【The best thing about Japan is its people, but…】Beautiful stories from far away From Japan
2024-08-29 ｜ TOSHI
Hello to all my followers and readers. I’m Toshi. I’m a Japanese woman.
On this site, I write columns about gourmet foods in Japanese and about Japan in English.
The best thing about Japan is its people. It’s also a great place to visit. It has a rich culture, the people are kind, and it’s relatively safe.
Even if I were to be reborn as a person from another country, I would still like to make friends with Japanese people.
I only realized this after living abroad for a little while.
Japan is a collectivist society. Japanese people can be intimidating as a group, but you can find such nice people after you become friends with them.
There’s also this story.
My relatives once lived in Europe.
A Japanese architect living nearby owned a farm, and he hired a local man as a farmhand. However, it didn’t seem to be going well, and the farmhand wouldn’t listen to the Japanese man, who later scolded him harshly.
The Japanese architect, who lived in the US before coming to Europe, once said, “When I go on vacation, I wish I could entrust my keys to a loyal worker and know that everything will be dealt with accordingly and trust that everything will be safe while I was gone. However, I have yet to find someone I can trust that way.”
He probably meant that he couldn’t trust others easily. At least, that’s what he implied.
My friend who runs a business out of his own house gives his employees the spare key to his home, but nothing nefarious happens.
However, while this may be a Japanese conscience, I think it’s because if he betrays that trust and turns to crime, he won’t be able to survive in Japanese society, which is adept at eliminating “unusual people.”
The story “If a Pheasant Doesn’t Cry” in Manga Nippon Mukashi Banashi (1976) examines more about Japanese collectivism.Old story of Japan.
The story depicts a man who steal for his precious daughter when she gets sick. He later becomes a human sacrifice when the village finds out that he stole something to save his daughter.
I think this story really shows the dark side of Japanese collectivism.
As someone who is Japanese, I have found that Japanese people are quite friendly and easily get along with people from other countries. On the other hand, Japanese people are not particularly superior to people from other countries.
Some may experience different challenges, but people are the same wherever you go.
Eggs are eggs, even if they look different depending on how they’re cooked or cut. every country has good and bad sides and things you can and can’t tolerate.
There are many things in Japan that I can’t tolerate, but foreign countries are fascinating and amazing, aren’t they?
Different cultures can sometimes be reliable and can solve problems quickly, but at the same time, they can also hurt your feelings when you least expect it. Culture shock can happen to anyone.
I’m not sure how to sum it up, but I hope you can understand why I recommend Japanese people as friends. I am ultimately interested in learning about different cultures. Although I love Japan, I realize that people are everywhere, and we share the spirit of humanity despite some differences.
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Helpful feedback is always welcome!
※TOSHI, I had been a writer who mainly focuses on food for around 5 years. I am looking for media that will publish my essays about Japan, gourmet Mystery novel (※), etc. Feel free to contact me via ClubRosy’s X (Twitter) DM. https://twitter.com/ClubRosy
or Email toshijprose●gmail.com (change ● to @ please)
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amazon page of TOSHI’s book（竹井夙 Toshi TAKEI’s book）⇩⇩ [美しい人々 Beautiful people] etc.
https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E6%9C%AC-%E7%AB%B9%E4%BA%95-%E5%A4%99/s?rh=n%3A465392%2Cp_27%3A%E7%AB%B9%E4%BA%95+%E5%A4%99
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A follow would be appreciated, so thank you in advance!
Club Rosy Twitter
https://twitter.com/ClubRosy
The articles I wrote
TABIZINE ⇩⇩
http://tabizine.jp/author/toshi/
Novels
(※)The casebook of Tokyo gourmet writer
[The case of Beautiful Girl Cooking Expert] ⇩⇩
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16817330650906127298
The casebook of gourmet writer
[Mystery around Chinese tea]⇩⇩
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/1177354054894423195
【A new type of Japanese gourmet for you】”Kodoku no Gourmet”【Beautiful stories from far away From Japan】
https://clubrosy.jp/article/2807.html
“Obon” season/Return of ancestors【Beautiful stories from far away From Japan