On My Way

You would think that a Delta Airlines flight from Honolulu to Tokyo would be filled with returning Japanese nationals.  Indeed, Flight 639 was full of them, but for the life of me, they were dressed and acted so differently than I expected and remembered from the past, it was impossible to tell.

I have always felt that Japanese nationals are ambivalent about America and Americans.  Once the laughing stock of Americans in the 50’s and 60’s, Japan has emerged as a word economic force that owns the last laugh.  Indeed, the mass-produced flimsy Japanese merchandise that was labeled “Made in Japan” which permeated the US retail market at that time, transformed its image over a short few decades from the substandard, cheap, and second best alternatives to a consistent guaranty of quality and fine craftsmanship…cameras, cars, computers.  The Yen valued so low during these earlier years encouraged a buying frenzy from Americans.  As history would reveal, the yen has since overwhelmed the dollar in value.  Indeed, as I sit here in my seat flying to Tokyo to meet up with my cruise ship at Harumi Passenger Terminal, the one thing on my mind is the small fortune it will cost me to get from Narita to the passenger terminal – only a few hours away.  The dollar does not go far in Japan.  And things have gotten only worse with time. 

My experience with Japanese nationals comes with over 30 years of experience in Hawaii and numerous trips to Japan both for pleasure and as a visiting professor from the School of Medicine in Hawaii.  Now you also have to understand that I am not wishing to disparage an entire population by my comments, but rather to convey my own personal experience in this essay.  You can see from my writing that like Japanese who may be conflicted with the US, I am conflicted in my view of Japan.  In any case, there are many countries that I have had little experience or interest in; Japan is not one of them.  To be sure, Japanese culture has directly affected my growth as both a human and as a physician.

Overall, I believe the Japanese believe that Americans are inferior from just about every vantage point: intelligence and analytical capacity, culture, moral and ethical behavior, work ethic, quality of life, health, family values, and so forth and so on (I truly can’t say that I disagree with this!).  You cannot read this in their eyes or in the way you are greeted or treated but nevertheless, the things they say about you (meaning me) right in front of you (of course in Japanese) can be viscous, and demeaning.   I believe that the Japanese feel they can do anything that American’s can do but better, and certainly with less whining or complaining.  Nevertheless, for some reason and for decades on end, the Japanese have emulated Americans and the American way of life.

Sadly, this means taking on the latest fads and habits.  The Japanese have become fat and out of shape just like American’s and have developed an insatiable sweet tooth that has led to the proliferation of the European bakeries in Japan.   Some of them dress and act like Americans and you can no longer spot Japanese tourists huddled together in small groups, or by their signature white skin, regal conformist dress, and polite demeanor.   It seems like some have gone overboard with tanned skin (what do you expect if you come to Hawaii), unusual haircuts and hairdos, slouching amorphously and loud - they still have a long way to catch up with American’s.  And increasingly, they dress in an unbelievable assortment of mismatched dress taken out of several eras in time.

There is probably no culture or country that I respect more than Japan.   I love the things that everyone there values; their culture, sense of history with traditions surviving centuries in time.  I also love beautiful Japanese women that most every white man lust after.  I even love the food although not all of it. 

When in my early medical career, the cumulative exhaustion from a decade of long hours spent in the intensive care unit was taking its toll.  Travel to Japan reinvigorated my resolve and attitude.   I thought I worked hard until I witnessed the longer working hours of the Japanese doctors.  Workweeks were not Monday to Friday, although they did start taking some time off on Sunday.  Everyone worked 6 full days and a bunch of nights.  They often returned home after 10 or 11pm.  Still no one complained.   And everyone showed respect for one another, and everyone did their part to contribute to the community pride and culture. 

I remember one visit when I was being led along a hospital corridor to a lecture that I was to give.  The floor was being cleaned by a hospital worker who was on his hands and knees scrubbing away.   He was an older well groomed gentleman who was wearing hospital garb and white gloves as he scoured the floor with determination as if it were an operating room table.  Our glances met as I passed by, and I could see the pride in his eyes for his role in insuring a clean environment for patients to be cared in.  I also noticed he glimpsed at my feet to make sure I was wearing the proper hospital foot sandals that everyone was expected to wear.  I had no doubt that his role including serving as the foot police.  I realized then that there is no job or role in life that is intrinsically trivial; only how we feel about it and ourselves.  I also realized at that time that this Japanese worker would never understand the demeanor and work ethic of his counterpart in the US.  More shockingly, he is not likely to understand the emerging composure and behavior of his own country men and women, as Japanese culture has adopted a hodgepodge of western ways as traditional Japanese values have been questioned.