I went to the store and bought a few groceries, including an avocado. As with American grocery stores, the fruits and vegetables that aren't packaged can't be scanned. Last night, my checkout lady didn't know what to do. She tried typing in a number but for some reason it didn't work, and she had to call over another employee to help her figure out how to process the purchase. While I was waiting patiently, she said "I'm sorry" two or three times, distractedly.
This is where the cultural difference begins. After she successfully processed it, she started babbling about how very sorry she was, and that she was new and was very embarrassed she hadn't done her job well, and that she would study hard in the future, and again very sorry, and she will definitely study and it won't happen again! All this while she was bowing repeatedly in a deep, apologetic fashion.
I love the customer service ethic here in Japan!
Showing posts with label cultural differences. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cultural differences. Show all posts
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Teaching(?) English in Japan
Japanese society.. a mysterious enigma, for us gaijin.
I spent years in college studying cultures, learning how to critically consider foreign ideas, remove myself from my biases, etc. I do believe that this has helped me to be more observant, though I still feel woefully inadequate at trying to understand the Japanese mind.
Nonetheless, I've been reading a lot of books on the subject, and feel like I do have some bits of understanding.
Japanese society seems very stressful, a tightly buttoned machine in which you don't have a lot of chances to really relax and be yourself. Quite the opposite of English cultures.
I've long believed that students can only get so far into learning English before they start understanding the culture as well.. I believe that our languages are intricately tied to our culturally-biased interpretation of the world. We speak the way we think, in other words.
Westerners are individualistic, and our speech reflects that. We're a speaking based society, in which the burden of communication is placed on the speaker; you must make yourself understood by choosing correct wording, etc. Japan is a listener based society, in which the burden falls on the listeners to be able to guess at the meaning of the speaker. In fact, many Japanese can seemingly read each others' minds, communicating through the barest use of words and relying mostly on body-language and intuitive knowledge of their friends and family.
That too sounds quite stressful, to be honest.
The following is entirely based on the collective anecdotal evidence of various English teachers, as taken from numerous conversations with myself. We believe that the role of foreign language teachers in Japan, for many students, takes on a far different meaning than merely providing authentic instruction in the language... we represent some sort of freedom from the burdens of Japanese society, an "exotic vacation" in which they can immerse themselves in the more individual-friendly English culture.
Note: I'm not saying that there's something inherently better about English speaking culture, nor that individualism is better than collectivism. Indeed, many a day I curse my selfish, pig-headed brethren for being less capable of a bit of collective consideration.
But what I am suggesting is that Japanese society, with its focus on the group, is inherently more stressful than English culture, due to our emphasis on the individual. You don't have to worry about anyone but yourself, and that must be attractive to people dealing not only with their only daily stresses, but with having to accommodate everyone else in their daily lives as well, through group-centric thoughts and actions.
So basically, what I'm trying to get at, is that many times as foreigners, we tend to act as a sort of counselor, or at the very least, a sympathetic ear, for our students. Every English teacher has had a student book a private lesson, come in and immediately begin the conversation with some sort of tragic news; a death in the family, their current depression, or troubles at work.
We then proceed to do absolutely no English lesson for the entire time, merely listening and consoling as we would a good friend. (I mean hey, we're getting paid really good money for what we have to do, so most of us can be bothered to act the part of a good friend, even if we're not genuinely sympathetic.)
This seems really weird to us, as we would generally want to confide in our close friends and family, rather than basically a stranger.. but then again, perhaps that isn't something that the Japanese feel easily able to do. Opening up in Japanese society, as I understand it, is something that's prohibitively hard to do.
Anyways, it is always quite interesting to live in Japan, though usually in the most unexpected ways.
I spent years in college studying cultures, learning how to critically consider foreign ideas, remove myself from my biases, etc. I do believe that this has helped me to be more observant, though I still feel woefully inadequate at trying to understand the Japanese mind.
Nonetheless, I've been reading a lot of books on the subject, and feel like I do have some bits of understanding.
Japanese society seems very stressful, a tightly buttoned machine in which you don't have a lot of chances to really relax and be yourself. Quite the opposite of English cultures.
I've long believed that students can only get so far into learning English before they start understanding the culture as well.. I believe that our languages are intricately tied to our culturally-biased interpretation of the world. We speak the way we think, in other words.
Westerners are individualistic, and our speech reflects that. We're a speaking based society, in which the burden of communication is placed on the speaker; you must make yourself understood by choosing correct wording, etc. Japan is a listener based society, in which the burden falls on the listeners to be able to guess at the meaning of the speaker. In fact, many Japanese can seemingly read each others' minds, communicating through the barest use of words and relying mostly on body-language and intuitive knowledge of their friends and family.
That too sounds quite stressful, to be honest.
The following is entirely based on the collective anecdotal evidence of various English teachers, as taken from numerous conversations with myself. We believe that the role of foreign language teachers in Japan, for many students, takes on a far different meaning than merely providing authentic instruction in the language... we represent some sort of freedom from the burdens of Japanese society, an "exotic vacation" in which they can immerse themselves in the more individual-friendly English culture.
Note: I'm not saying that there's something inherently better about English speaking culture, nor that individualism is better than collectivism. Indeed, many a day I curse my selfish, pig-headed brethren for being less capable of a bit of collective consideration.
But what I am suggesting is that Japanese society, with its focus on the group, is inherently more stressful than English culture, due to our emphasis on the individual. You don't have to worry about anyone but yourself, and that must be attractive to people dealing not only with their only daily stresses, but with having to accommodate everyone else in their daily lives as well, through group-centric thoughts and actions.
So basically, what I'm trying to get at, is that many times as foreigners, we tend to act as a sort of counselor, or at the very least, a sympathetic ear, for our students. Every English teacher has had a student book a private lesson, come in and immediately begin the conversation with some sort of tragic news; a death in the family, their current depression, or troubles at work.
We then proceed to do absolutely no English lesson for the entire time, merely listening and consoling as we would a good friend. (I mean hey, we're getting paid really good money for what we have to do, so most of us can be bothered to act the part of a good friend, even if we're not genuinely sympathetic.)
This seems really weird to us, as we would generally want to confide in our close friends and family, rather than basically a stranger.. but then again, perhaps that isn't something that the Japanese feel easily able to do. Opening up in Japanese society, as I understand it, is something that's prohibitively hard to do.
Anyways, it is always quite interesting to live in Japan, though usually in the most unexpected ways.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Nishinari-Ku, Tengachaya
When I first arrived in Japan, I remember being so shocked when I got on the train from the airport. I had been met by a company representative who helped make sure I had no problems getting onto the right train, and was supposed to meet someone at my stop (about an hour away), but for the train ride itself I was on my own... and the foreignness of everything was still making quite an impression.
First of all, there was the absolute lack of ethnic diversity. There were no other foreigners present, everyone on the train was Japanese. Being American, I was completely unused to a monogenous culture and seeing that left quite the impression.
Another thing was the little differences; some airline personnel was sitting across from me on the train, wearing her extremely cute uniform (which I daresay most Americans wouldn't be caught dead in, since most of the company uniforms in Japan ought to be slightly embarrassing for adults to actually voluntarily put on), and sipping on something out of a bag. I later discovered this to be a popular vitamin supplement. Something I had never seen before, and again, just the simple unusualness of it really struck me.
Then, of course, there was arriving at my station. I met the other person easily, and they helped me get to my new residence, which was actually quite close to the station and within easy bicycle distance of two major areas of the city of Osaka. (I'm in a sort of residential in-between area.) Walking around after dark, the entire area had a sort of forlorn feel to it, a run-down quality that caused me a bit of concern. We also passed a few crazy-homeless-looking people, which again caused me to question my new locale.
Not that I had anything to worry about; the stereotype about how safe Japan is, if you're a non-Asian male, is actually quite understated. (As an aside, one night after working overtime until 2am on a Friday, I bicycled home and passed through a group of 30+ young men on bicycles. Upon seeing me, an obvious foreigner and easy target, not a single one of these 30+ obviously intoxicated young men so much as cat-called a single insult. I can't imagine the same being said for 30 young men from any Western country, where a group-mentality sort of coward's courage would combine with an easy, solitary target, for at the very least some antagonistic language.)
As far as young females go, watch your back in Japan at all times, especially after dark. Every female friend of mine has at least one story of being randomly stalked, and three or more of casual molestation. The sense of entitlement in the mind of the drunken salary man is quite appalling, but try not to let an outspoken minority make you think all Japanese are like that. Otherwise people mike think Americans are all like this.
Anyways, my first impression of Tengachaya (my neighborhood) was not so hot, but I have apparently arrived in the midst of some urban renewal; a year before there were a bunch of construction sites and related debris, with many of the roads quite rough looking and in dire need of repairs. Now most of the construction sites have been replaced with shiny brand new buildings, mostly brand new high class stores, restaurants, and a giant indoor soccer field.
Also, I get awakened every day to the sound of the construction workers going to town on all of the roads hereabouts; every day, my neighborhood is looking nicer and nicer. Also, the homeless-crazy-looking guys are, turns out, just retired guys who love to hang out together in the parking lot of their apartment building and get trashed on sake. Not exactly the best of neighbors, but this is surprisingly less of a dangerous combination than you would think; they are quite polite and don't bother people, just minding to themselves while looking all sorts of crazy.
Also, when I first arrived, I wasn't particularly impressed with my apartment, but nor was I disappointed; nothing overwhelmingly good or bad about it, just a new place. Since that first impression, I have come to realize how freakin' awesome this apartment is! We have a huge dining room/living room space, a huge kitchen, a huge bathroom, and three large rooms. The apartment building has very thick walls between separate apartments, and we are located on the end of the building - no noise complaints about our loud and late-night gaijin ways. And best of all, its for the same price or cheaper than all of the terrible apartments that my co-workers were given by my employer.
Now, of course, the apartment is no longer a NOVA apartment, though someone forgot to tell payroll that and they double-charged me for December and January, in spite of my having paid those months' rent directly to the landlord. On the plus side, whenever (if ever) I see another real paycheck, I won't even know what to do with that much money. I am appalled at how wasteful I was when I first got to Japan, but now I've had a crash course on how to live in Osaka on the cheap, and I'm going to use my newfound knowledge to save up tons and tons of cash so that I can blow it all on new video games and other geeky stuff!
I wish I could go into details, maybe even show some links of the stuff I'm going to buy, but alas I have to go get ready for work. Till next time!
First of all, there was the absolute lack of ethnic diversity. There were no other foreigners present, everyone on the train was Japanese. Being American, I was completely unused to a monogenous culture and seeing that left quite the impression.
Another thing was the little differences; some airline personnel was sitting across from me on the train, wearing her extremely cute uniform (which I daresay most Americans wouldn't be caught dead in, since most of the company uniforms in Japan ought to be slightly embarrassing for adults to actually voluntarily put on), and sipping on something out of a bag. I later discovered this to be a popular vitamin supplement. Something I had never seen before, and again, just the simple unusualness of it really struck me.
Then, of course, there was arriving at my station. I met the other person easily, and they helped me get to my new residence, which was actually quite close to the station and within easy bicycle distance of two major areas of the city of Osaka. (I'm in a sort of residential in-between area.) Walking around after dark, the entire area had a sort of forlorn feel to it, a run-down quality that caused me a bit of concern. We also passed a few crazy-homeless-looking people, which again caused me to question my new locale.
Not that I had anything to worry about; the stereotype about how safe Japan is, if you're a non-Asian male, is actually quite understated. (As an aside, one night after working overtime until 2am on a Friday, I bicycled home and passed through a group of 30+ young men on bicycles. Upon seeing me, an obvious foreigner and easy target, not a single one of these 30+ obviously intoxicated young men so much as cat-called a single insult. I can't imagine the same being said for 30 young men from any Western country, where a group-mentality sort of coward's courage would combine with an easy, solitary target, for at the very least some antagonistic language.)
As far as young females go, watch your back in Japan at all times, especially after dark. Every female friend of mine has at least one story of being randomly stalked, and three or more of casual molestation. The sense of entitlement in the mind of the drunken salary man is quite appalling, but try not to let an outspoken minority make you think all Japanese are like that. Otherwise people mike think Americans are all like this.
Anyways, my first impression of Tengachaya (my neighborhood) was not so hot, but I have apparently arrived in the midst of some urban renewal; a year before there were a bunch of construction sites and related debris, with many of the roads quite rough looking and in dire need of repairs. Now most of the construction sites have been replaced with shiny brand new buildings, mostly brand new high class stores, restaurants, and a giant indoor soccer field.
Also, I get awakened every day to the sound of the construction workers going to town on all of the roads hereabouts; every day, my neighborhood is looking nicer and nicer. Also, the homeless-crazy-looking guys are, turns out, just retired guys who love to hang out together in the parking lot of their apartment building and get trashed on sake. Not exactly the best of neighbors, but this is surprisingly less of a dangerous combination than you would think; they are quite polite and don't bother people, just minding to themselves while looking all sorts of crazy.
Also, when I first arrived, I wasn't particularly impressed with my apartment, but nor was I disappointed; nothing overwhelmingly good or bad about it, just a new place. Since that first impression, I have come to realize how freakin' awesome this apartment is! We have a huge dining room/living room space, a huge kitchen, a huge bathroom, and three large rooms. The apartment building has very thick walls between separate apartments, and we are located on the end of the building - no noise complaints about our loud and late-night gaijin ways. And best of all, its for the same price or cheaper than all of the terrible apartments that my co-workers were given by my employer.
Now, of course, the apartment is no longer a NOVA apartment, though someone forgot to tell payroll that and they double-charged me for December and January, in spite of my having paid those months' rent directly to the landlord. On the plus side, whenever (if ever) I see another real paycheck, I won't even know what to do with that much money. I am appalled at how wasteful I was when I first got to Japan, but now I've had a crash course on how to live in Osaka on the cheap, and I'm going to use my newfound knowledge to save up tons and tons of cash so that I can blow it all on new video games and other geeky stuff!
I wish I could go into details, maybe even show some links of the stuff I'm going to buy, but alas I have to go get ready for work. Till next time!
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Morning Musings
I woke up early today and decided to take a bike ride through downtown Osaka since I'm basically never awake during the morning commuter rush, and wanted to see what it was like. There is a TON of folks in Osaka! Apparently the city's population is around 2 and a half million at night time, but during the day another million commuters come to the city to work.
While riding my bicycle, I passed a coffee shop called "Ko Hi Kan", spelled out in romaji. (That's what they call the English alphabet here.) Being a sophisticated expat, I was able to use my powers of deduction to figure out it was a coffee shop because I knew that coffee is pronounced "co-he", or phonetically in kana "ko-hi", and I seem to recall that "kan" is used to describe a hot drink or something like that, though I could be wrong. Also, there was a big picture of a cup of steaming coffee on the window, which I was able to utilize in my scientific deductions.
I am often surprised at the "gambare" work ethic of the Japanese people. It is a noticeable cultural difference when you interact with staff at minimum wage jobs, especially. (Note: I'm not saying this to offend anyone who does in fact try their darnedest even at minimum wage. This is a stereotypical example and I would say that you would be an exception to the rule, at least in my own experiences in America. End of disclaimer.)
At McDonald's, for example, the Japanese people are extremely friendly, smiley, and polite. Everyone, at every McDonald's, without exception. I remember going to a floating McDonald's in St. Louis, built out of an old ferry boat or some such, and being particularly unimpressed with the service and outright hostility of the staff working there. This type of situation is basically impossible to find in Japan, due to it being a matter-of-fact cultural difference; it is unfathomable that someone wouldn't try their best, especially in a service industry.
A shame that it isn't similarly unthinkable that a guy might cop a feel off a middle school student in a crowded subway...
Japan can be pervy. The Japanese view on sexuality is quite different from the Christian-influenced culture of America. In some ways I find it kind of refreshing; a lot less hypocritical nonsense. In other ways I find it quite disturbing, as the lack of restraint can manifest itself in molesting middle school students on crowded subways. After inquiring around, I was surprised that most of the girls I know, gaijin and Japanese alike, get groped or fight off an attempted grope at least once a month.
Of course this isn't to say that the average Japanese man is a sex offender; bear in mind, what I'm describing is a depraved minority... but they are able to operate with a lot more freedom than would be tolerated in America, due to the cultural differences. Japan is a very "don't make waves" society, so it tends to leave victims feeling powerless to inform an authority that someone is perving out on them.
Thankfully, there have been campaigns recently to empower women to report the chikans (train molesters) and the climate is definitely changing. Depraved perverts everywhere are wistfully remembering the good old days while crying into their sake.
And now I think it is time for me to take a nap.
While riding my bicycle, I passed a coffee shop called "Ko Hi Kan", spelled out in romaji. (That's what they call the English alphabet here.) Being a sophisticated expat, I was able to use my powers of deduction to figure out it was a coffee shop because I knew that coffee is pronounced "co-he", or phonetically in kana "ko-hi", and I seem to recall that "kan" is used to describe a hot drink or something like that, though I could be wrong. Also, there was a big picture of a cup of steaming coffee on the window, which I was able to utilize in my scientific deductions.
I am often surprised at the "gambare" work ethic of the Japanese people. It is a noticeable cultural difference when you interact with staff at minimum wage jobs, especially. (Note: I'm not saying this to offend anyone who does in fact try their darnedest even at minimum wage. This is a stereotypical example and I would say that you would be an exception to the rule, at least in my own experiences in America. End of disclaimer.)
At McDonald's, for example, the Japanese people are extremely friendly, smiley, and polite. Everyone, at every McDonald's, without exception. I remember going to a floating McDonald's in St. Louis, built out of an old ferry boat or some such, and being particularly unimpressed with the service and outright hostility of the staff working there. This type of situation is basically impossible to find in Japan, due to it being a matter-of-fact cultural difference; it is unfathomable that someone wouldn't try their best, especially in a service industry.
A shame that it isn't similarly unthinkable that a guy might cop a feel off a middle school student in a crowded subway...
Japan can be pervy. The Japanese view on sexuality is quite different from the Christian-influenced culture of America. In some ways I find it kind of refreshing; a lot less hypocritical nonsense. In other ways I find it quite disturbing, as the lack of restraint can manifest itself in molesting middle school students on crowded subways. After inquiring around, I was surprised that most of the girls I know, gaijin and Japanese alike, get groped or fight off an attempted grope at least once a month.
Of course this isn't to say that the average Japanese man is a sex offender; bear in mind, what I'm describing is a depraved minority... but they are able to operate with a lot more freedom than would be tolerated in America, due to the cultural differences. Japan is a very "don't make waves" society, so it tends to leave victims feeling powerless to inform an authority that someone is perving out on them.
Thankfully, there have been campaigns recently to empower women to report the chikans (train molesters) and the climate is definitely changing. Depraved perverts everywhere are wistfully remembering the good old days while crying into their sake.
And now I think it is time for me to take a nap.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Election Season in Japan
Japan is in many ways a strange place for someone from European heritage.
Take, for example, the process of democratic elections in Japan. Every morning, starting as early as 7am, vans will troll the city streets, even in little crappy residential nowheres such as where I live, and loudly announce their representatives' campaign promises and election strategies. This is VERY LOUD, mind, and at 7am I generally haven't been asleep for very long.
It blows my mind that in a nation where people are elected into office, this process of bombarding people with noise pollution hasn't seen a negative impact through votes against the perpetrators. Heck, I'm honestly surprised that this type of campaigning (if it can even be called that...) is legal!
To be fair, it is apparently illegal for this to be done by a recording. In fact, it must always be a person. And as any Japanese will tell you, if you need someone to broadcast a message to the general populace (or to bring you a beverage on your airplane), there is simply no choice: women are preferred.
So they have these (invariably cute) women, dressed up in some ridiculously over-the-top uniforms (which is to say, a typical Japanese uniform), riding in the back of vans (generally in teams of two or three since one of them must be shouting at us to vote for whoever at any given moment), while all involved do their best to look charming and attractive and wave at everyone they see. (Even gaijin!) In this fashion do the politicians get votes in Japan.
And honestly, aside from the 7am wakeup calls, this method wins out against seeing Mr. Manchin waving at me from the side of the road, holding up his name and trying his best to look less-than-miserable in the sub-arctic wind. (Needless to say, the typical Japanese election girl is much nicer to look at than Mr. Manchin, and generally much friendlier looking as well.)
Almost all Japanese would agree with me that girls are better suited to public roles where the goal is to look friendly and gain support for something. Apparently, men aren't "nice enough" to perform jobs involving interaction with the general public. This is a very commonly held opinion among Japanese, and both genders tend to agree on this point.
Fair enough, I say. My experiences of interaction with the typical Japanese male and female has lent itself to concur with their opinion, though I daresay this is a result of cultural norms rather than some sort of irrevocable human/gender nature. Japanese men tend to be quite grumpy, sharp, and downright rude. Not to say that there aren't tons of exceptions, but this would be the typical expected behavior of a middle-aged Japanese man. Gender roles in Japan are much more rigid and tend to conform to expected stereotypes much more readily than what I've seen and experienced in America. ("The nail that stands out..")
Japan, at least from my feminist-sympathizing American perspective, is a very sexist country. The roles and expectations of women and man are vastly different. Women tend to do everything possible to maximize their femininity; schoolgirls as young as elementary school are wearing skirts (sometimes miniskirts) as part of their required school uniforms. Females in any job role requiring them to wear uniforms often have to wear uniforms incorporating skirts, as opposed to any male coworkers who wear pants as their uniform. Including police officers.
Many jobs won't even hire men, preferring women for whatever duty they require of their workers. (A good example of this is the many bakery/cafes; aside from Starbucks, they generally will not hire men.) Meanwhile, in the professional world, women are rare amongst the office workers in any role other than secretary. Of the two female professionals whom I know, both are the only female in their offices, working beside ten or more men.
All of this illustrates the difference between parity for women and men in Japan. Things are changing, but there is no unified and concerted effort of women fighting for equality... nothing akin to the Womens' Rights movements we saw fifty-some years ago.
Whenever I'm with my host family, this gender role makes itself clearly seen. The husband may be closest to the kitchen, but if wants a drink from the fridge, he will request it of his wife, who will then go get one. If his wife isn't in the room, he will request it from his daughter, regardless of if his son is in the kitchen at the time. And this is not an atypical example as far as my many experiences have indicated.
One of the key things ingrained in me by my professors when preparing me for cultural studies is to try my best to reserve judgment; I cannot hope to truly observe and study a foreign culture if I am constantly passing judgment on it in comparison to my own cultural values. As such, I am not trying to comment on this being "wrong", but rather just demonstrate how shocking it can be to live in a foreign culture.
Coming from America, which I daresay isn't the world's leader in gender equality, it is still quite shocking to see how rigid and vast the differences are between genders here in Japan. In many ways it feels like I've traveled through time and arrived in the 1950s, least of all because the Japanese attitude towards smoking is perfectly identical to 1950s America. Basically since I've come to Japan, I've taken to smoking two packs a day - all through second-hand smoke.
In any case, it is definitely an experience to live and work in a foreign country, and I would highly recommend Japan to anyone looking to really experience something different from their own culture.
Take, for example, the process of democratic elections in Japan. Every morning, starting as early as 7am, vans will troll the city streets, even in little crappy residential nowheres such as where I live, and loudly announce their representatives' campaign promises and election strategies. This is VERY LOUD, mind, and at 7am I generally haven't been asleep for very long.
It blows my mind that in a nation where people are elected into office, this process of bombarding people with noise pollution hasn't seen a negative impact through votes against the perpetrators. Heck, I'm honestly surprised that this type of campaigning (if it can even be called that...) is legal!
To be fair, it is apparently illegal for this to be done by a recording. In fact, it must always be a person. And as any Japanese will tell you, if you need someone to broadcast a message to the general populace (or to bring you a beverage on your airplane), there is simply no choice: women are preferred.
So they have these (invariably cute) women, dressed up in some ridiculously over-the-top uniforms (which is to say, a typical Japanese uniform), riding in the back of vans (generally in teams of two or three since one of them must be shouting at us to vote for whoever at any given moment), while all involved do their best to look charming and attractive and wave at everyone they see. (Even gaijin!) In this fashion do the politicians get votes in Japan.
And honestly, aside from the 7am wakeup calls, this method wins out against seeing Mr. Manchin waving at me from the side of the road, holding up his name and trying his best to look less-than-miserable in the sub-arctic wind. (Needless to say, the typical Japanese election girl is much nicer to look at than Mr. Manchin, and generally much friendlier looking as well.)
Almost all Japanese would agree with me that girls are better suited to public roles where the goal is to look friendly and gain support for something. Apparently, men aren't "nice enough" to perform jobs involving interaction with the general public. This is a very commonly held opinion among Japanese, and both genders tend to agree on this point.
Fair enough, I say. My experiences of interaction with the typical Japanese male and female has lent itself to concur with their opinion, though I daresay this is a result of cultural norms rather than some sort of irrevocable human/gender nature. Japanese men tend to be quite grumpy, sharp, and downright rude. Not to say that there aren't tons of exceptions, but this would be the typical expected behavior of a middle-aged Japanese man. Gender roles in Japan are much more rigid and tend to conform to expected stereotypes much more readily than what I've seen and experienced in America. ("The nail that stands out..")
Japan, at least from my feminist-sympathizing American perspective, is a very sexist country. The roles and expectations of women and man are vastly different. Women tend to do everything possible to maximize their femininity; schoolgirls as young as elementary school are wearing skirts (sometimes miniskirts) as part of their required school uniforms. Females in any job role requiring them to wear uniforms often have to wear uniforms incorporating skirts, as opposed to any male coworkers who wear pants as their uniform. Including police officers.
Many jobs won't even hire men, preferring women for whatever duty they require of their workers. (A good example of this is the many bakery/cafes; aside from Starbucks, they generally will not hire men.) Meanwhile, in the professional world, women are rare amongst the office workers in any role other than secretary. Of the two female professionals whom I know, both are the only female in their offices, working beside ten or more men.
All of this illustrates the difference between parity for women and men in Japan. Things are changing, but there is no unified and concerted effort of women fighting for equality... nothing akin to the Womens' Rights movements we saw fifty-some years ago.
Whenever I'm with my host family, this gender role makes itself clearly seen. The husband may be closest to the kitchen, but if wants a drink from the fridge, he will request it of his wife, who will then go get one. If his wife isn't in the room, he will request it from his daughter, regardless of if his son is in the kitchen at the time. And this is not an atypical example as far as my many experiences have indicated.
One of the key things ingrained in me by my professors when preparing me for cultural studies is to try my best to reserve judgment; I cannot hope to truly observe and study a foreign culture if I am constantly passing judgment on it in comparison to my own cultural values. As such, I am not trying to comment on this being "wrong", but rather just demonstrate how shocking it can be to live in a foreign culture.
Coming from America, which I daresay isn't the world's leader in gender equality, it is still quite shocking to see how rigid and vast the differences are between genders here in Japan. In many ways it feels like I've traveled through time and arrived in the 1950s, least of all because the Japanese attitude towards smoking is perfectly identical to 1950s America. Basically since I've come to Japan, I've taken to smoking two packs a day - all through second-hand smoke.
In any case, it is definitely an experience to live and work in a foreign country, and I would highly recommend Japan to anyone looking to really experience something different from their own culture.
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