Dr．Scott：私は日本に来る前に、中根千枝のJapanose Society
を読んできました。日本の社会は彼女の言う通りでしょうか。
佐々木：本当に「縦社会」かどうか、自分の日で確かめてみてください。
Jibun no me de tashikameru
Sukotto hakushi: Watashi wa Nihon ni kuru mae ni, Nakane
Chie no Japanese Society wo yonde kimashita. Nihon no shakai
wa kanojo no iu toori deshoo ka?
Sasaki: Hontoo ni tate-shakai ka doo ka, jibun no me de
tashikamete mite kudasai.
Dr. Scott: Before coining to Japan I read Chie Nakane's
book, Japanese Society. Do you think it's accurate the
way she describes the Japanese society?
Sasaki: Whether it's really a "hierarchically structured
society," you mean? I suggest that you judge that from
what you can see for yourself.
Jibun no me de tashikameru, literally to "check with your own eyes," means to judge or make sure of something by seeing it for yourself.
One of the books most commonly read by foreigners coming to Japan must surely be Chie Nakane's Japanese Society. Some foreigners come to Japan without having read anything about it and return home judging it entirely on the basis of the small part they have seen during their stay. This is cause for concern, but more serious is the problem of those who arrive with preconceived ideas already planted in their minds. After all, such fixed preconceptions are not easily changed.
To those people who are convinced that Japan is a hierarchical society, I would like to ask, Dooshite jibun no me de tashikamete kara, handan shiyoo to shinai no desu ka (Why don't you look and see for yourself before making judgments about it?) Is there a hierarchical relationship between people, for example, when groups of neighbors get together? What about relations between colleagues? How about married couples? And then parents and their children? Obviously, we cannot explain every* aspect of Japanese society simply in terms of its "hierarchical structure. "
Sasaki: "We have a lot of books in the library about the Japanese and their society-in-eluding yours, of course." Dr. Scott: "Really? My book? I think I'll go and have a look." Kare wa ima suguni, sono koto wo jibun no me de tashikamete mitai rashii (It seems as if he wants to go and check it out for himself straight away.)
There are many things which, although you understand them in your own mind, jibun no me de tashikame nakereba shinjirarenai (You don't believe until you've seen them for yourself)- even everyday things such as hearing that your neighbor's husband has lost 15 kilograms by going on a diet. Perhaps there are some things in your life that you've thought you'd like to check out for yourself.
The writer is a professor at Yokohama National University.