An interesting topic raised by Minako. What pops into my mind when I first heard of the Japanese culture, of what it appears to be according to my interpretation, and of what significance it had. Hmmm.
First of all, let's commence with me being of a Han descent (hope this clarifies between the Chinese living in China and the overseas Chinese). Much negative sentiments against the Japanese have been implanted so deeply within the Chinese and overseas Chinese community, specifically during the World Wars. No victor emerged from the long wars, but strong allegiance to the past prevails.
Just a family history. My grandfather served the Imperial Japanese Army. It was war - whichever force that controls the house you own and the family you love, you have to go with the flow. Rebellion? That's easy talk, could a 16 year old at that time be "sane" enough to swear unwavering allegiance to the beloved President Mao that lives 3000 miles away? If your family is being held by a blade underneath their chins would you risk your family's lives for some illusive ideology?
And so I was told that my grandfather was sent to the infamous Burma Railway, famously referred to as the Death railway. Many went, and never returned. My grandfather was one of the fortunate ones - being fluent in the Japanese language (Two years before the Japanese invasion, he was taught the Japanese language by a seemingly innocent barber that worked near our family's coffee shop. Turned out the innocent barber was in fact, a General in the Imperial Japanese Army, and was stationed to spread the propaganda of the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
"). The fact that my grandfather knew the Japanese language spared him from much of the hard labor that took away lives - he became a messenger (a post slightly better than the labors), sending letters from one station to another, and got slapped by Japanese officers from one station to another. (Poor thing! He lost quite a number of teeth from all those slapping and kicking) There was once where he and his friends tried to escape from the camps... they got caught, his friends were all killed, but he was spared for his ability to converse in Japanese. Well the trade-off is that, he lost more teeth. (Man!!!)
So yeah soon the war ended and my grandfather went back home and died at the age of 70+ over some lung disease. Tough guy.
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Childhood memories were deep, i remember both me and my grandfather will be watching Japanese shows, and at some point will start teasing me in Japanese (of course I can't remember much! I knew he loved me a lot and we had a great time). For one who has been through the rough times of war.... It's hard to imagine him not bearing any hatred for the Japanese. He understood that war is crime, and in such situation, one is not given the liberty to choose. Those were painful memories, undoubtedly. I do not wish to venture into the mindset of the Japanese soldiers during that period of time, of the indoctrination of imperialism and all, but I would like to focus on something more personal. The Japanese were cruel, my grandmother had to hide in caves to avoid being raped and killed by the Japanese soldiers, and resort to only sweet potatoes (which weren't close enough to sweet) for meals.
There are plenty of reasons to hate the Japanese. Historically. But if, if those who had been through the hard times, they fully understood that under such circumstances there weren't much choices.Both the ruler and ruled are under the pressure of being killed. And if, if those who truly suffered from the aftermaths of war, to be able to let go and move on, who are we to condemn the Japanese? If A killed B, it is absurd for C to bear hatred, especially when 70 years have passed. How long can one hold a grudge?
Just so you know, when one dwells with how much Malaysians and Chinese suffered throughout the years the Japanese conquered Malaya... Allow me to put it in a Malaysian way - You think the Japanese also song ah? (Do you think the Japanese had it better?) Personally, I would rather die being executed, than living up a guilt of killing strangers under some vague ideology and live with it for the rest of my life. And the Japanese families that lost their beloved sons in wars, how tough their lives were to support the ongoing war...
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A little piece of my mind. The influences of mass media has told me a few things about the Japanese, first, harakiri is so often - every Japanese does that; second, every Japanese have sushi for dinner and kneeling is the only appropriate posture; third, every Japanese girl is involved in some or more forms of adult industries; fourth, Japanese change their cars every two years (the rapid advancement of technology!!!); fifth, every Japanese girl wears kimono and et cetera. Too many stereotypes to be listed. It's just like saying all Malaysians grew from durian trees and eat bananas for lunch.
It was upon my arrival at Japan, such perception starts to alter, naturally and unconsciously. For now I have nothing but endless praises for Japan and for the Japanese - ranging from their incredible development in technology to the toilet bowls in my university. Other than managements being a little too bureaucratic, I have zero complains. ZERO COMPLAINS.
1) Clean roads
2) AWESOME TOILET BOWLS WITH SEAT WARMERS AND SENSORS AND BUTT WASHING BUTTONS AND THE AWESOME BUTT DRYER
3) Japanese and their manners. Many consider such manners as pretentious and fake, but I enjoy practicing it and, most of all, rather than rolling your eyes in front of someone you totally dislike, you learn to be patient and learn to be more understanding over time.
4) Japanese and their working attitudes. 10am-10pm working spirit, endless dedication and excellent service even from a government officer, forever punctual and most of all, efficient.
5) Too many. TOO MANY!!!! I LOVE MY UNIVERSITY I LOVE HOW MY PROFESSORS ARE ALL HIGH UP WITH GREAT ACADEMIC BACKGROUND AND PRICELESS GUIDANCE AND ENDLESS DEDICATION I'M LEARNING SO MUCH, SO MUCH!
The list can go on forever. And please note that I do not worship the Japanese - I worship humanity. The good qualities that the Japanese have should definitely be exemplified, along with every single good trait the world has to offer. (Will tell more once I experience more!) The last thing the world needs is an unorganized management, perhaps bureaucratic management works well for the Japanese but is definitely against what I believe in. IMHO, ups and downs ups and downs.... there ain't no perfect plan!
The point of this blog post is that... One can no longer view the world with regards to colour or creed. To segregate a strong nation out of the board game is disastrous. Globalization is happening faster than ever - There are so many great values to be learnt from various nations around the world, and that we should adapt to the best qualities of a nation, clinging to the past.......... history can never be forgotten, but it can be forgiven. What matters now, will be the advancement of the human civilization, along with the expansion of humanity, to reach its very peak. The idea of nationalism is slowly altering for the better, all parts of the world are opening up, homogenization of culture is rapid... So much left to be debated, no one should be wasting time on trivial racist comments. And certainly, without forgetting the contributions of our ancestors, and that we are now blessed to be living in harmony.
