(click on above link for more information - artist of this painting is unknown)
Gaman:
"Gaman reflects a distinctively Japanese mentality, the direct consequence of geography and history in a country where the cycle of destruction and renewal is embedded in the national psyche." ~ from Crushed, but true to the law of 'gaman' - The Australian
To look at Japan's recent history is to see a uniqueness at work in this culture. I have vivid recollections of visiting neighbors in the Santa Anita internment camp in the 1940's and asking my dad why our friends were being kept behind the wire fencing.
Then came the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States in 1945 - and through all of this the culture of the Japanese people sustained them. To overcome adversity, move forward ...
I fully expect that the Japanese people will once again prevail over adversity with the help of gaman.
What I know of Japan comes mostly via James Clavell, I'm afraid. It's always seemed a lovely place with gracious, intelligent people. They will persevere; you're right about that. But I wish I felt more certain that the people were being given accurate information from their government. They need to assess their potential risk in a rational manner, and you need reliable data for that.
ReplyDeleteVery troubling, Keith. We have Japanese friends in Tokyo - received news they were OK after the earthquake and tsunami, but silence after follow up emails as to the reactor hazard. He is a doctor and of course could be busy helping but we just don't have any news at this point.
ReplyDeleteAnd again we're seeing the type of heroism that we saw at Chernobyl, where fireman held hoses on the reactors, knowing they would surely die after ten minutes exposure. The same thing is taking place in Japan. At times like these, there is a special breed of person who steps up without hesitation to volunteer for a suicide mission to save others. I cried when I watched footage of the Russian firemen in their last minutes, and I'm sure I'll do the same when these stories come out. Humans can be awful, but they can also be incredibly brave.
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