Q. What are the outstanding Japanese cultural traits?
Foreign visitors to Japan often say they are surprised by how polite Japanese are, how cleanly, and how attentive to the smallest detail. These traits can be attributed to the communal life of an agricultural people.
Compared to many other countries, the four seasons of the year are very distinctive in Japan. The Japanese have long lived with these seasonal changes, observing and feeling them in their daily lives. Over time, Japanese developed the practical intelligence to live in coexistence with nature while at the same time fearing it. Another thing noted by foreign visitors, Westerners in particular, is the plethora
of gods in Japan. This too is attributable to a long history of both fearing and revering nature.
Japan has been a polytheistic country from ancient times. In monotheistic countries, God is very strict, and once you have lost his favor, it is lost forever. But in polytheistic Japan, the relationship between the gods and man is much more flexible and forgiving, as indicated by the proverb “If one god disowns you, there is always another to save you.” The Japanese tendency to leave things up in the air may have its origins here.
日本まるごとQ & A
(IBCパブリッシング)