”個”を支えるもの

支える [ささえる] /to support/to prop/
個人 [こじん] /individual/private person/personal (a-no)/private/
主義 [しゅぎ] /doctrine/rule/principle/
課題 [かだい] /subject/theme/task/
重要 [じゅうよう] /important (an)/momentous/essential/principal/major/
用語 [ようご] /term/terminology/
誤る [あやまる] /to make a mistake/
同義語 [どうぎご] /synonym/
誤解 [ごかい] /misunderstanding (vs)/
生じる [しょうじる] /to produce/to yield/to result from/to arise/to be generated/
そもそも /in the first place/
困難 [こんなん] /difficulty (an)/distress/
本論 [ほんろん] /main discourse/this subject/body (of a speech)/
用いる [もちいる] /to use/to make use of/
PP 1 summary: Right now it the subject of individualism is very important in Japan. The term individual has come to be mistakenly used by the Japanese as a synonym for egoism. We can point to the Japanese' misunderstanding of the doctrine of individualism born in Europe as the source of this misunderstanding. The case of the main discourse is that we should decide to use the same meaning the Europeans use - the request that my opinion is not incorrect.
及び [および] /and/as well as/
深層 [しんそう] /depths/deep level/
心理学 [しんりがく] /psychology/
焦点 [しょうてん] /focus/point/
概念 [がいねん] /general idea/concept/notion/
存在 [そんざい] /existence (vs)/being/
確信 [かくしん] /conviction (vs)/confidence/
限り [かぎり] /limit(s)/as far as possible/as much as possible/to the best of one's ability/
障害 [しょうがい] /obstacle/trouble/disorder/
心理療法家 [しんりりょうほうか] /psychotherapist/
訪れる [おとずれる] /to visit/
参考 [さんこう] /reference (vs)/consultation/
PP 2 summary: I would like to look at the both points of individualism and the doctrine of individualism from the view point of my major, deep psychology. Especially within that viewpoint, I would like to focus on discussing what is it that supports individualism. I believe that you can say that this is unusually close to the concept that is used in psychology of "identity." For human existence, the conviction that what we are supported by knows no limits causes us anxiety. Then, because that unease becomes too strong, there are even people that begin to have psychological troubles, and go to see a psychotherapist. While referring to this state of affairs, let's try to think about what supports "individualism."

日本人の”イエ”

伝統的 [でんとうてき] /traditional/conventional/
己 [おのれ] /oneself/(insulting) you/
極めて [きわめて] /exceedingly/extremely/
重要 [じゅうよう] /important (an)/momentous/essential/principal/major/
寧ろ [むしろ] /rather/better/instead/
存続 [そんぞく] /duration/continuance/
第一義 [だいいちぎ] /The first consideration/
各人 [かくじん] /each person/
所属 [しょぞく] /attached to/belong to/
繁栄 [はんえい] /prosperity/
態々 [わざわざ] /(uk) expressly/specially/doing something especially rather than incidentally/
表現 [ひょうげん] /expression (vs)/presentation/representation (math)/
先人 [せんじん] /predecessor/pioneer/ancestor/
血縁 [けつえん] /blood relative or relationship/
特徴 [とくちょう] /feature/characteristic/
Summary: With regards to the life of traditional Japanese, the concept of "family" is very important for support of the individual. More than that (the individual) the first consideration is of the continuation of the "family," and people first think about the prosperity of the "family" that they belong to. A special characteristic of Japanese society, as research by our predecessors has pointed out, is that this expression that we have purposely called "family" is not necessarily based on blood relations.
かつて [かつて] /past, previous, old times/
状況 [じょうきょう] /circumstances/situation/
言い難い [いいがたい] /difficult to say/hard to explain/
同様 [どうよう] /identical/equal to/same (kind)/like/
諸国 [しょこく] /various countries/
言及 [げんきゅう] /reference (vs)/
欲望 [よくぼう] /desire/appetite/
充足 [じゅうそく] /sufficiency/
Summary: In Korea and in ancient China, big "families" made on the basis of blood relations were very important. (The current state of affairs in modern China is a more difficult matter to speak about.(ref the cultural revolution, breakdown of family importance vs. state.)) It would be ok to say that this the family groups are more important than the country. I think it is the same in the Phillipines, but since I do not know very much about other asian countries, I will not speak about them. In countries like this, the continuation and prosperity of the "family" carries a much deeper meaning than the personal satisfaction or desires of a single individual.
比する [ひする] /to compare/
自己主張 [じこしゅちょう] /self-assertion/
論争 [ろんそう] /controversy/dispute/
避ける [さける] /to avoid/
近代的 [きんだいてき] /modern/
単純 [たんじゅん] /simplicity (an)/
長幼の序 [ちょうようのじょ] /precedence given to the older by the younger/
地位 [ちい] /(social) position/status/
親族 [しんぞく] /relatives/
便宜 [べんぎ] /convenience/accommodation/advantage/expedience/
倫理的 [りんりてき] /ethical/
使命 [しめい] /mission/errand/message/
Summary: Compared to Japanese, Koreans will assert themselves when they are supposed to, and do not try to avoid controversy too much like the Japanese do, so some people say that Koreans are more modern and have a more developed principle of individualism. However, it is not that simple. Koreans assert themselves strongly outside of the house, but within the family, they almost never assert themselves, and protect the doctrine of youth respecting their elders. Or, when some person receives a high social post, you can almost say that it becomes an "ethical imperative" for that person to bestow favours from the post upon their family.
長所 [ちょうしょ] /strong point/
能力 [のうりょく] /ability/faculty/
優先 [ゆうせん] /preference (vs)/priority/
阻む [はばむ] /to keep someone from doing/to stop/to prevent/to check/to hinder/to obstruct/to oppose/to thwart/
要因 [よういん] /primary factor/main cause/
Summary: In the kind of society that tries to support this kind of system, of course there are good points for the family but, the main cause that holds back modernization is that even a person with no talent has to be given priority (consideration, favors.)
養子 [ようし] /adopted child/son-in-law/
家父長 [かふちょう] /the chief of patriarchy/
権限 [けんげん] /power/authority/jurisdiction/
方針 [ほうしん] /objective/plan/policy/
極端 [きょくたん] /extreme (an)/extremity/
主君押込め [しゅくんおしこめ] /In the edo period, when a Daimyo was imprisoned by his underlings because he was not doing a good job, and a yes-man stand in was placed in the ceremonial seat of power/
順序 [じゅんじょ] /order/sequence/procedure/
蔡 [さい] /case/
身分 [みぶん] /social position/social status/
超える [こえる] /to cross over/to pass over (out of)/
評価 [ひょうか] /valuation (vs)/estimation/assessment/evaluation/
注目 [ちゅうもく] /notice (vs)/attention/observation/
Summary: With regards to this (what is これ in this case?) the thought of individuality is not central to the "family" but, for the sake of the continuation of the "family", by the process of adopting in strong/talented individuals, the aspect that more than the blood relation talent is seen as important, has developed. Without thinking that the patriarchal leader's power is completely his, for the sake of the prosperity of the "family" there are even cases when people other than the leader of the "family" do things like make plans and decisions. An extreme example of this is from the Edo period, when incompetent Lords were imprisoned in their own house by their subjects, and a yes-man was placed at the ceremonial seat of power. Through cases like these the power of the leader of the "family" is abruptly stolen. In this case, we have noticed that the estimation of an individual's worth has crossed over from the order by age or social position to one based on the individual's power/ability.
文明 [ぶんめい] /civilization/culture/
接する [せっする] /to come in contact with/to connect/to attend/to receive/
近代化 [きんだいか] /modernization/modernize (vs)/
有利 [ゆうり] /profitable (an)/lucrative/advantageous/
開国 [かいこく] /the opening of Japan to the world/
努力 [どりょく] /great effort (vs)/exertion/endeavour/effort/
所謂 [いわゆる] /the so-called/so to speak (adv)/
和魂洋才 [わこんようさい] /Japanese spirit with Western learning/
態度 [たいど] /attitude/manner/
為す [なす] /to accomplish/to do/
拡大 [かくだい] /magnification (vs)/enlargement/extension/
天皇 [てんのう] /Emperor of Japan/
犠牲 [ぎせい] /sacrifice/
愚か [おろか] /foolish (an)/stupid/
犯す [おかす] /to commit/to perpetrate/to violate/to rape/
Summary: The reason that Japan has this traditional attitude is because when they were in contact with the Western world and undergoing modernization, compared to other asian countries Japan had an advantage (what advantage?) and it became one primary factor / main cause. (I do not get this sentence?) But, this does not mean that Japanese had a principle of individualism. After the opening of Japan to the world, through what we call the "Japanese spirit with Western Learning" Japanese tried with great effort to adapt and adopt the Western civilization. Then, that attitude was expanded, the thought that it was natural for individual to sacrifice their individuality for the sake of the "Emperor's family" became common, and for this reason the Japanese came to commit a big mistake.
敗戦 [はいせん] /defeat/losing a war (vs)/
重圧 [じゅうあつ] /pressure/
欲望 [よくぼう] /desire/appetite/
充足 [じゅうそく] /sufficiency/
抑圧 [よくあつ] /check/restraint/oppression/suppression/
Summary: Through the loss of the war, Japanese came to see their stupidity (a little strong? Stupidity of what?) and wished that this time they could adopt a more modern (Western) way of thinking. They came to think that through the pressure of "family" personal growth, satisfaction, and desires were suppressed, it is thought that since the loss of the war and until Japanese, gradually Japanese have come to approach thinking like the doctrine of individuality. However, there is still one large problem remaining.
自我 [じが] /self/the ego/
圏 [けん] /sphere/circle/range/
意志 [いし] /will/volition/
尊重 [そんちょう] /respect/esteem/regard/
低い [ひくい] /short/low/humble/low (voice)/
評価 [ひょうか] /valuation (vs)/estimation/assessment/evaluation/
肯定的 [こうていてき] /affirmative/
かつて [かつて] /past, previous, old times/
不定 [ふてい] /indefinite/undecided/uncertainty/insecurity/inconstancy/
Summary: The doctrine of individuality was born in Europe. In other words, it came from the sphere of Christian culture. In Christian nations, during the period when God's power was strong, all things were born of God's will, so in the past the practice of respecting an individual's hopes and will was not valued very highly. Today we feel that the word "commitment" has a positive meaning, but in the past it was often used in bad circumstances: "Commit a crime, commit a sin, commit suicide" and so on.
自立 [じりつ] /independence (vs)/self-reliance/
自ら [みずから] /for one's self/personally/
確立 [かくりつ] /establishment/
確信 [かくしん] /conviction (vs)/confidence/
陥る [おちいる] /to fall/to trap/
強力 [きょうりょく] /powerful/strong/
既に [すでに] /already/too late/
述べる [のべる] /to state/to express/to mention/
あちいる /to fall into/be led into/
己 [おのれ] /oneself/(insulting) you/
成し遂げる [なしとげる] /to accomplish/
空しい [むなしい] /vacant/futile/vain/
復活 [ふっこう] /ressurection/
審判 [しんぱん] /refereeing (vs)/trial/judgement/umpire/referee/
生前 [せいぜん] /while alive/during one's lifetime/
召す [めす] /to call/to send for/to put on/to wear/to take (a bath)/to ride in/to buy/to eat/to drink/to catch (a cold)/
永続性 [えいぞくせい] /persistent/permanence/
保証 [ほしょう] /guarantee (vs)/security/assurance/pledge/warranty/
Summary: In the modern age, the foundation of independence and responsibility for one's actions has a high value. However, we cannot forget that without the support of God, the strong individual is really a weak thing. As I have already said, for some meaning, if humans do not have the conviction that we are supported by something, we fall into worry. Even if a strong person achieves many things, when we think that when we die, all of this is done for nothing, life becomes futile. As we thought, after death, if we are revived (not resurrected, I am sure) and receive God's judgement and are invited into heaven based on the accomplishments we made while we were alive, the permanence of our actions (I believe it is of our actions) is guaranteed.
現代人 [げんだいじん] /modern person (people)/
馬鹿 [ばか] /fool (an)(id)/foolish/idiot/trivial matter/folly/
兎も角 [ともかく] /(uk) anyhow/anyway/somehow or other/generally speaking/in any case/
当然 [とうぜん] /naturally/as a matter of course/
Summary: If you say this kind of thing, a modern western person might think you are a fool. There is no relation to the revival and judgement, anyways individuals have been founded, naturally there is a relation to individual responsibility, and it is also important what type of relationship you have with other people. It is said that modern western people do not believe in even the limit of one ressurection and final judgement.
大分 [だいぶ] /considerably/a lot/
異なる [ことなる] /to differ/to vary/to disagree/
知人 [ちじん] /friend/acquaintance/
輪廻転生 [りんねてんしょう] /transmigration of the soul/the never-ending cycle of reincarnation/
羨ましい [うらやましい] /envious/enviable/
行動 [こうどう] /action (vs)/conduct/behaviour/mobilization/
Summary: Culture is a strange thing. If you look at it from the inside, and if you look at it from the outside, it is very different. From a western acquaintance, it has been said many times "You are Japanese and believe in the never-ending cycle of reincarnation, so are envious." I answered that "Modern Japanese do not believe in things like the never ending cycle of reincarnation" but he replied that if you look at the behavior of most Japanese, there is no way that they can believe in anything other than reincarnation.
特定 [とくてい] /specific/special/particular (vs)/
問う [とう] /to ask/to question/to charge (i.e. with a crime)/to accuse/without regard to (neg)/
明確 [めいかく] /clear up/clarify/define/
Summary: When he said "That is because even though Japanese do not believe in a specific god, there are many people who calmly face death," I also thought "maybe that is right." In other words, since we don't think that death is definitely the end, we are able to be as calm as that at death. If you try to say it that way, if you ask a modern Japanese "Do you believe in the never ending cycle of reincarnation?" Even though there will be few people who clearly answer "I believe in it," it can be thought that that kind of cultural tradition is continuing to support Japanese even today.
尋ねる [たずねる] /to ask/to enquire/
恐らく [おそらく] /perhaps/
半数 [はんすう] /half the number/majority/
Summary: Even in the sphere of Christian culture when you ask people if they believe in an afterlife and a final judgement, I do not know how many will answer that they believe but, perhaps you will be able to divide people into a majority who believe. But you can think that this tradition is something that supported the way of life in Christian countries.
させる /to make (someone) do/
唯一 [ゆいいつ] /only/sole/unique/
不倫 [ふりん] /adultery/immorality/impropriety/unfaithful/
日米 [にちべい] /Japan-America/
調査 [ちょうさ] /investigation (vs)/examination/inquiry/survey/
紙上
発表 [はっぴょう] /announcement (vs)/publication/
排除 [はいじょ] /exclusion/removal/rejection (vs)/
傾向 [けいこう] /tendency/trend/inclination/
相当 [そうとう] /suitable (an)/fair/tolerable/proper/
驚く [おどろく] /to be surprised/
周囲 [しゅうい] /surroundings/circumference/environs/
Summary: The reason that individualism was changed into "egoism" is the useful logic that was within Christianity. (?) A strong person is supported by the single Christian God. There are still many Japanese that do not, to this day, understand that. Last New Year's there was a report on Japanese and American infidelity in (the upper page) Newspaper. According to the report, the idea that infidelity is bad and should be rejected is considerably strong in America, while in Japan there was a tendency since the past to see infidelity as tolerable. I am surrounded by people who are surprised looking at these results, saying "I thought that America was more free!"
技術 [ぎじゅつ] /art/technique/technology/skill/
母胎 [ぼたい] /womb/uterus/matrix/
知識 [ちしき] /knowledge/information/
爆発的 [ばくはつてき] /explosive/tremendous/
増大 [ぞうだい] /enlargement (vs)/
聖書 [せいしょ] /Bible/scriptures/
矛盾 [むじゅん] /contradiction (vs)/inconsistency/contradictions/
信仰 [しんこう] /(religious) faith (vs)/belief/creed/
貫く [つらぬく] /to go through/carry through/
折り合い [おりあい] /mutual relations/compromise/
苦心 [くしん] /pain/trouble/anxiety/diligence/hard work (vs)/
無視 [むし] /disregard (vs)/ignore/
他方 [たほう] /another side/different direction/(on) the other hand/
Summary: A big problem within Christianity is that the dependence upon (support by) a single God has come to be thought of as weak. I believe that the sciences and physics that are so important to modern man were also born from the womb of Christianity. However, as the explosion of scientific knowledge increases, there has also been the birth of the belief that there are contradictions between it and what the bible preaches as the truth. Of course, there are people that continue to believe in Christianity without any changes, but there are also people who go to great lengths to make compromises between religion and science. We certainly can not ignore these people, but on the other hand, (the reality is that) the number of people (within the sphere of Christian culture) that can not believe in Christianity has increased.
倫理観 [りんりかん]
犯す [おかす] /to commit/to perpetrate/to violate/to rape/
予想 [よそう] /expectation (vs)/anticipation/prediction/forecast/
犯罪 [はんざい] /crime/
率 [りつ] /rate (suf)/ratio/proportion/percentage/
凶悪 [きょうあく] /atrocious (an)/fiendish/brutal/
比較 [ひかく] /comparison (vs)/
遥か [はるか] /far (an)/far-away/distant/remote/far off/by far/
先進国 [せんしんこく] /advanced (developed) country/advanced nations/
尚 [なお] /(uk) furthermore/still/yet/more/still more/greater/further/less/
Summary: As people individualism at the center, it can be predicted that it will be easier for people who lose the ethics of Christianity to commit terrible crimes. If you compare the rate of violent crimes in America and Japan, America has a higher rate. Probably, it can be said that Japan is the safest of the advanced countries to live in. Of course, there is the Aum cult, and the murder of young kids (by a young kid) in Kobe recently, but still it can probably be said that it is safest in Japan.

個人主義の輸入

開国 [かいこく] /the opening of Japan to the world/
和魂洋才 [わこんようさい] /Japanese spirit with Western learning/
同様 [どうよう] /identical/equal to/same (kind)/like/
優れる [すぐれる] /to surpass/to outstrip/to excel/
敗戦 [はいせん] /defeat/losing a war (vs)/
迎える [むかえる] /to go out to meet/
Summary: As I said before, when Japan opened up to the world and tried to adopt western culture, people were thinking of "Japanese spirit with Western learning." Individualism came to be thought of as the same thing as egoism, and more than that the "doctrine of the family" was thought to be better. Then, based on the thinking of the Emperor that Japan was all one large "family," as I said before, Japan faced the loss of the war. (??)
出来る限り [できるかぎり] /as ... as one can/
思想 [しそう] /thought/idea/
引き摺る [ひきずる] /to seduce/to drag along/to prolong/
明らかになる [あきらかになる] /to become clear/
占領 [せんりょう] /occupation (vs)/capture/possession/have a room to oneself/
占領軍 [せんりょうぐん] /army of occupation/
憲法 [けんぽう] /constitution/
改変 [かいへん] /change/innovation/transformation/
家父長 [かふちょう] /the chief of patriarchy/
破壊 [はかい] /destruction (vs)/
可能 [かのう] /possible (an)/practicable/feasible/
崩壊 [ほうかい] /collapse (vs)/decay (physics)/
思いがけない [おもいがけない] /unexpected/unforseen/
残存 [ざんそん] /remain/survive (vs)/
Summary: After the war, as much as possible, people tried to adopt Western, especially American, thoughts and ideas, but as time went on, it became clear that the traditional way of Japanese thinking had continued to drag on. Through the power of the American occupying army, the constitution was changed, the "family" and patriarchical system was destroyed. (Kyaku jin?) It became possible for men and women to behave by their own free will. Of course, this led to the breakdown of the "family" system, but an unexpected point survived.
契機 [けいき] /opportunity/chance/
抜く [ぬく] /to extract/to omit/to surpass/to draw out/to unplug/
抜き [ぬき] /without/
状況 [じょうきょう] /circumstances/situation/
状態 [じょうたい] /condition/situation/circumstances/state/
意識 [いしき] /consciousness (vs)/senses/
無意識 [むいしき] /unconsciousness (an)/
求める [もとめる] /to seek/to request/to demand/to want/to wish for/to search for/to pursue (pleasure)/to hunt (a job)/to buy/
結局 [けっきょく] /after all/eventually/
本来 [ほんらい] /originally/
疑似 [ぎじ] /suspected (pref)/quasi-/pseudo-/sham/false/mock/
作り出す [つくりだす] /to manufacture/to produce/to raise (crops)/to invent/to dream up/
Summary: Using the loss of the war as a chance, Japanese lost the sense of "family" and gradually became to be individualistic, however, since they imported individualism without Christianity, there was the situation that they did not have the one God that supported the individual. Then, either because they consciously or unconsciously wanted that support, (?) the original family was made into a para-family. (I think they started to make these para-families. See next PP.)
典型的 [てんけいてき] /typical/model/ideal/stereotypical/
指摘 [してき] /pointing out (vs)/identification/
技師 [ぎし] /engineer/technician/
職業 [しょくぎょう] /occupation/business/
所属 [しょぞく] /attached to/belong to/
明らかにする [あきらかにする] /to make clear/to clarify/to disclose/to make public/
根づく [ねづく] /take root/
Summary: The stereotypical example is the company. (Of making para-groups I think.) As many researchers have pointed out up to now, when faced with the question "Who are you?" many Japanese will not say things like "An electrical engineer" but will say "I'm from company XXX." That person's existence takes root in making it clear where they are from. (Or something like "to which groups one belongs" is essential to the crux of one's existence or something.)
自由業 [じゆうぎょう] /free-lance profession/liberal profession/
傾向 [けいこう] /tendency/trend/inclination/
しがらみ /restraints/fetters/
嫌う [きらう] /to hate/to dislike/to loathe/
家出 [いえで] /running away from home (vs)/leaving home/
作家 [さっか] /author/writer/novelist/artist/
文壇 [ぶんだん] /literary world/literary circles/
疑似 [ぎじ] /suspected (pref)/quasi-/pseudo-/sham/false/mock/
根 [ね] /root/
安定 [あんてい] /stability (an)/equilibrium/
派閥 [はばつ] /political faction/
学会 [がっかい] /scientific society/academic meeting/
容易 [ようい] /easy (an)/simple/plain/
構造 [こうぞう] /structure/construction/
Summary: Professionals are not the only people that show this kind of tendency. For example, even if an author that does not like the restraints of family life runs away from home, s/he will eventually find stability through a "quasi-home" by setting down roots in the literary community. Or, through the creation of some political faction, a "quasi-family" might be created. This kind of thing even takes place among the academic community that has tried to modernize itself. It is also easy for academics to have the structure of "family."
血筋 [ちすじ] /lineage/stock/strain/blood relationship/
養子 [ようし] /adopted child/son-in-law/
認める [みとめる] /to recognize (vt)/to appreciate/to approve/to admit/to notice/
程度 [ていど] /degree/amount/grade/standard/on the order of (following a number)/
能力 [のうりょく] /ability/faculty/
生かす [いかす] /to revive/to resuscitate/to make use of/
葛藤 [かっとう] /conflict/complication/troubles/discord/
騒動 [そうどう] /strife/riot/rebellion/
Summary: In these sorts of "virtual families" that appreciate (admit to?) adoption (of people) without concern to blood relation, there is the special characteristic of a revival of a principal of (individual) ability. In the battle between ability and blood relations (and we mean a lot by this term here) the internal battles within a family are brought about by the same thing that caused them in the ancient "family" system.
規模 [きぼ] /scale/scope/plan/structure/
判断力 [はんだんりょく] /judgment/discernment/
決断 [けつだん] /decision/determination/
実行 [じっこう] /practice (vs)/performance/execution (e.g. program)/realization/
何ら [なにら] /(arch) what/whatever/any/not at all/
無能 [むのう] /inefficiency (an)/incompetence/
Summary: From the group of people that become the heads of these "virtual families" there are people that are not changed from their western counterparts with regards to their practice, determination, and judgment. But there are also cases where we must take great pains to understand why a person that adopts the standards of the west and is incompetent becomes the head of one of these groups. (?)
配慮 [はいりょ] /consideration/concern/forethought/
含む [ふくむ] /to hold in the mouth/to bear in mind/to understand/to cherish/to harbor/to contain/to comprise/to have/to hold/to include/to embrace/to be charged or loaded with/to be dripping with/to be full of/to be suffused with/to contain/
所属 [しょぞく] /attached to/belong to/
秩序 [ちつじょ] /order/regularity/system/method/
勝手気まま [かってきまま] /one's own way/selfishness/willfulness/
否む [いなむ] /to refuse/to decline/to deny/
Summary: Even though there are some strongly individual Japanese that are not changed from their western counterparts, the things that the Japanese person has to take into consideration include things that a western person would not. In other words, there are times when you have to take into consideration very detailed things in order to protect the system of the group that you belong to. However, (isn't it the case that) you can not deny that it is possible for a Japanese leader of a "family" to be by far more selfish than a leader of a western group.
齎らす [もたらす] /to bring/to take/to bring about/
創造性 [そうぞうせい] /creativity/
伸ばす [のばす] /to lengthen (vt)/to stretch/to reach out/to postpone/to prolong/to extend/to grow (beard)/
妨害 [ぼうがい] /disturbance/obstruction/hindrance/jamming/
Summary: Even as the Japanese were gradually thinking "individuality" at the center of their being, through the support of the "virtual families" the next result was brought about. First, people worked to prevent the extension of creativity for creative people. (?)
摩擦 [まさつ] /friction (vs)/rubbing/rubdown/chafe/
維持 [いじ] /maintenance (vs)/preservation/
足を引っ張る [あしをひっぱる] /to do something to keep somebody from succeeding/to obstruct/
極端 [きょくたん] /extreme (an)/extremity/
得る [うる] /to obtain/to acquire/
Summary: No matter what period or culture you are in, for some creative person, there will be to some degree some amount of friction between this person and their peers, and for that reason there will be much difficulty, but the strength required to maintain a group is considerably strong, and no matter what the creative person will be obstructed and in extreme cases, will be forced to leave the group.
流出 [りゅうしゅつ] /discharge/outward flow/
現象 [げんしょう] /phenomenon/
保持 [ほじ] /retention (vs)/maintenance/preservation/
歯止め [はどめ] /brake/
防止 [ぼうし] /prevention/check/
果して [はたして] /as was expected/really/
制する [せいする] /to control/to command/to get the better of/
Summary: The phenomena of many creative Japanese going overseas points to this. Then, the maintenance of the group system put a brake on keeping the thought of individualism central to one's being, and really played the role of equating it with egoism as a preventative measure. This is different from the ethics of Christianity, but at any rate, it is true that egoism got the better of individuality.
徐々に [じょじょに] /slowly/little by little/gradually/steadily/quietly/
規制 [きせい] /regulation/
うとましい /disgusting/
経済 [けいざい] /economics/business/finance/economy/
事情 [じじょう] /circumstances/consideration/conditions/situation/reasons/
はかる /to try to do/
利己的 [りこてき] /selfish/
Summary: As the influence from the west gradually became stronger, through the virtual families Japanese also began to disgustingly feel things. (?) In addition, the companies that relied on the "virtual family" concept tried to restructure themselves during the time when the economy went bad, but the truthfully started to feel that it was not a definite thing. (???) For this reason the tendency to think of individualism at the center has greatly increased recently. However, since this is not regulated by Christian ethics, people that behave extremely selfishly have began to come forth.
政治家 [せいじか] /politician/statesman/
官僚 [かんりょう] /bureaucrat/bureaucracy/
嘆く [なげく] /to sigh/to lament/to grieve/
世間様世間様 [せけんさま] /(personification) society that orders us to behave ourselves/
保存 [ほぞん] /preservation (vs)/conservation/storage/maintenance/
今更 [いまさら] /now/at this late hour/
体制 [たいせい] /order/system/structure/set-up/organization/
返る [かえる] /to return (I)/to come back/to go back/
Summary: Regrettably, there are many Japanese Politicians, bureaucrats, and businessmen that act unethically. Since there is no society to tell them that they should behave themselves, there are also people that point out that Japanese run with evil. However, is there a way to preserve the eyes of the society that tells us to behave ourselves, and lets Japanese adopt a doctrine of individuality? Isn't it impossible at this late hour to return to the "family" system of the past?

無我の伝統

無我 [むが] /selflessness/self-effacement/self-renunciation/
伝統 [でんとう] /tradition/convention/
取り入れる [とりいれる] /to harvest/to take in/to adopt/
前述 [ぜんじゅつ] /afore-mentioned/above-mentioned/
課す [かす] /to impose/
検討 [けんとう] /examination (vs)/investigation/study/scrutiny/consideration/
西洋 [せいよう] /the west/Western countries/
確立 [かくりつ] /establishment/
自立 [じりつ] /independence (vs)/self-reliance/
至る [いたる] /to come/to arrive/
Summary: As we have said above, the adoption of the doctrine of individualism has imposed many difficult problems on Japanese. In order to think about this, I would like to return to an examination of what ancient Japanese thought about things like "individualism" and "independence". It came to be in the Western world that the idea of the foundation of "individualism" and independence cam from a long tradition. However, in Japan isn't it that the opposite idea was important? I would like to try to state this simply as the strong influence given to Japanese by taking the teachings of Buddhism to heart.
宗派 [しゅうは] /sect/denomination/
自性 [じしょう] /property/attribute/
強調 [きょうちょう] /emphasis (vs)/stress/stressed point/
本来 [ほんらい] /originally/
性質 [せいしつ] /nature/property/disposition/
真理 [しんり] /truth/
悟る [さとる] /to attain enlightenment/to perceive/to understand/to discern/
修行 [しゅぎょう] /training/ascetic practice/discipline/pursuit of knowledge/
現実 [げんじつ] /reality/
個々 [ここ]
事物 [じぶつ] /things/affairs/
Summary: First, many different Buddhist sects commonly emphasize the idea that there are no distinguishing characteristics. As for all things, including animals, because of the thought that originally there is nothing to distinguish things (because we are all part of and an extension of the one great nothingness) , even for people and a specific person, it was not possible to think that we had egos. (?) Even if you say that, in reality individual humans and things are different and it looks like everything has its own characteristics. How can we explain this?
努める [つとめる] /to exert oneself/to make great effort/to try hard/
精神 [せいしん] /mind/soul/heart/spirit/intention/
身体 [しんたい] /the body/
取り払う [とりはらう] /remove/take away/
獲得 [かくとく] /acquisition (vs)/possession/
一切 [いっさい] /all/everything/without exception/the whole/entirely/absolutely/
消え失せる [きえうせる] /to disappear/to get out of sight/to die/(in imperative) to fuck off (vulg)(X)/
区別 [くべつ] /distinction (vs)/differentiation/classification/
現前 [げんぜん] /appear/emerge/
真 [しん] /truth/reality/genuineness/Buddhist sect originating in the thirteenth century/
Summary: With regards to that, the explanation will (probably) be different for each Buddhist sect. We can explain it simply using the Hua-yen philosophy. The modern western consciousness tries earnestly to clearly distinguish and define things. "Myself" and "other", the mind and spirit and the body, and on and on. In response to this (?) the Buddhist consciousness tries very hard to remove each of those distinctions. By looking through a consciousness that is different from the materialistic everyday life that we can attain through rigorous religious Buddhist training, the distinctions between everything disappears, and a world that can't be called anything other than "existence" emerges. This does not have a name, so it is called different things in different Buddhist sects, "air" or "nothingness". However, it isn't that this is nothing at all, rather, it is everything. (? Yes, but this is right. It isn't that nothing is different, it is that everything is the same, deep down at some level, although from within our own viewpoints, if we do not look at the relationships between everything, it seems that things have distinguishing characteristics.) From the center of this sort of world (the deep down level where everything originally is rooted), people and animals both lose their distinguishing attributes. This is the true shape of the world.
顕現 [けんげん] /manifestation/
挙体性起 [きょたいしょうき] /realization of the attribute with all the body/
微細 [びさい] /micro/
塵 [ちり] /dust/dirt/
仏 [ほとけ] /Buddha/merciful person/Buddhist image/the dead/
説く [とく] /to explain/to advocate/to preach/to persuade/
Summary: When this sort of existence manifests itself in this world, it will take individual things and the shape of people (??) but that is the realization with all one's body of existence. (I think this realization with all ones body of existence is the existence where we all have, within us, the great common nothingness or oneness.) In other words, no matter how microscopic something might be, in all its body all original existence comes to be manifested. (In the body of each living thing is all of existence. I think.) This can be explained by the expression "Even inside dust, there are three thousand Buddhas." As we are realizing existence with all our body (we all have the same great oneness and infinite thingee), how did these differences (differentiating attributes) come into being? (Because we are all, essentially, created of and imbibed with the same essence.) Depending on the individual, it will be different.
個個 [ここ] /individual/one by one/
在り方 [ありかた] /the way something ought to be/
得る [える] /to get/to gain/
総和 [そうわ] /sum total/
西洋 [せいよう] /the west/Western countries/
後 [のち] /afterwards (a-no)/since then/in the future/
先行 [せんこう] /preceding (vs)/going first/
Summary: The existence of A does not have any attributes but by the way that things should be for the relation to B, C, D, etc., it is possible for it to exist. And B also doesn't have any attributes, but through the sum total of the way it should be with the relation to A, C, D, etc., it is possible for it to exist. (Nothing can exist without relation to other things - there is an interdependent web.) In the western world, clear distinctions are always made between A, B, C, and D, while in the future (afterwards?) in kegon Buddhist thought, the relationship precedes individual existence.
前記 [ぜんき] /aforesaid (a-no)/above-mentioned/said/above/
不定 [ふてい] /indefinite/undecided/uncertainty/insecurity/inconstancy/
上に立 [うえにたつ] /on the assumption that/
認める [みとめる] /to recognize (vt)/to appreciate/to approve/to admit/to notice/
常に [つねに] /always/
Summary: Even if you look at it from the viewpoint of the simple explanation given above, nobody is uncertain about the fact that people disagree, and that they have their own volition. At least in the case of "self" under the assumption that once you have that uncertainty, you notice (or admit to) the existence of the self. Nobody is uncertain that the "self" is different from the outside (or everything else.) But, it should be that we always look at "self" from the relationship to the outside (everything else.) (We should always look at the "self" as it exists in relationship to everything else, and hence, it isn't really unique in itself, it is through its relationships to other things that it looks to have these attributes.)
誤解 [ごかい] /misunderstanding (vs)/
単純 [たんじゅん] /simplicity (an)/
よしとする /leave well enough alone/
自殺 [じさつ] /suicide (vs)/
許容 [きょよう] /permission/pardon/
結び [むすび] /ending/conclusion/union/
欲望 [よくぼう] /desire/appetite/
充足 [じゅうそく] /sufficiency/
価値 [かち] /value/worth/merit/
仏僧 [ぶっそう] /Buddhist priest/
我欲 [がよく] /selfishness/
徹底 [てってい] /thoroughness/completeness/
実現性 [じつげんせい] /feasibility/
薄い [うすい] /thin/weak/watery/diluted/
Summary: Buddhism is often misunderstood and putting aside the simple item of "self" lets think about stuff. There are cases where there is a tendency for this to also allow for suicide. (Because self denial is thought to be good, and of course the ultimate in self denial, or in refuting ones desires, would be to kill oneself.) Or, there are times when more than a sufficient fulfillment of one's desires, too high of a value is placed on denial. (or insufficiency.) Buddhist priests place an emphasis on self denial, and say that they will achieve enlightenment through thoroughness. However, there is little chance of this happening. (There is a weak feasibility.)
戦後 [せんご] /post-war days/
民主主義 [みんしゅしゅぎ] /democracy/
思想 [しそう] /thought/idea/
合体 [がったい] /unite (vs)/combine (into one)/coalesce/alliance/annexation/
没個性的 [ぼつこせいてき] /lacking individuality/
平等 [びょうどう] /equality (a)/impartiality/evenness/
型 [かた] /mold/model/style/shape/data-type/
優れる [すぐれる] /to surpass/to outstrip/to excel/
身に付ける [みにつける] /acquire/
指導者 [しどうしゃ] /leader/
押し付ける [おしつける] /to press/to push/to force/
壊す [こわす] /to break (vt)/to break down/
背後 [はいご] /back/rear/
Summary: As said previously, when this sort of Buddhist world view was united with the post war democratic philosophy, the thought that since all people were lacking individualism and equal, if only they worked very hard, everyone should be able to enter Tokyo University. The thought also continued that since the existence of everything was in everyone any person that acquires the correct form should become an outstanding person (because all people are the same and share the same oneness, they just have to channel it into the right shape?) When people came to respect individual freedom after the war many people took great efforts to try to take on the correct form leaders also tried to push people to take on the correct form, and it came to be that individuality was broken. On the back of the problems of modern Japanese education is this idea. (That if people work hard they can get into Todai?)

個人を支えるものは何か

能力 [のうりょく] /ability/faculty/
発現 [はつげん] /revelation/emerge/
結局 [けっきょく] /after all/eventually/
全体 [ぜんたい] /whole/entirety/whatever (is the matter)/
位置 [いち] /place (vs)/situation/position/location/
位置付ける [いちづける] /to place (in relation to the whole)/to rank/
老い [おい] /to age/to grow old/
極めて [きわめて] /exceedingly/extremely/
みじめ /miserable/sad/pitiful/wretched/
Summary: Regardless of your way of thinking, in the case that you try as much as possible to treat individuality importantly and let the talents of individual people emerge, in the end people die so it is important to place in perspective in some way the thought that one will oneself die. If you forget to do this, when a person is happy things are fine, but as they get older and death approaches, (isn't it that) one can't avoid thinking extremely miserable thoughts.
超る ??
見出す [みだす] /to find out/
利己 [りこ] /self-interest/
抑制 [よくせい] /suppression/control/restraint/
Summary: When we include (?) death, we find out that the thing that supports individuals is, as noted above, is the control/suppression of letting "individuality" turn into "selfishness". (??)
大半 [たいはん] /majority/most/generally/
背負う [せおう] /be burdened with/
自覚 [じかく] /self-concious/self-awareness/
明かにする [あきらかにする] /to make clear/
Summary: For Christians that believe in Christianity, it does not feel like much of a problem for them to believe in the system of individuality that was born from within this framework. For people that are in the sphere of Christian culture but do not believe in Christianity, or the majority of Japanese, when they try to adopt the system of individuality, they must be aware of the big problem of trying to find out what supports individuality. Or, even if they try to make individuality important, they must make it very clear that the doctrine of individuality that was born in the modern west is a different kind of thinking.
不問 [ふもん] /to overlook/to ignore/ignorance/
真似 [まね] /mimicry/imitation/behavior/pretense/
信仰 [しんこう] /religious faith/belief/creed/
無意識 [むいしき] /unconsciousness/
両立させる [りょうりつさせる] /to cope with both A and B/
危険 [きけん] /danger/
回避 [かいひ] /evade/
Summary: Since most Japanese ignore this problem and imitate the behavior of individuality, the real results of the problem from within Japanese family and culture have developed. (?) Even those people that have somehow vaugely come to deal with both the Japanese king that tells society how to behave and believe in the creed of existence (maybe buddhist stuff) (even if you say it, most people are unconsciously aware of it but) there are people who hide from danger. (?What danger though? Just danger in general, or danger that stems from the vauge reconcilliation?)
弱まる [よわまる] /to weaken/
法律 [ほうりつ] /laws/
頼る [たよる] /to depend on/to rely on/
訴訟 [そしょう] /litigation/lawsuit/
急増 [きゅうぞう] /explosion/proliferation/surge/
Summary: In America, as the strength of Christianity is weakening, it can be seen that mostly we are relying on laws to prevent individuality from turning into selfishness. Isn't it that the overimportance of the job of lawyers has been born from the effect of the explosion in the number of lawsuits and litigation?
歩む [あゆむ] /to walk/to go on foot/
好ましい [このましい] /nice/likeable/desirable/
Summary: Japan might also be walking down this path, but I don't think it is a desireable one. Maybe it might be said that in current Japan there are not enough lawsuits. (? Where does this come from??)
Summary: Even if you try to adopt a Japanese style of Buddhist thought, or try to think in the manner of the new doctrine of individuality, it is very difficult to debate this matter in English.
自体 [じたい] /itself/
発想 [はっそう] /expression (music)/conceptualization/way of thinking/
根本 [こんぽん] /origin/source/foundation/root/principle/
機能 [きのう] /function/faculty/
寧ろ [むしろ] /rather/better/instead/
優先 [ゆうせん] /preference (vs)/priority/
Summary: For the word "individual" itself, it's principle function of the way of thinking is to divide things, but if you instead (rather?) give priority to thinking about the relationships of things, even if you say "each person" the way of thinking of an individual does not exist, and it is also difficult to talk about individuality. In that case, in English the problem is how to represent the concept of individual characteristics (individualization?).
予見 [よけん] /foresight (vs)/foreknowledge/divination/prediction/
Summary: When you think about it, it is difficult and there are many points that are not understood, and it is thought in Japan that nobody is allowed to predict what the system of individuality will become.

Dave Evans

Last modified: Sun Nov 7 11:46:43 EST 1999