Book Project: The Japanese culture and its subtleties I
November 27, 2008 at 5:07 pm 2 comments
I want to discuss three widely-practiced, cultural attributes that dictate both the manner and form of both social and business interactions that you will conduct with the Japanese people. I deem these conventions to be especially important to keep in mind, as we did, when planning and organizing your tour. In general, it is advisable to go beyond what I will tell you here and to pick up a book about Japan. Study a little and learn about the people, their country, and their norms. Keep in mind that an ounce of preparation is worth much more than a pound misunderstandings and apologies.
Polite Conversation
A huge difference between cultures is noticeable in the way we within a culture speak to one another. The German culture that I grew up in instilled a straight-forward method of interaction. It seems that we quickly get to the point of our inquiry or interest. This directness which might seem a little impolite, aggressive or pushy to an American used to a certain amount of small talk before getting down to business would come across as being outright rude to the Japanese. The Japanese expect to establish a rapport and a trust by means of a polite social exchange before business or issues are discussed. This beating-around-the bush can become wearisome if you are not used to it, but remember that the success of your endeavor may well depend on how you are perceived and that also no one wants to deal with an ill-mannered boor.
To give an example of how differently we conversed with our Japanese contacts, I will show you first a typical letter I would write to a German band.
Hi guys,
We saw that you are playing a big show in your town at the end of each year at the Crocodile. Would you like to play this concert together with us this year? It is just an idea. We can also leave it like it is. Tell us what you think.
Peace, Christoph
Because I am a German used to speaking with other Germans, I am not sure that my letter attempting to honor the social conventions customary in a Japanese correspondence was a complete success. Nevertheless below is the actual letter and how I changed it to be more respectful of their expectations.
Konnichi ha,
We have heard that you guys are playing a big gig at the end of each year at the Crocodile. I also know that traditionally this gig is a one band show. So, I hope that you don’t think that it is awfully impolite to ask this question. I only want to ask very carefully what you think of playing there together at the Crocodile at the end of the year. Like I said the 11th is very good and we look forward to it, but maybe a mutual gig at the Crocodile would be good (or better), too. If you don’t like this idea just tell me and I could go ahead and fix the date at the other club.
Peace, Christoph
Again I advise you to learn more about your host country and the accepted mode of conversation. Brush up on topics that would be acceptable or interesting to your hosts. Share some complimentary impressions gained by your visit before you make the boorish mistake of launching directly into the purpose of your coming together. We found that the Japanese people who we talked to liked to hear and talk about our impressions of the country, the jam music scene in general and if they had been to Germany before they really were open to talk about that.
Further, lack of knowledge about the culture leads us to believe that this adherence to conversational protocols is attributable to a strange fussiness. Television, at least in Germany, furthers this image or stereotype by broadcasting strange Japanese programs. Digging deeper one can eventually understand that this adherence to protocol is a method that advances civility and secures peacefulness in a compact nation where so many people share so little space.
Expanding on the conventions of conversation in Japan I would add that trusting or doing business with the wrong person in Europe or America might go unnoticed, it might just be chalked up to a bad decision, it could also harm your business, or could possibly damage your reputation, but in Japan trusting the wrong person might be a much costlier mistake. The tightly-packed confinement of this population has led to harsher mechanisms to punish mistakes in judgment.
In Japan it is not only those people directly impacted by your mistakes who will turn their backs to you, but also contacts and prospective customers and suppliers who feel as if they have to protect themselves from you and your bad business connection. In this system you are either in or out and how you conduct yourself in this society determines where your placement will be. This also explains, in part, why it is so difficult for an outsider to expand their enterprise into this culture and the importance of partnering with a Japanese national.
Entry filed under: Book Project: Touring Japan. Tags: America, Book Project: Touring Japan, differences in culture, Europe, Germany, Jam band, jamband, Japan, Japan-Tour, Japanese culture, Mars Mushrooms, misunderstandings, music tours, social and business interactions, touring Japan, USA.
1.
t-pin | November 30, 2008 at 12:11 pm
hi christoph, i fully agree with what you write, you hit the bull’s-eye and one could probably not depict the affair better than you did. reading your project is a joy – thanks for entertaining me
yet, i want to add a little side-note.
foreigners generally receive something called the ‘gaijin (or foreigner)-bonus’. that means that a foreigner is not expected to act like a japanese, a little faux pas will generally be forgiven. of course, one should prepare himself and be polite. like you point it out, especially during the first time of establishing a relation good manners are an important thing. but there are also people who are getting afraid to deal with the japanese facing the seemingly countless rules they feel to be required to meet. that, resulting in confusion, paralysis or overreaction isn’t a satisfactory way to handle the situation either. what i want to say is, be friendly, be polite, do your best, maybe take a little step back, if necessary a little more than usual. but, don’t panic! you’re not expexted to be perfect. (that, i have to admit, might change after some time. the gaijin-bonus ceases with growing experience, let’s say if you’re living in japan for a long time, maybe speak the language and deal with japanese on a daily basis. in that case you’re expected to improve and adjust to japanese rules much stricter. that, of course, doesn’t necessarily apply to a rock band touring japan once every few years though.)
there’s another thing i want to add. yes, it’s hard to enter the japanese (business) world. but once you passed the first step, this seemingly harsh system has a nice side-effect: if you receive the trust of an influential person (let’s not forget that japan is a strictly hierarchically organized society where people adhere to what a socially higher standing person says) things might suddenly run much smoother. people will open up for you. moreover trust is shareable. if a japanese person who trusts you introduces you to somebody else, that other person will trust you, too, no matter if he/she knew you before or not. of course, you are expected not to disappoint that ‘calm agreement’. but a relationship builded on trust might last a lifetime.
conclusion: behave properly and consciously watch what you’re doing, but don’t panic. furthermore, meet the right, namely influential people and try to gain their trust. a spoken word given in trust might be worth more than some rushed written contract.
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Korbi | December 18, 2008 at 9:49 am
Well thinking about my trip with the mars mushrooms it leads me to a very funy scene in a japanese bar. We wanted to order something to eat and I was kind of unsure how to do it. Than I saw the drummer of the band offering something in the japanese language. I thought: What a freak, where the hell did he learn that? Although he only said a few words the japanese waitress smiled and seemed to be glad that this foreigner tried to use her langueage. Maybe she just thought damn this guy is a hot german. But anyway, get to know some words. That will have an impact
Prost,
Korbi