So Can You
on Japanese Society
at Amazon.com
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| The Cover of So Can You |
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Search for Books on Japanese Society at Amazon.com |
I found this little book while poking through the skimpy English Books section in a department store in downtown Kanazawa. I had heard about this book a little, and had seen the author interviewed on television once, and although I was not really paying attention at the time, I knew that Ohira-san was someone who was making a real impact with her story. This is a fascinating story about one woman's troubled childhood, horrid school experiences, her escape into life on the street, marriage to a gangster, life as a bar hostess, her eventual departure from that world, and making it on her own.
The story begins, like so many others, of an introverted kid being horrifyingly bullied at school. You might think that this is just “one of those things that kids have to go through”, but the issue of “ijime” or “bullying” is of such rampant proportions in Japan that there have been more than just a few cases of kids being driven to suicide. One of the biggest problems for kids growing up in Japan is having a profound sense of alienation and deep fear of ostracism from the group. In the West we pride ourselves on independent thinking and action, and we raise our children to have a sense of self-respect and self-identification. Such things are taught to kids in Japan as well, but there is often another element taught as well, and that is the imperative to cooperate and participate within the group, as well as finding your own identity through your relationships with others. Whereas Western children may more easily work with the notion that it is their unique individuality that contributes to a group, Japanese kids are programmed to see themselves as receiving individual senses of worth or value based on the opinions and perceptions of them by the group.
So, if a kid is called “pig” or “dirty” or “worthless” by other kids in Japan, the effect on the child is much worse. The group will likely never change that perception of the child, and the child will likely spiral down into isolation, ostracism, and be the continual source of bullying and attacks by other kids. You might think that parents or teachers are the places where kids can find some kind of solace but you would be grossly mistaken. School teachers in Japan are often rather useless in helping bullied kids. Firstly, they are often overworked and underpaid, having all kinds of responsibilities for their students that range from monitoring them during study hall, supervision of a sport or club activity, meeting continually with other teachers to maintain uniformity in curriculum, traveling with sports teams around the country, and dealing with any discipline issue involving students outside the school. There have also been noted cases of teachers actually participating in the bullying of these same kids in the classroom, horrifying though it may seem.
Parents are also often not a great source of comfort for kids. Father is often away from home, leaving before the kids wake, and arriving home long after they have gone to sleep. Mother is often working herself, and is likely deeply involved with community issues such as garbage maintenance, meetings with the PTA, doing housework, or taking care of aging relatives. Kids often get missed in the shuffle. As long as they are neatly pressed in their uniforms each day and shunted off to school, many parents assume that their work is done and that the school will take care of them appropriately.
Mitsuyo Ohira has an incredible story to tell based on her experiences of passing through schoolyard slaughter, falling to the streets, and surviving. But she does more than that. She challenges the impossible and dedicates herself to doing what so many people have tried in Japan, and that is to successfully pass the bar examinations to become a lawyer. If you thought it is difficult to become a lawyer in the West, it is many times more so in Japan, where numbers of permitted graduates is highly restricted and only the extremely gifted are permitted to hold licenses.
I highly recommend this book for two reasons. The first is that it gives readers some insight as to what it is like to be a regular kid in Japan. Mitsuyo Ohira never asked to be treated the way she did. She also rebelled inappropriately as well, avoided what she needed to do, but instead of being trapped in her past, and her past mistakes, she gives herself a second chance to live, and not only does that but excels beyond everyone's expectations. The second reason I recommend this book is that it is not only a story about Japan, the Japanese system of education, or the Japanese society. It is a story about the human spirit, and about the human heart that despite horrible and seemingly impossible obstacles, will not lie down, will not fold without a fight, and will not die.
A very interesting read.
Mark Groenewold
December, 2003
This page is Copyright © 2004 Mark Groenewold
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