February Sycamore Tree

Aisatsu / Being Present

One of the conversations I had this winter regarding my experience living in Japan was about the importance of aisatsu (挨拶 = あいさつ) in Japanese culture. Basically, aisatsu is a greeting when you meet someone or a short speech made at an event. If you look up aisatsu in a Japanese-English dictionary it will give you various greetings you might use when you pay aisatsu to someone (i.e. Good Morning! / おはようございます/ Ohayo Gozaimasu!). But, the literal meaning is closer to the act of being present or making an appearance in social situations. I feel like the importance of aisatsu has taken an especially long time to register with me since this ethos is not as strong in the U.S.

Aisatsu is about showing respect and humbling yourself before others. When you first arrive as a guest, for example, it’s extremely important to say a few words to your host. There are standard words of greeting and thanks but what you say isn’t nearly as important as the fact that you have shown respect to someone who has helped you. When I first arrived in Japan because students and pastors in Sendai would come up to me and introduce themselves, present me with their business card (名刺 / meishi), and ask me very formally to help them and the student center during my time here. I was surprised by the formality of this exchange and sometimes frustrated because my relationship with the people that I met never seemed to go beyond this one conversation.

I think that one of the strengths in American culture is the space for informal expression of ideas and opinions once that initial introduction is over. As a student, public speaking made me extremely nervous and I would avoid it whenever possible. Even introducing myself in front of a class or club meeting would make me tense and so I would rush through it as quickly as possible. Because my self-introduction was done so quickly, the others in the room wouldn’t hear me and so it made it a lot harder participate in the discussion later. Once I learned how to get over my fears and to get to know the people around me it was much easier to express my ideas. Companies like Google and Pixar have been extremely successful because their employees are given a lot of creative freedom in their work.

Recently, the staff members at the student center have been discussing how to create a more informal environment where students feel comfortable expressing themselves openly because we feel that our relationship often ends once they’ve introduced themselves. I suppose that’s something to learn from both cultures, how to make that initial introduction to get things started and how to continue that relationship in order to share ideas.

SKLT
Assistant Director of the Sendai Student/Youth Center
Global Missions Intern
http://www.globalministries.org/eap/countries/japan