Subjects:
Any person can play both roles, depending on the group that he/she is in. The father may be the oyabun to his son but at work, he is the kobun to the boss. Success and failure is shared by everyone in the group, but disgrace and honor fall to the leader. When problems arise, the leader is the first to take responsibility for the actions/problem.
One of the reasons why Japan was able to make such a great recovery after World War II was because the country as a whole, came together as a group to rebuild their home. Villages were very close, and in this way, the group became more important than the actual individual. Now, this
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The group, or groupism, comes with a stress on harmony and consensus. The average Japanese concerns himself more with how the group thinks and feels rather than how he himself thinks and feels. One wants to go where the others go, always avoiding uncrowded places and trying to find the most crowded. The people at these places become his tight knit friends. Children spend their lives in uniforms as well as endless group activities.
Being in a group takes away the need for group members to talk amongst each other. This type of thing builds protection for the members. The Japanese person does not focus on his individual attributes, but rather his position in the group. The teachers never encourage individual thought but rather the mindset of being in a group. If the group decides on something and one person seems to disagree without actually saying that he does, the group must somehow get him to conform to their idea. In our society, a heart to heart talk would be mainly verbal but in Japanese society, it is more of a non verbal exchange.
Groups start at the school level in Japanese society.
Groupism requires cooperation and the desire to feel at peace, or ittaikan (the feeling of oneness) with the rest of the group.
No matter where a Japanese goes, he is followed by the group mentality.
Essay's Topics
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