As part of my pre-arrival Japanese cultural training, the instructor was reinforcing the generally polite nature of the culture throughout Japan, as observed in the language, gestures, signals, and interactions between people of all statures. In just a few short days, I have already seen evidence of this in the most unsuspecting places:
- A window washer was cleaning the exterior windows of a building about 10 stories above the entry doors. There was a separate worker standing in front of the entry doors with an umbrella to shield people walking in and out from the water dripping down.
- A construction worker made a point to acknowledge and bow to each passerby, letting him or her know that it was safe to walk past the active construction site.
- A random person approached me while I was walking through the garden at the Imperial Palace and handed me some dried tea bush seeds, saying, mostly in Japanese with a small smattering of words in English, that I will have great luck if I plant the seeds in my garden.
- During my morning and evening commutes, those on the escalators stand on the left and walk on the right, with precision unseen in any other city I’ve visited. They will always leave space, even if nobody is walking up the right side.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by these gestures, but in a city with the largest population in the world, I was expecting there to be some slip-ups here and there. I have been pleasantly proven incorrect!
Daryl,
What you have shared should give all of us hope that a civilized society is achievable. With the continuing demise of American culture, morality, and manners; it is an elusive idea that it could actually be better. What’s even more amazing is that they are doing these kind and thoughtful acts at their own will. Let us know if you can determine how this phenomenon started and what has perpetuated it?
Stacey