What is neither apparent in the meanings of words nor clearly visible to the eyes is, for these very reason, the aesthetic world that man can sense behind it all: This is yugen. It is one of the emotions flowing in the depths of the Japanese feelings that value suggestiveness and encourage brevity. This kind of deep emotion is related to the process of shaping a short poetic style which tries to express everything using limited kinds and numbers of words. That is to say, the beauty of yugen, which values suggestiveness, is an aesthetic quality that takes shape where only a few words can awaken many thoughts. Therefore, it can be said to be an aesthetic world made possible only in a community sharing a homogeneous culture, where people communicate without saying everything.
Wabi and sabi are the highest aesthetic values aimed at by traditional Japanese arts, particularly the tea ceremony and poems in seventeen syllables. The two values have at bottom common qualities such as a sense of quiet sadness at the bottom, encouragement of simplicity and rejection of gaudiness. Wabi expresses a way of being quietly clear and calm, a state mainly pursued by Sen-no-Rikyu who perfected the art of the tea ceremony. Sabi means having well-seasoned, refined simplicity, an ideal state in Basho's poems in seventeen syllables. Both men sought the beauty that is one with nature, free from worldly concerns and annoying human relations.
Transinecy is one of the most important views of the world in In Buddhism; it refers to the notion of the transmigration of souls, which holds that every single life inevitably dies and everything is under constant change. Since ancient times it has been a chief subject of literature in Japan, and has formed the underlying tone of such famous Japanese works as the "Tale of Heike," the "Ten-Foot-Square Hut," and the "Essays in Idleness," in the midieval times, and the "Narrow Road to the Deep North" by Basho in the Edo Period(1603-1867).
The "Tale of Heike" tells the story of the fall of Heike, the first clan of warriors that have enjoyed strong power:"....(Buddhist teaching) reveals the law that the prosperous must decay, and pride goes before a fall....". And in the "Ten-Foot-Square Hut," the essay begins with a view of the world as transient: "Ceaselessly the river flows, and yet the water is never the same."
Ma means an interval in time or space, but it is not simply a blank. It is a concept that can even be the key word when practicing or commenting on traditional Japanese art, especially theater such as Noh and Kabuki, dance, music, storytelling, and painting. This ma is closely connected to rhythm and breathing, and is originally a concept from music that was applied to other fields of art. In theater, it is realized by a kind of stillness inserted in spoken lines or between actions to leave suggestiveness, and in music, ma is realized in different ways according to a performer's interpretation. In painting, the effect of empty space on the whole is important. Thus, the void containing nothing considerably affects the movement and expression of the whole.
On is the social and psychological obligation taken on with favors received from others. The word derives from warrior society when lords granted land to followers. Japanese society has a history of only about 120 years since shedding its feudal system. At present it is still fundamentally a vertical society, which values strict orders and strong relationships among people of different ranks. Socially superior people often take care of their subordinates in both social and personal matters, and, in return, the subordinates, feeling on toward their superiors, incline to pay them respect and render them loyalty. To forget the on received from others is morally inexcusable. However, this kind of sentiment, as well as others considered to be traditional Japanese feelings, is gradually diminishing.
It is quite difficult to precisely translate concepts of Japanese emotions and morals. Giri, too, does not have an equivalent concept in English. The concept of giri, which was formed in the feudal society, is the most valued standard in human relationships: Master-subordinate, parent-child, husband-wife, brothers and sisters, friends, and sometimes even enemies and business connections. If pressed to define it, giri involves caring for others from whom one has received a debt of gratitude and a determination to realize their happiness, sometimes even by self-sacrificing.
Examples of giri expressed in concrete social customs are letters (such as New Year's cards) and gift(such as year-end presents and midyear presents); however, in acting voluntarily, it means to support a person, to whom one feels giri, without paying attention to one's disadvantage when that person is in a difficult situation.
When this giri is manifested in the world of business, because it is essentially moral based on a feudalistic human relationships, it means to serve one's superiors and clients, even to the point of going against the rationality that is a business principle. It goes against the principles of Western economic activity, and has become a reason for criticizing Japanese economic activity. However, compared to the rationality, according to which man tends to pursue only individual benefit, a behavioral principle like giri, which place importance on human relationships, works to a good effect by introducing the concept of mutual support to the world of business. On the other hand, since there are many yakuza among the anti-modern and anti-rational nationalists in Japan, there are cases in which giri is expressed in a form of violence, which should be denounced.
Ninjo corresponds to various human feelings such as love, sympathy, compassion, and friendship, between parent and child, lovers, friends, and so on; yet, it has a somewhat more special meaning in Japanese society. Ninjo is often compared to moral obligation in that, while moral obligation is a principle of human relations that advocates returning debts of gratitude received from others, ninjo is a spontaneous expression of feeling toward others. The phrase, "being warm in ninjo points out someone kind and thoughtful, but, at the same time, keeping up with moral obligation is necessary to be considered a member of society. In short, moral obligation and ninjo were the two major rules traditionally applied to human relations among the common people in Japan. Both are certainly inherited by contemporary society as well.
The sense of shame is said to form the core of the Japanese mentality. This is a concept that spread when the anthropologist Ruth Benedict classified Japanese culture as a "shame culture," as oppose to the Western "guilt culture". According to this classification, in Western countries, the absolute moral standard of guilt forms a principle of people's behavior, but, in Japan, behavior is not ruled by an inner principle but an external feeling of shame. There are various criticisms against this kind of simplification. For example, Western people, too, have a sense of shame like the Japanese, and the Japanese also have an inner moral principle. Nevertheless, it is true that the Japanese place importance on the sense of shame. Particularly for samurai in the feudal period, being put to shame in public was as good as being dead.
A technique to avoid confusion and gain consent from everyone in advance when making a decision is called nemawashi. The original meaning of the word is to cut roots short before moving a tree, so that the tree can be easily moved.
If people with different opinions suddenly hold a meeting, they can hardly reach an agreement. But if nemawashi is practiced and opinions are adjusted beforehand, conclusions can be reached in meetings without wasting time. However, when nemawashi is practiced in politics, there is the fear that policies are not made in front of the people's eyes; thus, some criticize nemawashi as not being democratic.