It is a phrase that you will hear often in
Japan and it represents the underlying
mentality shared among Japanese.
“shikata ga nai” or “shou ga nai” is
a Japanese phrase meaning
"it cannot be helped"
or "nothing can be done about it.
Some Westerners criticize Japanese
people for saying “shikata ga nai”
because the phrase shows their
pessimism. We should not be passive
and keep on trying instead of giving up
easily on our goals.
However, Japanese people have learned
that there are times we need to just
accept reality as we don’t always have
control over every situation since Japan
has experienced many natural disasters.
It has been praised and referred to as
one of the great spirit of the Japanese
people through the foreign media after
the Great East Japan earthquake.
Now, the phrase is described as
"the ability of the Japanese people to
maintain dignity in the face of an
unavoidable tragedy or injustice,
particularly when the circumstances
are beyond their control, somewhat
similar to "c'est la vie" in French.
If you lost your home and your family by
the earthquake and tsunami, nothing can
be done about it. Instead of getting
caught up in a panic and trying to do
something, you just accept the situation
and go forward.
Of course, the balance is very important.
Japanese people are more conditioned
to say “shikata ga nai” and endure with
uncomfortable situations instead of
speaking up to fix the issue.
The mentality is strongly linked to the
repressed nature of the Japanese
society that values the harmony and
the peace.
Westerners can learn from
this “shikata ga nai” mentality, and be
flexible enough to adopt this concept
for their own needs.