Ancient Japanese wisdom in modern times — supposedly

What accounts for Japan's smoothly functioning society and exquisite esthetics?  Is there a word for it?

Bunkum Alert: The Ancient Wisdom of Japan", by Howard Chua-Eoan, Opinion Today, Bloomberg; appears to be an earlier version of "The land of the rising sun isn’t a life-hack wonderland despite the busy market in its ancient wisdom", by Howard Chua-Eoan, Opinion Today, Bloomberg (12/13/24)

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I just spent two weeks in Japan. But if you think I’ve brought back exotic pearls of wisdom, you’ll be disappointed. That’s because I’ve been talking to my Tokyo-based colleague Gearoid Reidy — a great admirer of Japan but a cold critic of Western fetishization of almost everything out of the country. As he describes it in a recent column: “Talking to first-time tourists or perusing online forums, I often find astonishment: Why does everything work so well? How else could public safety and famed attention to detail be sustained, if not from some secret knowledge the West has lost?” The search for alleged life hacks out of Japan has resulted in a plethora of books on “the Japanese secret to everything: Eat less, save money, be more productive. Ikigai, wabi-sabi or shinrin yoku will fix what’s wrong with your life.”

The formula is to find a Japanese word to attach to a mundane philosophy. Ganbatte, for example, is supposedly a way of using your limited resources effectively; the word simply means “do your best.” Hara hachibu counsels adherents to eat till they’re 80% full — or as Gearoid summarizes, don’t stuff your face. Kakeibo is all about writing your expenses down in a notebook or “something my decidedly Irish father has done for decades.” Wabi-sabi is allegedly about the perfection of the imperfect but it’s been so overused, even by Elon Musk, that it’s just another condiment in social media word salads, a rhetorical wasabi. Meanwhile, promoters of shinrin yoku (which translates to “forest bathing”) will have you immersed in nature by wandering through wilderness areas and among trees. If that sounds like a walk in the woods, well, you’re right!

As for “ikigai” and how it imparts a reason for living, it is supposedly based on the lifestyle of Okinawans, who have a reputation for longevity. Gearoid notes Okinawa is also known for high rates of alcohol consumption. He asks, is ikigai “really the reason people in Japan get up in the morning?… For me, the reason is I want to keep my job.”

Japan’s successes and efficiencies, he says, emanate from good government policies and regulations. But those things aren’t exotic enough to be trendy.

Ah, but whence cometh the good government policies and regulations?   Can it be reduced to a word?

 

Selected readings

• "Japanese proverbial wisdom of the ages" (2/1/23)
• Wabi Sabi: Japanese Wisdom for a Perfectly Imperfect Life, by Beth Kempton (Amazon)

[Thanks to Don Keyser]