Miwa in Kyoto

The Japanese are often portrayed as workaholic people lacking individuality. One symbol of that stereo-typed figure would be EREBE－TA－GA－RU: Lift girls.

Those entering a large department store, for example, will usually be accorded a crisp greeting from a well- heeled young man or women, situated just inside the door for that very purpose. Lift attendants wearing the same uniform utter information about floors in such stilted tones that they might almost be machines, (pp.86-87)

However, Hendry‘s sees them in terms of ‘the company wrapping’. Individual human beings are ‘well wrapped’ by uniforms and the apparently unfriendly atmosphere and figures only remind people, particularly Westerners, of robots. Regardless of this, the layers of uniform and the atmosphere help in establishing a work environment which does not require interpersonal exchange. It shows that focusing on the function of wrapping can help intercultural understanding.
If we consider culture to be so much wrapping, trying to take off those wrappings to see the intimate part of a society is not necessarily the best way. Instead, people have to examine their own layers thoroughly in the first instance, in order to understand those factors which interfere with mutual understanding. These factors include prejudice, bias and overly strong patriotism.
The real intention of the Japanese person is wrapped up sometimes. It means that they do not like to or does not need to express their thoughts directly. They may act in a totally opposite manner from their real intention to covey their message more effectively, but there must be a lot of clues in order to know their intention. These include indirect words, expressions on the face or particular behaviours, so the best way to achieve a good relationship is to try to read those clues. This means not tearing up the layers of wrapping but trying to see the intention. Hendry’s views would seem to have a potentially wide application in the twenty first century, particularly in the region of inter-cultural encounters.

Posted on February 9th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: Uncategorized