日本文化の自己称賛はやめた方がいい。

日本文化の自己称賛はやめた方がいい。

　私はアメリカに住んでいる時にとても楽だった。それは、言葉に嘘が無いからだ。私は

「日本人がすべて嘘つきだ」

　と言っているのではない。文化の違いを感じたのだ。

　皆さんは日本人の得意な「本音と建て前」の「建て前」を英訳すると何になるかご存じだろうか？ lie（嘘）です。日本人は日々「本音と建て前」を使い分けて生きています。これは、欧米人の基準で言うと日常的に嘘をついていると受け取られます。

　私が

「もう限界です」

　と欧米人に言ったら直ちに

「では、休め」

　と言ってくれます。

　しかし、日本人の多くは

「もう少し頑張れ！」

　と言います。本当は休ませてやりたいのだけど“みんな頑張っているから”という同調文化の中で、心にもないことを口にしてしまう。

　同じことを欧米人に言ったら

「この人は自分を殺そうとしている」

　と感じることでしょう。コーチなら即クビか、トラブルは必至だと思います。

　欧米人は言葉が全てです。「限界」といったら限界なのだから、それ以上強要するのは人権無視だし自殺に追い込みかねないわけだから休息させるに決まっている。日本人は人権無視も、自殺に追い込むのも気にしない民族です。

　イザとなったら命を捨てて突撃する行為を称賛する文化なので、ついていけない人が多くいても当然だと思います。世界基準で見たら「狂信的」な面が強い文化だと自覚した方がいいと思う。

　I had it very easy when I lived in the US. That's because there is no lie in the words. I have heard people say

"All Japanese are liars.“

　I am not saying that all Japanese are liars. I felt the cultural difference

　Do you know what the English translation of "tatemae" in "honne to tatemae," which is Japanese people's strong point, is? It is "lie. Japanese people live their lives using "honne to tatemae" every day. This is perceived as lying on a daily basis by Westerners' standards.

　When I say　“I have reached my limit“　to a Westerner, they immediately say
"Then, take a rest.“
　But many Japanese say
"Hang in there a little longer!“

　They really want to give them a rest, but they are not mindful of it. They really want to give you a break, but in the culture of "everyone else is working hard," they say things that they don't mean.

　You will probably feel that "This person is trying to kill me.“ If you were a coach, you would be fired immediately, or you would inevitably get into trouble.

　Westerners are all about words. If you say "the limit," it is the limit, and forcing them to go further is a disregard for human rights and could drive them to suicide, so of course they are forced to take a break. The Japanese are a people who do not care about ignoring human rights or driving people to suicide.

　It is natural that there are many people who cannot keep up with this culture, because it is a culture that admires the act of charging in and laying down one's life when the situation calls for it. I think you should be aware that the culture has a strong "fanatic" aspect by world standards.