Japanese Personality

Samurai Meets the Black Swan

Part 1 of Japaneses Personality. See Part 2 - Early Religious Influences

The world looks on as the Japanese people struggle to move toward equilibrium after a killer earthquake, magnitude 9.0, slammed into their shore on March 11, 2011. Rare events, such as this earthquake/ tsunami/nuclear catastrophe and 9/11, are called Black Swans.

This novel and ominous name comes from 2nd Century Europe where black swans were unknown. Because of their rarity, Black Swan events stretch the fiber of a people and showcase their strengths and weaknesses. After the disaster, my perception of the Japanese personality as a nation of stoical, unobtrusively indomitable people began to take shape and sharpen with each successive day.

Heroes Come Forward

When a hero is needed heroes come forward. We witnessed acts of heroism by ordinary citizens who were pressed by circumstances to step forward and take charge when United Airlines Flight 93 was taken and the Towers were attacked in 2001.

A new Japanese hero, a quiet hero, has emerged from an ancient past. I would like to believe that the tradition of the Samurai has awakened to battle the Black Swan. The Samurai were an ancient warrior class who valued loyally, honor and duty. These ideals are closely associated with the Japanese people and woven into their cultural personality.

Enormity of Devastation

The enormity of the earthquake and tsunami damage is beyond our ability to comprehend. According to the Japan National Police Agency, 12, 915 people have been reported dead and another 14,921 reported missing. One month after the earthquake 500,000 survivors are homeless and many more are without basic needs.

In the areas most affected by the disaster business as usual has stopped because factories and businesses are damaged beyond repair, the people have been displaced or the businesses are simply gone— seized by an "Act of God." Add to this desolation potentially lethal, rogue nuclear power plants and shock and disbelief expand beyond measure. Perhaps, a samurai personality is appropriate to continue the recovery process when one cannot see the end. The nuclear cleanup has been defined as long term – at best.

Nuclear Samurai

As the recovery efforts continue frantic activity is underway at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear site. Fellow countrymen are beginning to call the courageous workers who remain at Fukushima "nuclear samurai." Early samurai warriors described themselves as Bushido, which means (Shogakukan Kokugo Daijiten dictionary)

a unique philosophy that spread through the warrior class… From the earliest times, the Samurai felt that the path of the warrior was one of honor, emphasizing duty…, and loyalty unto death.

Japan's Nuclear Samurai work 12 hour days desperately struggling to repair equipment, keep the nuclear fuel rods covered and cool, and pump out radioactive water. All of this activity is within proximity of reactors leaking radiation at 100,000 times the normal rate. Workers survive on meager meals of crackers and juice and sleep wherever exhaustion overcomes them.

According to Joan Smith of the London Independent.co.uk,

Heroism is an overused word, but it’s on full display in Fukushima. The sacrifice of the 'nuclear samurai' is a powerful rebuttal of the notion that human beings are motivated by nothing but self-interest.

Undoubtedly, these modern day samurai know that their loyalty, honor and commitment to duty carry a psychological, emotional and physiological price tag which will be presented for payment one day. Yet, they continue to work.

Next Time and How You Can Help

Probably much like you, I have followed the devastation in Japan with shock, and overwhelming helplessness and despair. As I read accounts and watch televised reports about the recovery efforts, I am astonished at the fortitude shown by these unfortunate, embattled people. We are exposed to televised devastation as a regular serving with our evening meal.

Natural and manmade tragedies happen much too frequently. Yet, what I see in Japanese faces and hear in their words appears exceptional to me. Typically resolute and unbent, one elderly man who had lost his fish store to the sea (irony), said he was very proud of his people because they did not loot. Perhaps, as Ritts (2000), comments, "Japan is a collectivist society as a whole, they put others needs above their own."

Is their simple bravery in the face of enormous challenges really that uncomplicated? Does that define their personality as a culture? I am not a student of Asian cultures. Therefore, I had to dig to understand the Japanese Personality and its plausible determinants. I will be back soon to share what I have learned. Until then enjoy a nice cup of tea and say a prayer for the embattled Japanese people. You may also want to make a donation to the Red Cross to help them with the recovery process.

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This is part one of a series on the Personality of the Japanese people under fire and the influences that shaped their culture. The next installment will look at religion in Japan - Early Religious Influences.