I was born and grew up in a rural area in Ehime Prefecture. It was rare to see people from the West in my childhood. When I saw them from time to time, they were objects of envy no matter what people they were. They were bigger than Japanese and could speak English. It was the only and strong enough reason that I admired them. I don't think of anything special seeing foreign people now, but my childhood was like that.
I feel that the worshipping of foreign countries that I had conceived since my childhood might have been a reversed inferiority complex against foreign countries.
Cultural background where "looks not typical of the Japanese" is a compliment; the conditions in which adopted words are flooding noted newspapers, magazines and conversations among both ordinary people and intelligent people; the fact that Japan has been kept under the control of China and South Korea due to the issue of Yasukuni Shrine, in spite of this issue being literally domestic; these are incredibly dishonorable and absurd.
What on earth did this lack of confidence come from? I speculate that the honest longing and awe for western civilization, technology, customs and manners that had flown into Japan since the Meiji Restoration might have been implanted into our deep psyche.
Or, the negative campaign and distortion against Japan's history after the Sino-Japanese War that had been intentionally conducted by the Allied Occupation forces and some Japanese people after the last war, might still remain in Japanese people's mind.
Whatever, any Japanese people hearing about such an inferiority complex can never beat the continent's collective psyche that feels superiority against other countries, which is domestically-oriented and is indifferent to their own catch-22 situation or arrogance.
During the cold war, as long as Japan was under the big tree named the U.S. with overwhelming nuclear deterrence, it was secure and safe. However, the cold war came to an end. The power of this ally has already started to crack now. At the same time, the unbalance of power was generated in the Far East and Japan which came to face the two ominous superpowers such as Russia and China, and North Korea which dismisses the U.S. with its brinkmanship diplomacy by itself.
Then, what should we Japanese do? You might guess that I'll conclude this article with saying "Let's learn English!", but the answer is NO! Ordinary English speaking people can't negotiate with these tough neighbors. English is only a means of communication and isn't the content itself. The content is more important than using skilled English.
The scenery in those good old days, the nostalgic tunes, the gentle people, the beautiful sound of the mother tongue, the unforgettable tastes of local cuisine, the real history that isn't distorted,,,; We should find our identity in these things and become confident. I suppose there is a key to restoring lost confidence in these things.
(Vocabulary)
reversed inferiority complex 引け目の裏返し
become an object of envy 羨望の的になる
worshipping of foreign countries 外国礼賛
conceive 考え・計画などを思いつく, 考え出す, 心に抱く
looks not typical of the Japanese 日本人離れした容姿
adopted words / exotic words / imported words 外来語
dishonor 不名誉
absurdity 不条理
deep psyche 深層心理
honest longing and awe 素直な憬れと畏怖
the Meiji Restoration 明治維新
negative campaign and distortion 中傷宣伝と歪曲
Sino-Japanese War 日清戦争
the Allied Occupation forces 進駐軍
continent's collective psyche 大陸の人々が共有している精神
domestically-oriented 自国中心主義の
nuclear deterrence 核抑止力
start to crack かげりが見え始める
ominous 不吉な、不気味な
brinkmanship diplomacy 瀬戸際外交
in those good old days 懐かしいあの頃は
劣等感
愛媛県の小さな田舎町に育ったためか、子供時代には外国人を見ることはほとんど無かったが、それでも時々出会ったときには彼等は羨望の的であった。彼等は総じて立派な体格で、何より英語を話す。それだけなのだが、尊敬に値したのである。子供時代はそんな風であった。今になって思えば、子供時代から抱き続けたそういった外国礼賛は外国に対する引け目の裏返しではなかったかと思う。
「日本人離れした容姿」という言葉が褒め言葉となるような文化、新聞、雑誌、人々の会話の中に氾濫する外来語、純粋に内政問題であるにもかかわらず靖国問題で中国、韓国のいいなりになっている事実、これらは信じられないくらい不名誉で不条理なことである。
いったいこの自信の欠落はどこから来たのか。明治維新以降、日本に流れ込んできた西洋の文明、テクノロジー、習慣や作法に対する素直な憧れと畏怖が我々の深層心理に埋め込まれてしまっているのではないだろうか。あるいは、大東亜戦争後、進駐軍と一部の日本人によって意図的に行われてきた日清戦争以後の日本の歴史に対する中傷宣伝と歪曲が日本人の心に今なお残っているのかもしれない。
いずれにせよ、このような引け目を感じていては、外国に優越を感じ自国中心を当然とし、しかも自身の抱える矛盾や横柄には無頓着な大陸系民族と対等に勝負することはできないだろう。
冷戦中はアメリカという圧倒的な核抑止力を持った国の庇護の元にいさえすれば日本は安全だった。しかし、冷戦は終わり、この同盟国は音をたてて衰退し始めている。それと同時に極東での力の不均衡が生じ、ロシアや中国といった不気味な二つの国、アメリカをも翻弄する北の瀬戸際外交に独自に対応しなければならなくなっている。
それでは、我々日本人はどうすればよいのだろうか。英語を勉強すればいいのか。そうではない。単に英語をしゃべるだけではこのように手強い隣人達と対等に交渉することはできないのだ。英語は単にコミュニケーションの手段であって、英語の技術そのものより話す内容が大切なのである。数日前に成田に立ち寄ってインタビューに答えていたダライ・ラマ師の英語を聞いていてそう思った。
幼い頃に見た母国の山河、懐かしい調べ、優しい人たち、母国語の美しい響き、郷土料理の忘れられない味、歪曲されていない本当の歴史、、、これらのなかに日本人のアイデンティティを見つけ、自信を持つこと。失われつつある自信を取り戻す鍵はここにあると思うのだ。
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