THE END OF A JAPANESE FEAST: BRINGING IN THE SEA-BREAM
To such a pitch was punctilio carried amongst Japanese gentlemen until quite recent times that they preferred death, inflicted by their own hands in the most painful manner—by self-disembowelment, or hara-kiri, more elegantly termed seppuku, or “self-immolation”—to living with a stain on their honour, such stain being often merely inability to disprove a slanderous imputation. To this day, the Japanese remain the most acutely sensitive people on the point of honour; so “touchy” are they that friendly intercourse with Occidentals is thereby rendered extremely difficult.
What places an additional bar to perfect cordiality in such relations is the deplorable fact that an Occidental may unwittingly give grave offence to a Japanese without the latter giving any sign of displeasure at the time. Allowance is seldom made for the perfectly unintentional error on the part of the offender, whilst the grievance is allowed to rankle, is rarely forgiven, and never forgotten. Where an Occidental would certainly call his friend’s attention to the fact that he was displeased by some remark or action that would, no doubt, be promptly atoned for by a sincere apology, thus terminating the incident, the Japanese says nothing. He nurses his resentment, sometimes for years, until a fitting opportunity presents itself to avenge the real, or fancied, wound to his feelings by some particularly unpleasant action directed against the Occidental, all unconscious of his offence.
This unfortunate peculiarity of the Japanese character is the outcome of two main currents that run through the national temperament—the spirit of secrecy, already alluded to, and the thirst for revenge. The latter, possibly due to the strain of Malay blood in the much-mixed Japanese race, is one of the chief stumbling-blocks hindering the introduction of Christianity, and has prevented Buddhism, also a religion teaching meekness, from obtaining a complete hold on the people. In its petty forms, this spirit of long-cherished spite is merely annoying; in its extreme manifestations it becomes exceedingly dangerous.
It may be thought that the admirable magnanimity displayed by the Japanese towards the vanquished in their wars with China and with Russia affords evidence that the old spirit of revenge is dying out. Unfortunately, it is as strong as ever, the explanation of the apparent anomaly being that, in both cases, the foe was vanquished, and thus became, according to the principles of Japanese chivalry, an object for mercy and compassion. As long as the opponent resists, or refuses to surrender at the mercy of the conqueror, he is implacably attacked; the moment he has, metaphorically speaking, grovelled and placed the victor’s foot on his head, he is raised from the ground and treated with the greatest consideration.
A GROUP OF CIVIL AND MILITARY OFFICIALS IN OLD JAPAN
This applies not only to warfare, but to those incidents in civil life, already alluded to, in which a Japanese considers himself aggrieved, especially when the offender is a foreigner. In such cases, humble apology for the slight, however unintentional—in fact, an attitude amounting to “I do not know what I have done to offend; but, in any case, I own I am in the wrong, and promise, with sincere apologies, not to offend again; deal with me as you think fit,” would generally ensure the restoration of good relations, provided the apology be sufficiently public to gratify the self-esteem of the Japanese. It is hardly to be expected that a self-respecting Occidental would demean himself thus to atone for an error unconsciously committed.
Defects of Japanese Character