One way to peek directly into the thoughts and feelings of the Japa- nese people is to look at the words they cherish. I have chosen some aphoristic expressions and favorite words to popular songs for this purpose.
Japanese people are often encouraged to have a few favorite mottoes. Elementary and junior high school classrooms often have an inspirational motto posted above the blackboard so that every student can see it and work hard to live up to it. Such phrases and rallying expressions appear even in factories and corporate offices, where they may be written in black ink with a brush, framed, and hung on the wall.
According to Yoshihiko Inagaki (1989), the ten most popular word categories, in descending order, are: (1) effort words, (2) sincerity words, (3) perseverance words, (4) thank-you words, (5) determination words, (6) thoughtfulness words, (7) greeting words, (8) harmony words, (9) love words, and (10) friendship words.
This list is based on a nationwide survey on attitudes toward language conducted by NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation). The survey was administered on September 8 and 9, 1979, in six hundred locations throughout Japan. The subjects were 3,600 Japa- nese people aged sixteen or over, of whom 2,639 responded.
The degree of consistency in choice of favorite words is surpris- ing. I am not aware of any survey of this kind in the United States. The consensus on favorite words may have resulted from the com- mon educational experience of the Japanese people. Admittedly survey research sometimes intimidates, so that respondents, in striving to be socially acceptable, may have overrepresented their love for virtuous-sounding words. Even so, the ten favorite themes can be interpreted as indicative of Japanese people’s aspirations and moral values. The actual Japanese words selected are words that are somewhat abstract, yet subjective and emotional in nature. The phrase doryoku ‘effort,’ which is the favorite, seems to appeal most to people’s emotional aspirations.
Another example of Japanese cultural texts is Japanese popular song lyrics. Traditional Japanese popular songs called kayookyoku (or enka), in contrast to mottoes, seem to favor sentimental words. According to Tadao Kabashima (1979), between the 1930s and the 1960s, the most frequently used words in traditional Japanese pop- ular songs were “love affair,” “heart,” “dream,” “to cry,” “tears,” and “flower.”
More recently, Shigeo Hinata (1996) examined the initial word in popular song titles. Based on 2,700 titles appearing in a kayoo-
Japanese Phrases 95
Hinata lists the following ten words as occurring most often in the initial position: koi ‘love affair,’ kimi ‘you,’ ai ‘love,’ ame ‘rain,’ natsu ‘summer,’ hana ‘flower,’ anata ‘you,’ sayoonara ‘good-bye,’ Tookyoo ‘Tokyo,’ and akai ‘red.’ Given that koi and ai, as well as kimi and
anata, are synonyms, their prominence is even more impressive.
The next most frequently occurring initial words are otoko ‘man,’
yoru ‘night’, namida ‘tears,’ ano ‘that,’ aoi ‘blue,’ kaze ‘wind,’ and yume ‘dream.’ Apparently sentimentalism continues to be of signifi-
cant appeal in Japanese popular songs.
This sentimental tone carries through even when English words are used. According to Etsuko O. Reiman (1996), Japanese popular songs are incorporating more English words and sentences. For example, as recently as 1988, 577 of 704 (78.6 percent) of songs popular among youth contained English phrases. Such insertion phrases as “oh,” “wow,” and “hey” often accompany “you,” “I,” “my,” and “me.” In addition to such frequently appearing preposi- tions as “on,” “up,” and “in,” English content words ranking among the top fifty are: “love,” “baby,” “night,” “heart,” “kiss,” “dance,” “blue,” “tonight,” “cry,” “boys,” “know,” “dream,” “chance,” and “lonely.” Although in general one expects popular songs to appeal to the emotions, it is no exaggeration to say that Japanese songs are overwhelmingly sentimental.
In contemporary Japan, popular kayookyoku or enka continue to spin heart-wrenching love stories and woeful tales of broken dreams. To give readers an idea of the kind of words favored, here is a translation of a song that was very popular in the 1980s. The title of the song is Yagiri no Watashi (‘Ferry port of Yagiri’). (The tran- scription of the Japanese text appears in the appendix.)
Ferry Port of Yagiri
“Please take me and run.” “Come with me, my love.” Evening rain is falling At the ferry port of Yagiri.
My parents’ will, even that I have disobeyed. Want to live for love, the two of us we do. “Please don’t leave me.”
“No, I won’t, my love.” The north wind is wailing At the ferry port of Yagiri.
Wounded by vicious rumors, the town of Shibamata we are leav- ing.
Wherever the boat takes us, our destiny it is. “Where are we going?”
“To some place where nobody knows us, my love.” The boat swaying, the oar creaking,
Off the ferry port of Yagiri,
Holding our breath, huddling gently together,
Rowing the boat into tomorrow, our parting this is. (Gotooshoin 1992, 195; my translation)
In many ways, Japanese people are, to overstate it, addicted to emotional portrayals of human relations. Tear-jerking songs such as
Yagiri no Watashi are popular at karaoke bars. Wherever karaoke,
what Narumi Kunihiro (1994) calls “the electric geisha” machine, is set up, even in the smallest towns in the Japanese countryside, these emotion-laden stories are sung repeatedly night after night. Just as Americans prize stories in which the underdog comes out on top, Japanese people consider sincerity and devotion precious. On a personal level, the Japanese hold these mottoes and sentimental phrases close to their hearts.
The Japanese communicational style, which is brimming with emotion, allows the Japanese speaker, within certain genre and social situations, to express individuality freely. Far from being hes- itant, submissive, and inexpressive, the Japanese express themselves eloquently—often uninhibitedly, given the right circumstances.
According to Hazel Rose Markus and Shinobu Kitayama, dif- ferent societies give focus to different kinds of emotions, depend- ing on whether an interdependent or independent view of the self is endorsed. In societies where the interdependent self is pro- moted, “emotions, such as sympathy, feelings of interpersonal communication and shame, which have another person, rather than one’s internal attributes, as the primary referent are preva- lent” (Markus and Kitayama 1991, 235). The kinds of emotions packed into Japanese words are often other-focused, or at least directly associated with the feelings of others. Even when ego- focused emotions are prevalent, interpersonal and situational circumstances must be right for their expression. Japanese emotional expressions, although individual-based, respond to relationality cues.
Japanese Phrases 97