Tokyo (CNN) — I’ve been asked questions along this theme multiple times, from my friends and family in the United States to colleagues who work around the globe: How, amid Japan’s worst natural disaster in 100 years, can the Japanese seem so calm?
Food and water are both scarce. Electricity in the tsunami zone is nearly nonexistent. Survivors have lacked information about their missing loved ones.
But unlike other disasters where the world has observed looting, rioting and public outbursts of sorrow and rage, it has seen a country quietly mourning, its people standing patiently for hours in orderly lines for a few bottles of water.
This is surprising only if you’ve never lived here or experienced how Japan’s society operates. As a resident of Japan for three years, I would have been surprised if this country’s people behaved in any other manner.
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Across Sendai’s tsunami zone, both in the areas devastated and in the neighboring regions, you can see that Japan’s societal mores have failed to break down, even if the tsunami destroyed the physical structure of this coastal community.
At stores across the city, long, straight lines of Japanese tsunami victims have been waiting for rations in the city. No one is directing these lines; they’re organized by the people themselves.
At the front, which takes hours to get to in some cases, shoppers are limited to 10 food or beverage items. No complaints, no cheating.
No one should complain, says Mitsugu Miyagi, standing in line at a store with his infant, 6-year-old and wife, Maki.
When asked what happens if the city does run out of bottled water supplies, Maki states simply, “What can we do?”
Military and emergency efforts have been focused on the tsunami-ravaged regions or at the nuclear plant in Fukushima.
When it comes to relief, volunteer agencies and impromptu community groups have organized shelters and food distribution.
At the Monterey Hotel in Sendai, two chefs dressed in their signature hats from the hotel restaurant spooned out hot soup for breakfast. All passers-by were invited to eat. For many, it was their first hot soup since the tsunami.
But what’s notable is that the people who lined up for the soup took only one cup. They didn’t get back in line for a second cup; that wouldn’t be fair.
Even among the newly homeless from the tsunami, there is a sense of civility and community that creates pause among international onlookers.
Shichigo Elementary School in Sendai is now home to hundreds of tsunami victims. In a third-floor classroom, families have self-organized themselves on cardboard boxes and blankets. No one family has a larger space than the other, just as you see at any average family festival. Shoes are not allowed on the blankets in order to maintain sanitary conditions. Food is shared as equally as possible, even if one person eats or drinks a little less in order for everyone to have some sustenance.
Voices, other than the laughter or cries of children, remain subdued and calm.
Japan’s Emperor Akihito, in an unprecedented address to his citizens, pointed out that the international community has been “impressed” with the Japanese victims.
“These world leaders also say their citizens are impressed with how calm the Japanese people have remained, how they are helping each other and how organized they are. I think it is important that we share the difficult days and overcome this disaster,” the emperor said.
The Japanese from a young age are socialized to put group interest ahead of individual interest
–Jeffrey Kingston, Temple University
RELATED TOPICS
* Japan
* Nuclear Energy
* Earthquakes
* Tsunamis
* Emperor Akihito
Returning to the “how” question I’ve been asked by my international friends and colleagues, the answer comes down to national character, says Temple University’s Jeffrey Kingston. Kingston is a scholar of Japan and has lived in the country since 1987.
Kingston calls the behavior of the Japanese “remarkable but not surprising.”
“The Japanese, from a young age, are socialized to put group interest ahead of individual interest. Many criticize them for deference to authority, abundant rules and conformity, but this is the fabric of social cohesion that keeps Japan together,” Kingston said.
Kingston notes that Japan has been struck by disaster since its creation, and it’s accustomed to dealing with disaster. The survival strategy, argues Kingston, has been to rely on the group.
I know what Kingston is talking about. The social uniformity and obsession with rules has often driven me, the Westerner, to the brink of frustration. I have difficulty comprehending how Japanese children are taught this in school: The nail that sticks out of the board has to be hammered down. Interpretation: You don’t want to stick out, either as a failure or as a huge success, or display your emotions in an undignified manner. You simply want to be like everyone else.
Sometimes, to foreigners, Japan’s societal rules seems orderly and conformist to a fault. But no one can argue that in this disaster it is a tremendous benefit. I only need to think about my own home country dealing with triple disasters in the space of a few days to understand how Japan’s society has characteristics that simply don’t exist in any other large country.
It would be a mistake, however, to say the self-control of the Japanese means they are stoic in the face of this historic disaster.
Mari Sato is hurting, but as a Japanese woman, she is doing her best to be reserved and dignified, prized by society as admirable qualities.
Sato lived about two miles from the Sendai shore in a house neighbors easily recognized because of its signature pink roof. Three days after the tsunami, the newspaper ran before-and-after satellite images of her Sendai neighborhood. In the after picture, she says, there’s only crushed brown rubble.
“The pink roof,” Sato said, and began to quietly cry. Sato shook her head as she pointed to the bare section in the picture. “I never imagined a tsunami could do this.”
Sato’s tears fell down her face, dropping onto the newspaper revealing the devastation to her home. Sato apologized for her emotional display.
The Japanese victim hurts like any disaster victim in the world, but as she or he has been raised prefers to mourn as quietly and privately as possible.
There’s definitely something attractive about the different assets of Waikiki. It’s a place where you can learn how to surf safely as a young kid and a place where you can continue to surf peacefully as an old man.
It’s a place where you can Fall in love for the first time and a place where you can dance on the streets for your 50th anniversary.
In things that we might pursue so serious–hopefully we never forget to walk with a light heart, to maybe eventually learn one day how to dance, to be romantic with the universe, to make a spectacle of ourselves and through it all…Smile!
We’ve been working closely with Japan’s OriginalShootFighter Noboru Asahi of A-POP DESIGNS and wanted to come up with some different stuff for the winter of 2010. these are some of the designs that havent quite made it yetand are still under review and minor tweaking .
Different for sure. But Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder. So until we get these printed…”BEHOLD!”
In the process of relaunching a FokaiInternational Wholesale program after several years in hibernation–we are in the long and winding process of fine tuning our distribution overseas to provide direct access to the best of our updated merchandise.
This is a catalog testament to some stuff we did in 2010 and a real brief glimpse of some new next level stuff in 2011.Looking forward to raising the bar in the days ahead.Thanks for all the support.
Congratulations goes to one of Guam’s BJJ pioneers and PremeireXtremeCombat Co-founder, Joey Calvo for receiving his blackbelt under NovaUniao’s Renato”Charuto”Verrisimo.
Members from the Guam Amateur Wrestling Federation were in Apia, Samoa.to attend the 2011 Oceania Coaching Course & Training Camp from February 16-19 following the 2011 Oceania Championships Wrestling tournament on February 23rd and 25th.
Guam Jiujitsu covered some serious ground on the weekend of February 20th and 21st as 10 representatives from The Universal Alliance competed in the 2011 Philippine BJJ Gi & No Gi International Open in the Philippines to return with a 3rd place team trophy, with gold, silver, and bronze. while Purebred/Lloyd Irvin Jiujitsu sent 13 young competitors to the 2011 Pan Kids Jiujitsu Championships in California to accumulate 7Gold, 1Silver and 4Bronze medals to do their part to deliver 1st place overall team, a 1st place teen division and a1st place junior division for a massive collective victory and the Overall Team trophy to Team Lloyd IrvinJiujitsu.
In Saipan, Rites of Passage: Bad Intentions is set for March 11th, 2011. And on February 15th, Dana White announces that the UFC will be doing The Ultimate Fighter Philippines
likely sometime within 2011…food for thought. Definitely good topics of conversation.
In their first youth exclusive venture overseas, Guam’s young competitors manages to surpass our adults in world jiu-jitsu competitive achievement.
There’s really a lot to be said about this having shared witness to the incredible evolution of Guam’s jiujitsu identity and reinvention. From the seeds of a secret training group to the many branches of success stories that grace many headlines in its numerous versions of community outreach, sports tourism, international recognition and world athletic gravity.
It’s great to see success spread throughout the different academies on Guam. It’s great to see the offspring of our adopted siblings make a tremendous difference in world jiujitsu.
Considering that
1. Jiujitsu developed in a tiny dot in the Pacific was able to produce profound results in what could be Jiu-jitsu’s current best version of a Youth World Championships,
And
2. acknowledging that in the same weekend, across an ocean, and in a different country— a relatively small team of 10 competitors were able to secure a team bronze medal in an international tournament
and
3. that we are in consistent and exponential harvest of local talent and instruction.
–it is again another time to applaud Guam’s Jiujitsu’s effort.
Hi 5’s all around for Guam Jiujitsu and Trumpets, Fireworks, and a standing ovation goes to our island’s young international representatives and their coaches for a job well-done with class and for a flag well-represented with honor. Great to see the hard work, the true sacrifice, and the large ambition pay off.
Thanks for dropping by.
Purebred picks up 12 medals
By Ron Ige • Pacific Daily News rige@guampdn.com • February 24, 2011
Purebred Guam/Lloyd Irvin Jiu-Jitsu Academy earned 12 medals, the overall team title and two out of four overall division titles at the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation 2011 Kids Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championships held Feb. 20 at the California State University at Dominguez Hills.
The event is considered the largest, most prestigious event for juvenile jiu-jitsu athletes (ages 5-15 years). The athletes from Guam teamed up with teammates from their sister gym (Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts Academy) of Camp Springs, Md.
There were 13 athletes from Guam and 15 from Maryland. Stephen Roberto, Terrence Aflague, Wil Escobar and Edward Salantin and team manager Tony Bashaw coached the team.
The medal count for the Guam side was seven gold, one silver and four bronze, and the count for the Maryland athletes was nine gold, five silver and one bronze.
Their combined efforts helped the Lloyd Irvin contingent to achieve the first-place overall team title, the first-place teen division and the first-place junior division.
There were more than 400 competitors for this event. Guam was also recognized for having traveled the farthest as a team.
The International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation was created by Master Carlos Gracie Jr. to officially represent the sport of Brazilian jiu-jitsu around the world. Its main goals are to popularize, organize and regulate the sport on an international level.
This work is similar to what the Confederacao Brasileira de Jiu-Jitsu (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Confederation) has done in Brazil, where the sport is highly popular and follows established guidelines.
Individual results
Brian Roberto: gold, junior 2 yellow belt, male super heavyweight division.
Justin Untalan: gold, junior 2 orange belt, male featherweight division.
David Shimizu: gold, junior 3 orange belt, male heavyweight division.
