An Invaluable Key to the Unique Aspects of Japanese Culture - What Really Makes the Japanese Tick.
Westerners who come to Japan for the first time know immediately that everything is different, but understanding how it is different is far more difficult.
This book offers Westerners an invaluable key to understanding Japanese culture from the inside out. A noted academic who teaches in Japan, Robert Davies explores the intellectual, spiritual and behavioral cornerstones of Japanese culture that can help foreigners understand the people, the politics, and the lifestyle.
These include such concepts as "aimai" (ambiguity); "amae" (dependence upon others' benevolence); "amakudari" (the nation's descent from heaven); "chinmoku" (silence in communication); "gambari" (perseverance); "giri" (social obligation); "kenkyo" (the appearance of modesty); "sempai-kohai" (seniority); "wabi-sabi" (simplicity and elegance).
Other topics include the roles of women in Japanese society, personal space, and a discussion of childbearing and education in Japanese.
'The Japanese Mind' is an illuminating book for travellers, students, and anyone interested in building a familiarity with Japan.
