to preserve the
original Japanese culture that has been passed on over the ages.
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