EDITORIAL: STEPPING OUT

Just because it's "culture" doesn't mean it's good...

Culture, including Japanese culture, is – and always has been – a great excuse for almost any kind of bad behaviour. Ancient Aztecs could rip out the still beating hearts of their sacrificial victims, Manchu Chinese could bind and deform the feet of young girls, and Hindus could consign live widows to the flames of funeral pyres. All in the name of culture!

With the ending of the Cold War and the consequent death of ideology as the driving force of World history, it was believed by several key intellectuals that culture would become the dominant driving force. Instead of the imperatives of Communism or Capitalism determining who fights who and for how long, it is now thought that culture is increasingly assuming this role, with wars -- civil and international -- developing along cultural and religious fault lines rather than ideological ones.

The difference between culture and ideology is that ideology at least made a show of using reason, and tried to get everyone and his brother on its side. Culture, on the other hand, tends to be much more exclusive in its appeal, and connected to elements of tribal identity and ego.

The great virtue of culture is that it is, in essence, a system of "mental economy" that is designed to save us much of the trouble of thinking things through each and every time. For example, if male office workers and  businessmen didn’t have suits and ties as a default attire system, they’d probably waste valuable minutes (or even hours) each morning deciding what to wear. The culture of donning a collared shirt and knotting a piece of coloured silk around one’s neck, saves them all this unnecessary trouble.

Culture allows us to do things quickly and smoothly, although, on reflection, what we do may be a little strange or silly. In the same way, culture automatically tells us what’s "right" and what’s "wrong." Of course, it quite often gets things wrong, as with human sacrifice, foot-binding, suttee, etc. But, on the other hand, it gives people convenient, ready-made answers to a wide variety of social and moral questions.

Japan, with its strong element of social conformity and just doing things because "that’s the way they’ve always been done," is particularly prone to the power of culture. But, while culture can be a labour-saving device that simplifies our decision making process and a source of identity, reassurance, and comfort, it can also be a bulwark to insane traditions, as well as a cause of unremitting conflict between groups, as we see in the Middle East and other world trouble spots. 

For these reasons, we should always be ready to step out of our culture, like we step out of a suit of clothes, and take an objective look back at it.

As a Westerner, living here in Japan surrounded by a fascinating foreign culture, this is particularly easy to do, and it is something that this site intends to promote to the upmost of its ability.

The Chief Editor
Tokyo
23rd February 2024