I knew this day would come, but just not in such a desperate and tiring way...the day when my blog goes from a daily (and sometimes hourly) inquiry into my ever-randomly thought-generating mind to a complete afterthought in the shadow of daily work assignments and the lonesome life of a Japanese salary-man. I did not know that the shadow would be so spacious and chilling.
People says the ever-increasingly non-relevance of Japanese companies is due to lack of innovative ideas in their ranks. Before, I used to find this sort of pointed commentary racist. Brainpower is biologically equally distributed and any society, rich or poor, is capable of generating rebels of some sort. How is it that the Japanese society has been automatically deprived of "innovative power"?
Now I have a clearer understanding. The basic pretext of an innovative thought being generated are two: (1) a societal stimulus passes through the mind, whereupon the mind sees the stimulus' lack of consistency with its version of ideal society, and (2) the society has given the said individual the freedom and the courage for him to inquire and act upon that particular inconsistency.
Modern Japan has neither of these pretexts readily available. Sure, some companies, like mine, have tried their best escaping from the corporate culture here, but it is far from enough. I am getting seriously tired of saying how speaking perfect English does not makes you international or even non-Japanese. Dressing casual as sign of being non-traditional is trivial compared to all the traditions that are not broken and dutifully conformed.
All this in a backdrop where I am repeatedly told that we, the non-Japanese employees, should change the Japanese rather than the other way around. As if that is actually possible! How dare we stand out and be that barbarian who violates the rule? In a place where we are completely at the mercy of Japanese coworkers and bosses, who are we on the lowest ranks tell anyone how to act and think?
Ok, here is a little detail probably none other than me have really though about: in our (Japanese) business manner lessons, we were explicitly instructed that women not having make up on in a workplace is unprofessional and unacceptable. Right, basic rules of etiquette these days do say that women are suggested to have make up on in public, but nowhere else have I ever encountered any written rules that forbids not having make up on.
I am not much of a feminist, and would too prefer women with make up (and shaved legs and armed pits, among other "womanly conduct") but the fact that a blatant piece of gender inequality is a part of a public endorsed code of conduct is just shameful on many levels. And that highest level of shamefulness is the fact that no one, at any level of this particular society, makes a peep about this.
To make a substantial change, one must first be willing to act as a "lone rebel." Thats the kind of aggressiveness the company ideology has been so codified to admire. Yet it seems like if a woman with no make up walks into the office one day, I would be the only one feeling sincerely respect. The social reflex of the vast majority will gladly label the woman as "uncultured" in an instant.
So we the salary-men are supposed to think. Yet we will not say. A forced smile splashing across our faces, we move forward. To us, it seems that the greatest ideal is keeping this beautiful status quo. No one disturbs the peace and all the women dress and look well at anytime...well, all until someone snaps from the stress and the tiredness....
People says the ever-increasingly non-relevance of Japanese companies is due to lack of innovative ideas in their ranks. Before, I used to find this sort of pointed commentary racist. Brainpower is biologically equally distributed and any society, rich or poor, is capable of generating rebels of some sort. How is it that the Japanese society has been automatically deprived of "innovative power"?
Now I have a clearer understanding. The basic pretext of an innovative thought being generated are two: (1) a societal stimulus passes through the mind, whereupon the mind sees the stimulus' lack of consistency with its version of ideal society, and (2) the society has given the said individual the freedom and the courage for him to inquire and act upon that particular inconsistency.
Modern Japan has neither of these pretexts readily available. Sure, some companies, like mine, have tried their best escaping from the corporate culture here, but it is far from enough. I am getting seriously tired of saying how speaking perfect English does not makes you international or even non-Japanese. Dressing casual as sign of being non-traditional is trivial compared to all the traditions that are not broken and dutifully conformed.
All this in a backdrop where I am repeatedly told that we, the non-Japanese employees, should change the Japanese rather than the other way around. As if that is actually possible! How dare we stand out and be that barbarian who violates the rule? In a place where we are completely at the mercy of Japanese coworkers and bosses, who are we on the lowest ranks tell anyone how to act and think?
Ok, here is a little detail probably none other than me have really though about: in our (Japanese) business manner lessons, we were explicitly instructed that women not having make up on in a workplace is unprofessional and unacceptable. Right, basic rules of etiquette these days do say that women are suggested to have make up on in public, but nowhere else have I ever encountered any written rules that forbids not having make up on.
I am not much of a feminist, and would too prefer women with make up (and shaved legs and armed pits, among other "womanly conduct") but the fact that a blatant piece of gender inequality is a part of a public endorsed code of conduct is just shameful on many levels. And that highest level of shamefulness is the fact that no one, at any level of this particular society, makes a peep about this.
To make a substantial change, one must first be willing to act as a "lone rebel." Thats the kind of aggressiveness the company ideology has been so codified to admire. Yet it seems like if a woman with no make up walks into the office one day, I would be the only one feeling sincerely respect. The social reflex of the vast majority will gladly label the woman as "uncultured" in an instant.
So we the salary-men are supposed to think. Yet we will not say. A forced smile splashing across our faces, we move forward. To us, it seems that the greatest ideal is keeping this beautiful status quo. No one disturbs the peace and all the women dress and look well at anytime...well, all until someone snaps from the stress and the tiredness....
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