edit!apparently, sensei corrected my essay a little bit further and i only noticed it now (>_<)
kajikawa-sensei, my nihongo sensei, wanted us, in our own way, to find out what the contemporary japanese heart is based on materials depicting the concept of
giri and
ninjou--a history video about
minamoto yoritomo, an edo-era samurai movie
oni no tsume, and a reading about gratitude words in contemporary society.
my essay was short, but sensei told me that she liked what i said, and that she thought it was interesting. so i suddenly had the courage to post it here on my blog.
here is my essay in japanese already corrected by sensei:
現代の「日本人の心」は、どう説明出来るか？
日本の心と言えば、サムライの精神しか浮かばない。そして、サムライの精神と言えば、義
理人情が浮かぶ。義理人情はもとはといえば頼朝のご恩と奉公から来ている。それは鎌倉
時代における武士達が頼朝からもらったご恩のお返しに戦いで命をかけたものだ。一方、江
戸時代においては、サムライ達が自分の誇りや他人を守るために腹切りしてでも命をかけ
て守った。
現代における日本人は、たしかに昔の義理と人情をまだ大切にしている。しかし、命をか
けるほど大切にしていないような気がする。多分、現代の日本人は戦争をしたくなくなっ
たかもしれない。それで、命をかけて何かを大切にするという考え方ではなく、命をかけ
ずに何かを持つようになったかもしれない。
translation:how can you explain the modern "japanese heart"?
when you say japanese heart, the only thing that comes to mind is the samurai spirit. and when you say the samurai spirit,
giri ninjou comes to mind.
giri ninjou is originally from
yoritomo's
go-on (favor) and
houkou (duty to that favor). that was in the
kamakura period when the warriors lay their lives in battles in return for the favor they received from yoritomo. on the other hand, in the
edo period, the samurais lay their lives with
harakiri to protect their pride, other people, and such things.
sure, the japanese in the modern period still gives importance to the
giri and
ninjou of old. but i don't think that they give importance to it to the point of putting their lives on the line. maybe, the modern japanese do not want to make war. that is maybe why they came to have the "holding something dear but not putting one's life on the line" way of thinking instead of "holding something dear by putting one's life on the line".
a brief note on giri and ninjou: (taken from the note i left at the
bipuro blog)
the "samurai spirit" is composed of giri (morals/obligations) and ninjou (human feelings/empathy). this ideology dates back to the kamakura period (the beginning of the shogunate in 1192). although the japanese at present still have the "samurai spirit", it is said that only the yakuza actually live by it.
a brief note on harakiri:the reason why samurais are asked to commit seppuku or harakiri is that the samurais believe that if you are innocent, then your insides are white (clean). so to prove that their insides are white, and not black (dirty), they cut their bellies open.
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i love my japanese class :D
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now that i look at it again, my essay sounds way better in japanese XD hahaha
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