[Interpersonal Relationships in Japan as Seen from the Japanese Kanji of the Year "绊"] Do Japanese People Understand Kanji?

Abstract: Every year in Japan, there is a custom of selecting "the buzzword of the year" and "the kanji of the year". The buzzwords and kanji of the year reflect the issues and things that people are generally concerned about during the year. In 2011, "绊" (绊) was not only recognized as one of the "Top Ten Buzzwords" but also as the Chinese Character of the Year. This is a reflection of the fact that after the Great East Japan Earthquake of 311, the Japanese people have become more aware of the importance of human ties and bonds through the ordeal of the catastrophe. As a matter of fact, the word "绊" is not an instantly popular character. It has been an idea that has been emphasized in traditional Japanese culture since ancient times.

Keywords: kanji of the year, earthquake, connection

Language is constantly changing along with human civilization and society, and buzzwords can reflect the issues and things that are of common concern to people in a country or region in a certain period of time, as well as the social reality of the period, the change of people's thinking and the progress of the spiritual civilization world. Japan's "New Words and Popular Words" contest began in 1984 and is held annually, with candidate words selected from newspapers, magazines, and readers' questionnaires, and then the top ten words are selected and the results are announced at the end of the year. In the 2011 contest, the Japanese kanji "绊" made it into the top 10 and became the buzzword of the year, as well as the "Kanji of the Year" for that year, which was voted on by the public by the Kanji Proficiency Testing Association of Japan.

The Japanese word for "trip" is "kizuna," which means "bond, connection" in Japanese, and was originally meant to be a tie between people. Since the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, this kanji has been appearing frequently in the lives of Japanese people. You can see and hear this character in almost every charity sale or performance organized for the affected areas. When talking about the affected areas and the victims, this character "绊" is used by everyone, from dignitaries to ordinary people. It emphasizes that people are connected to each other and feel for each other, and that they share the same feelings about the disaster.

In fact, the word "trip" is not a passing fad. It has been an idea that has been emphasized in traditional Japanese culture since ancient times.

Japan belongs to the rice culture circle, and since ancient times, the Japanese have been cultivating rice by working collectively in a hot and humid environment. It requires collective collaboration, resulting in a kind of agricultural ****same group life. It requires ****same work in irrigation, rice planting, transplanting, harvesting and threshing. As a result, the spirit of collaboration, solidarity, and harmony is prized. In the same waters, the destinies of the village inhabitants were closely linked, life and death with ****. They prayed together for good weather and **** together to celebrate a good harvest. It can be said that the rice culture had a great influence on the formation of groupism among the Japanese. Nowadays, this group behavioral style has been continued, and the characteristic of valuing coordination with others is seen as a unique Japanese groupism.

Chie Nakane, a renowned Japanese sociologist, argues in his book "Interpersonal Relationships in a Vertical Society" that the Japanese have "vertical" interpersonal relationships, in which hierarchical relationships are formed according to a sequence of relationships. The characteristic of "vertical relationships" is a manifestation of the Japanese people's strong sense of belonging, which makes it necessary for each individual to be loyal to the interests of the group. Chie Nakane sees these vertical relationships as the key to maintaining the centripetal force of the members. Specifically, the Japanese person is more concerned with the organization to which he belongs than with the profession he is engaged in. When positioning their social relationships, Japanese people place more emphasis on the company or school they work for than on whether they are a president or a staff member. Although this "vertical" social structure has led to a strict hierarchy in Japan, the various classes in Japan are not isolated from each other, but are based on the unique Japanese "family" system. The term "family" here does not refer to blood relations, but rather to a ****same group of people who belong to a certain social group. For example, in Japanese history, outsiders who were not related by blood could be accepted as heirs or successors, and could become members of the "family" in a fair and honorable manner. The members of a group in Japan are more likely to form a relationship similar to that of marriage than a contractual relationship, and this relationship is maintained by emotional ties, emphasizing the role of emotions. Therefore, Japanese companies usually have a strong sense of "family", and the family members of employees are also regarded as members of the group. It is also very common for supervisors to act as matchmakers for their subordinates, and a variety of collective activities are usually carried out within the company to deepen the sense of "family. The sense of "family" is deepened through a variety of group activities within the company. To put it more broadly, all Japanese people are seen as having the same "family", and this shows the deep meaning of the "bond" between people in Japanese society.

There is a word in the Japanese language, "gane", which can be said to be unique to the Japanese language, because it can not be accurately translated into other languages, we usually translate it as "pampering". It reflects a unique Japanese way of feeling, which is a kind of dependency mentality. In the same group, people are dependent on each other. For the Japanese, the members of the same collective are the existence that can be relied upon, and everyone lives in a relationship of dependence***. Therefore, the Japanese people are extremely afraid of being isolated by their partners, and some scholars believe that the Japanese people do not have "individuality" because, compared to the "self-assertion" of Europeans and Americans, the Japanese people prefer to drink in the surrounding area to keep the same pace, and "it's right to go along with the group". The Japanese prefer to keep in step with their surroundings and "follow everyone's lead", and even if they have a different opinion, they will accept it wholeheartedly for fear that they will be different. By keeping in line with others, they avoid disputes with those within the group and thus maintain this "bond" between people.

Japanese people's "tripping" is also reflected in a variety of Japanese festivals and social events. Compared with other countries, the Japanese seem to emphasize communication and greetings to deepen and consolidate the relationship between people. In Japan, there are many festivals or fixed customs that focus on greeting each other throughout the year, such as the "Summer Dance", which is a summer greeting. The summer in Japan is relatively hot, and because it is surrounded by the sea on all sides, the humidity is relatively high, so it is easy to get sick in such an environment. At this time of the year, Japanese people send their greetings to their relatives and friends through postcards and e-mails, and this custom has been fixed as a custom, usually between the end of July and the first half of August. There is also the "Nakamoto Festival", July 15 every year, meaning to celebrate the safe passage of the first half of the year, every Nakamoto Festival, the Japanese people will give gifts to those who have helped them, during this period, Japan's major department stores will also set up a "Nakamoto Festival Discount Zone During this period, major department stores in Japan also set up special "Midwinter Festival Discount Zones". There are two times in a year when gifts are given, in addition to the "Chugoku", there is also the "end of the year", which means the end of the year, the Japanese people at the end of the year, they will also give gifts to those who have helped them in their work and life, and basically, they will spend a portion of their year-end bonus on the end of the year. part of their year-end bonuses for year-end gift-giving and gift-returning. Through such festivals and activities, people have an opportunity to contact each other and communicate with each other, thus deepening and consolidating the "trip" between people.

In addition, from the Japanese "ambiguity" can also be seen, the Japanese people attach great importance to the "trip" between people. Here, "ambiguity" is not a derogatory term in Japanese life, but on the contrary, it is very popular. The so-called "ambiguous", to put it simply, means ambiguous. Japanese people are always very tactful in their speech, and sometimes they use ambiguous language to avoid hurting the other person's feelings by speaking in a straightforward way, always trying to speak in a way that is appropriate and appropriate, so as not to jeopardize the harmony between people. For example, when someone asks you "もういっぱいいかがですか." (Would you like another bowl?) you answer "いいです." (Okay, yes.) Usually in China, when you answer "yes", it means "yes, I want to", but in Japan, it may mean "enough, it's okay", so this kind of answer is the same as no answer at all. The real meaning of the answer should be judged by the other person's expression and gestures. In addition, Japanese people use "I'm sorry" to apologize and thank you in two seemingly different situations. It is not enough to express gratitude to others for their kindness, but they also want to apologize, imagining that "being friendly will put some burden on the person who is doing the act", because they are afraid that not apologizing may be considered rude by the other person, and as a result, the other person will lose his/her goodwill towards them, and they always use the word "sorry" in order to avoid losing the other person's goodwill and destroying harmonious relationships. In order not to lose the goodwill of the other party, and not to destroy the harmony between people, they always put "sorry" on their lips.

However, in the age of the Internet, increasing urbanization, and the growing problem of childlessness, the Japanese people's long-standing "trip" between people is constantly being challenged. In particular, the problem of childlessness and the declining fertility rate have led to a gradual decrease in the number of young people. According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Japan's population is expected to fall below the 100 million mark by 2048 at the current fertility rate, and to 86 million by 2060, and the rising average life expectancy will result in the number of people aged 65 and older accounting for more than 40% of the total population by that time. Not only that, but the problem of childlessness has also brought about dramatic changes in the psyche of today's youth. The decline in the child population has reduced the opportunities for children to interact with their peers, and the chances for children to come into contact with each other and cut up each other have been greatly reduced. It is now difficult to form groups of children in Japanese communities as in the past, and today's Japanese children and adolescents spend most of their time mainly engaged in individual play. Loneliness has increased and has led to a lack of self-reliance and a failure to grow up healthily. The development of social and interpersonal relationships and the ability to interact with peers is greatly affected by the lack of interaction, cooperation, conflict, conflict, and loving experiences with peers. This is reflected in the increase in bullying and abuse in Japanese schools nowadays. Over time, certain cultural practices will not be maintained, and in particular, the long-standing concept of "family" and the idea of human relationships in Japan will face a great impact. Relationships between people will become thinner and thinner.

The Japanese media have called today's Japanese society a "society without ties", where traditional human relationships such as blood and geography are being diluted and people are becoming increasingly isolated under the impact of urbanization, childlessness and individualism. Because of this, after the 311 earthquake in Japan, the word "stumble" has been reawakened, and after the multiple blows of the earthquake and tsunami, "stumble" has once again awakened the spirit of the Japanese people***.

References:

[1] Han Lihong, An Introduction to Japanese Culture, Nankai University Press, 2008.

[2] (Japanese) Chie Nakane, Interpersonal Relations in Vertical Society, Kodansha, 1967.

[3] Shang Huipeng, Chinese and Japanese - A Comparative Study of Social Groups, Behavioral Styles and Cultural Psychology, Peking University Press, 1998.

[4] (Japanese) Kazuo Omori, (Japanese) Hiroko Omori, (Chinese) Qu Wei, Japan Next, Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2010.