With Japan being relatively homogeneous and also fond of conformity, it’s all too easy to be different. But it must be terribly hard to be seen as different when you are in fact the same.
Being different in Japan?
Photographs from a small group of islands
grant says
I’ve read about how homogeneous Japan is and the nail that sticks up has to be hammered down etc, etc, but from my trip to Japan, people were incredibly welcoming and friendly to the ‘different’ person: me. What about the cosplayers, outrageous fashion lovers etc, etc? Are they conforming? No. Not like what you say is only something associated with Japan either. I personally think its no different than most countries.
Lee says
Definitely can’t argue with the fact that those deemed different are often marginalised, bullied and the like in places other than Japan. That’s a sad situation in many places. But regardless, it does go on in Japan — a lot. And yes, while wonderful examples of individuality can be regularly seen, go into the vast majority of schools, companies etc., and it’ll be very much the opposite. Conformity rules.
John says
But nobody takes pictures of the inside of business, schools etc. At least nothing to speak of that I’ve run across. So I have no idea what the uniformity looks like. And from your photos I have, I am aware, an outsized view of what the unique people look like.
Lee says
Good call.
Don’t think I explained myself very well. Not sure I can either to be honest. But there’s a definite societal pressure that requires (forces?) certain modes of behaviour in particular, but also appearance and so on. Something that seems to be accepted, and yet at the same time can be quite oppressive. Certainly many of the Japanese I’ve spoken to who have lived abroad for a good stretch of time, often find difficult to adapt back to life in Japan.
Not something you could photograph either really. Apart from certain events perhaps, or with the addition of an awful lot of explanation.
But you are right in what you invariably see on these pages. I’m more often than not drawn to those on the margins of society, or those with a certain spark or something that little bit different about them. People I find interesting basically. So that inevitably skews things somewhat.
John says
Grant,
Visiting and living here are two different things. Your perspective might change over time.
How you are treated as a guest (visitor) is not the same as NJ residents, minorities, etc.
Lee says
That’s a very good point. Visiting is very different from living somewhere. Often only time and dealing with more mundane, everyday stuff, allows one to really get to know a place. Or at least delve a little below the surface.
YTSL says
In the case of the woman in the photo, I doubt she wanted/wants to be marked out as different. And yet she is. Which makes her situation really sad.
Lee says
Yes. That’s the point I was hoping to get across. Unfortunately she’s more than likely had some pretty tough times…
cdilla says
Conformity in Japanese society is a backdrop to everything I’ve heard about Japan over the past four decades and yet it’s not visible in most media I encounter these days. I do get glimpses in the books I read and occasionally in films, and it does not seem nice. I understand that it used to be that people who did not “fit” in an office were given a desk by the window, the implication being that they should jump.
But on the surface, as a visitor, reader and watcher it is the periphery I see most clearly and enjoy as an experience.
Just as an aside one groups videos that contrast the image of conformity in a world of bright individuals is World Order. Forgive the link to their Have a Nice Day video.
https://youtu.be/_mkiGMtbrPM
Lee says
Yes, it’s invariably always there. Sometimes oppressively so, other times less so. But it’s there nonetheless.
But like the group you linked to, and countless other individuals, there are thankfully those who still fight against it. More power to them!