THE JAPANESE MIND
By THE RT. REV. BISHOP HEASLETT
TO cover the main aspects of the Japanese mind would demand detailed studies by many well-read and experienced groups, each of which would contribute strands, coloured or plain, to the variegated and complicated pattern of the mind of a nation that was once our ally but today is a deadly opponent. Although any attempt to sum up the national mind in a neat phrase is a thankless task, some elements of Japanese mentality may be apprehended by noting outstanding points in their speech and conduct. I confine myself here to the average Japanese within the bounds of the Empire from Saghalien to Southern Kiushiu. (I understand the Japanese who live outside the Empire are said to show different characteristics, but they lie outside my personal experience.) As one progresses in the use of the everyday colloquial speech of the people certain words, from constant use, come to the surface. The language is generous in vocabulary and flexible in use. Some of these words become, as it were, windows that open into ranges of what is so well called " the
abysmal depths of personality."
The first of such terms is " Benri." The usual and common and correct English equivalent of this word is " convenient." It is one of the first words that the language-student learns, and it accom- panies him throughout life. It becomes, as it is to the people them- selves, one of the dominating factors in his mental equipment. The use of this word has its origin in the flexibility of mental constitution of the Japanese. They can and do adapt themselves to circumstances, and the use of things, more easily and quickly than most other Peoples. This is a national characteristic. It is one of the mental qualities in the surface-reaches of their minds, that part of their minds in direct contact with what they call " Ukiyo," the transient world, and so it touches all who pass through that world. All that their great phrase " Yamato Damashii "—" the Japanese spirit "— stands for lies far deeper than this, but " Benri " is a living and moving word. All that is demanded of a new idea or thing is " Is it convenient? " One lives on the surface of things. There is no need to delve deeply, to ask " Will it last? " " Is it the best? " " Is it right? " Out of this mentality come bicycles that can be sold in West Africa for £1, where our durable and efficient machines cost Lao; toys that almost disintegrate at touch; a facade to a common wooden but that, from the street, makes it appear a solid concrete building. So life in Japan has an element of vagueness, incon- sequence, unreality about it, arising from this mental attitude. If climate makes a contribution to character then this refusal to delve deeply, seek the lasting and the best, this contentment with the "convenient thing" will have some of its roots in frequent earth- quakes, violent volcanic eruptions, destructive tidal waves, typhoons, great city fires. Why go beneath the surface? Light-mindedness, light-heartedness, something " convenient " made out of most un- promising materials, this is a permanent element in the common Japanese mind.
The next notable word is " Dakyo." It is in much less common use than " Benri." It appears later in the student's vocabulary. It has a more literary quality. But what it stands for is a practical and persistent element in Japanese mental life. It is usually translated in English as " compromise," but a better rendering it "mutual concessions." There is not in the Japanese mind that clear-cut distinction between, say, justice and injustice, pure and impure, legal and illegal, that there is in the Anglo-Saxon, nourished at its roots from Greek thought, Roman law, and the ideas of the Old Testament. In the land of Yamato, in varied dealings with people on the material, moral, and spiritual spheres, one is gradually forced to recognise that " absolutes " are not an element in the Japanese mind as they are with us. One might say that there is always, with them, a kind of "no man's land" lying between absolutes " of which we are not conscious. Perhaps one or two illustrations will help to make this point clear. For example, take a law case. There is a lawsuit about the sum of topoo yen. This has been borrowed on terms, and has not been returned to the lender according to the agreement. There is no dispute about amount or terms. All that is clear and agreed. The lender seeks the authority of the court to compel the borrower to keep the letter of the agreement. There is no need to ask what a British judge would decide ; the agreement, the whole of the agreement, and all its implications must be implemented. That judgement satisfies our sense of justice. Not so in japan. Judgement would probably (I have known such cases) take this form-9,000 yen to the lender, t,000 yen to the borrower. This x,000 yen has a technical name. It is called "Namidakin," i.e. " tear money " ; in other words, a solarium. The z,000 yen dries the tears of the man who loses his case, and, incidentally,iallows him to pay his lawyer's fees, and saves face. The underlying idea here is that in any dispute between two parties one party is never absolutely right and the other abso- lutely wrong. So from out of " no man's land " arises that intriguing term " tear money," which means comfort, solace and face saved.
Every resident in Japan who has had any financial or property dealings at all has suffered loss and intense irritation over this element in the Japanese mind. If you allow anyone to occupy unused buildings as a favOur, or to erect temporary buildings on your land ; or if you buy property where there is a resident caretaker, no matter what terms you make in the agreement, in the end you have to pay compensation. Public sentiment and law will uphold anyone in a position to claim a solarium, however slender, or even non- existent, his claim would be under Western ideas of property rights and the sanctity of agreements. A Japanese mind on this point is essential to the enjoyment of a tranquil mind in Japan.
The third significant term is a word with a religious flavour- " Hoben "—and is translated in various ways. If you are in a tranquil mood you would translate it " accommodated truth," if you are ruffled " pious fraud " would leap to your mind. Perhaps the nearest equivalent in English is " the end justifies the means." The dictionary gives as an example of its use this sentence: " Shakamuni (Buddha) invented fictions (hoben) to save the world." I remember the answer that a friendly Buddhist priest gave to me in reply to my question why a certain Buddhist sect proclaimed, " there are no no gods, no soul, no future life." " That," said he, " is hoben." This sect denies certain common beliefs in order to make people think. It is hard to believe that intelligent and scientifically educated Japanese really accept the mythological teachings in the ancient books which are now the bases of their national policy. Though they are absurd, unscientific, and illogical, university professors, officials, and statesmen solemnly and ponderously proclaim Japan as a special creation, Jimmu Tenno (66o s.c.) as their first Emperor, and the present Emperor as the 124th descendant of this semi-divinity, deriving his being from the Great Sun Goddess. Hoben gets them over the difficulty. With its help you can hold two completely contradictory ideas in your head at the same time. This doctrine of uniqueness, based on myth, is of value in strengthening the national belief.
This is the poisonous lie in Japanese mentality. It is more cor- rupting than any merely mistaken idea would be, because it is a known and living lie. I listened to a radio address by a University professor, in which he maintained that as all European peoples and nations on the American continent dated themselves from A.D. r, and Japan from 66o s.c., therefore the Japanese were the oldest race on earth. " Accommodated truth " is a key-word in judging their mentality. With this poison in their minds they have per- suaded themselves into a belief that their motives in this present aggressive war are pure. They blind the eyes of their minds with words like " seisen," " holy war," and try to seduce the conquered peoples with high-sounding phrases , such as "The Great East Co-prosperity Sphere." At the last public service I attended in Tokyo in 1942 the priest chanted solemnly an official prayer. It startled me, and stopped my usual " Amen." It ran thus, " Grant that the eyes of those who oppose Japan in this righteous war may be opened." The Church officials accepted the " pious fraud," the faithful said " Amen," and meant it.
"Benri " is irritating and sometimes amusing. " Dakyo " has its appeal to the Celtic temperament, even though it means loss. There is some attraction in a decision that sends a man from court not com- pletely crushed. But " hoben " is the lie that poisons the soul. Whatever lip-service all the people today are compelled to pay to it, many of them must and do loathe it. Some regard for the clarity of Greek thought, the rigidity of Roman law, and the severe judge- ments of Old Testament morality, would, in a process of national re- education, ultimately eliminate this poisonous element in Japanese mentality.
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