The Art of Perseverance: How Gaman Defined Japan

choi

)Julian Littler, The Art of Perseverance: How Gaman Defined Japan. Every child in Japan is taught to gaman: to patiently persevere in tough times. Is this the way to create an orderly society, or does gaman have a dark side?  BBC, Mar 20, 2019
http://www.bbc.com/capital/story ... gaman-defined-japan

Quote:

"Those who squeeze on board [Tokyo subways] find movement is near [(adv) = nearly: www.merriam-webster.com] impossible; feet sometimes don't touch the ground. And yet, even in these packed trains, resigned silence reigns.  Calm and orderly behaviour tends to be characteristic of even the biggest crowds in Japan. Visitors from abroad are often surprised by people's willingness to wait patiently for transport, brand launches and, for example, aid and assistance after the devastating Fukushima earthquake and tsunami, which occurred eight years ago last week.

"At the root of it [gaman], explains Noriko ODAGIRI 小田切 紀子, a professor of clinical psychology at Tokyo International University [東京国際大学 (1965- ; private)], is the fact that Japanese people value not saying too much and suppressing negative feelings toward others. * * * 'Especially for women, we are educated to gaman as much as possible,' says Odagiri.

"Yoshie TAKABAYASHI [surname is 高林], 33, was a silversmith in Tokyo before she got married, moved to Kanazawa [金沢市] and had children. Asked about when she uses gaman, she flags up her post-baby life and the fact that she can no longer do some of the things she used to enjoy. She also recalls a bully at work who she had to flatter to get vital training, avoid trouble and keep her job.  'When I look back on that time, my boss didn't even do anything to help. I should have quit. But my parents, and everyone around me who had also just started working, kept encouraging me to be a success. I didn't realise how much gaman I'd put in,' she says.

"Gaman originated in Buddhist teachings about bettering oneself before gradually being shaped into a perseverance mechanism for individuals navigating membership of social groups.

"But gaman imposes pressure on the individual. 'We beautify the gaman,' says Odagiri. Many people in Japan expect others to guess how they feel, rather than express themselves directly, and sometimes the pressure can mount.

Note:
(a) "David [H] Slater, professor of anthropology and director of the Institute of Comparative Culture [比較文化研究所] at Tokyo's Sophia University" (上智大学; Ancient Greek noun feminine sophíā wisdom); was founded by Jesuits in 1913; private)
(b) in quotation 3: "she flags up her post-baby life"

flag up (vt): "phrasal verb (British English) to draw attention to something  <The report flagged up the dangers of under-age drinking>"
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictio ... ion/english/flag-up

(c) "Gaman originated in Buddhist teachings about bettering oneself"
(i) gaman  我慢
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/我慢
("我慢（がまん）とは、仏教の煩悩の一つ。強い自己意識から起こす慢心のこと。  四慢（増上・卑下・我・邪）の1つ、また七慢（慢・過・慢過・我・増上・卑劣・邪）の1つ")

My rough translation: Gaman is one of 仏教の煩悩, arising from being egotistic. Is one of four or seven 慢.
(ii) 慢 (佛教)
https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/慢_(佛教)

(d) "Nobuo KOMIYA 小宮 信夫 [宮 means 神社], a criminologist at Rissho University in Tokyo"

Risshō University  立正大学
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rissho_University
("one of the oldest universities in Japan, was founded in 1580 [at 飯高寺, located at 千葉県匝瑳市飯高 neighborhood; presently in Tokyo], when a seminary was established as a learning center for young monks of the Nichiren shu̇̄ 日蓮宗 [also known as 法華宗]. * * * The university's name came from the Risshō An[-]koku Ron 立正安国論, a thesis written by Nichiren")

(e) "Mami MATSUNAGA 松永 真美 [in her own website www.nowhereme.net, she describes herself presently as '呼吸・整体コーチ[coach]' and stated that she dropped out of 東京外国語大学 a year in, after she contracted HIV], 39, worked in fashion media before swapping Tokyo for the beach. She now surfs every day and teaches mindfulness, breathing and yoga at retreats and workshops around Japan."