Tag: Language

Note: As I continue to learn the Japanese language and culture, these Spotlight posts seek to highlight things I find curious, interesting, and meaningful. The relationship between language and culture runs deep. In fact, there are many points where it gets hard to tell one from the other. “Language is not merely an indifferent mechanism for cataloguing men’s experience but the language itself affects the cataloguing process…. The language system of each culture is a fluid factor in culture; it varies with each generation and serves as clue to its thinking as well as actually coloring and molding this thinking.” In other words, if I am going to learn how to reach Japanese people, I need to understand how Japanese people think. The process of how they think is intimately intwined with the language they use. Unfortunately for us, it goes far beyond simply using “Google Translate” to come up with the right vocabulary. Language embeds the foundational concepts of culture into everyday interaction. So, deeper we go into this wonderful world of language exploration! Much of this information comes from Charles Corwin’s Biblical Encounter with Japanese Culture (Tokyo, 1967).

Dōsatsu is comprised of two characters in kanji. The first character (dō) can represent “cave” while the second character (satsu) can mean “look”. More specifically, the first usually refers to a cave or hole scooped out by flowing water. Satsu is a bit more complicated. It is actually the kanji for “look” but with a piece that means “veil” added on top. So, dōsatsu is really more of the concept of looking deeply (as into a cave) and perceiving the reality of an object.

We have some English idioms which get to a similar meaning. “Read between the lines” comes to mind, as does “See right through someone”. We also tend to use expressions like “get to the bottom of” and “determine the mood” in a parallel sense.

In the New Testament, insight often refers to spiritual discernment or understanding. We look for insight when we seek divine revelation in Scripture. We also gain “insight” when we understand someone’s innermost reality.

Japanese dōsatsu and Biblical insight both denote a seeing that is more than observation. It is seeing that cuts through the obvious and seeks to perceive something’s essence. However due to the influence of Buddhist thought, Japanese understanding of this concept has traditionally focused its attention on achieving insight through clearing away all mental impairments and attitudes. Biblical insight, on the other hand, is centered in more moral and spiritual terms. It is a seeing beyond the outward symbols of something and perceiving the inner reality that those symbols portray.

Unlike its Buddhist counterpart, Biblical insight cannot be achieved unaided, but must come through the assistance of God’s Holy Spirit. (1 Cor. 2:9-10). Rather than simply determining the essence of something, Biblical insight is more concerned with seeing the spiritual truth behind the visible words and actions.

~ Clay

Note: As I continue to learn the Japanese language and culture, these Spotlight posts seek to highlight things I find curious, interesting, and meaningful. The relationship between language and culture runs deep. In fact, there are many points where it gets hard to tell one from the other. “Language is not merely an indifferent mechanism for cataloguing men’s experience but the language itself affects the cataloguing process…. The language system of each culture is a fluid factor in culture; it varies with each generation and serves as clue to its thinking as well as actually coloring and molding this thinking.” In other words, if I am going to learn how to reach Japanese people, I need to understand how Japanese people think. The process of how they think is intimately intwined with the language they use. Unfortunately for us, it goes far beyond simply using “Google Translate” to come up with the right vocabulary. Language embeds the foundational concepts of culture into everyday interaction. So, deeper we go into this wonderful world of language exploration! Much of this information comes from Charles Corwin’s Biblical Encounter with Japanese Culture (Tokyo, 1967).

The concept of “faith” can vary widely in Japanese. When written in kanji, Shinkō is a combination of two characters: “shin” and “ko”. “Shin” can mean “new,” but it can also mean “truth” or “without doubt” or “trust”. The word “ko” can mean “respect” but it can also mean “look up”, “esteem”, or even “affection born from admiration of the holy.” So, together these two concepts become informed by each of their parts. Faith can be thought of as “looking up toward truth” or “positively trusting the holy.”

Buddhist thought approaches faith from a very different place than Christian thought. When a Buddhist speaks about faith, they are referring to a religious response toward a religious object. It stresses man’s activity in faith. Literally, they speak of it as “doing faith” or “practicing faith.” Consequently, faith could be perceived to be as simple as observing prescribed Buddhist rituals such as a memorial for the deceased. Maybe you just offer some rice before the family altar each morning. The more you practice these rites, the more you might be called one who practices faith. The Shinto religion is a system based upon gratitude. Using this lens, one could say that the faithful are those who express appreciation toward local shinto deities or deceased ancestors for blessings received in the present.

In both of these cases, the exercise of faith is stressed more than the object of faith.

For New Testament Christians, faith is a very different idea. For us, faith is all about the object! This faith (or faith’s object) is summed up in recognizing Jesus as Lord and accepting the miracle of the Resurrection. Accepting the New Testament faith is accepting the central figure of history which establishes Jesus as Lord, involving a personal relationship with this Lord. It is linked to terms such as repentance, forgiveness, and obedience. Essentially, faith is the act in which man separates himself from the world and turns around completely towards God in response to God’s eschatological deed in Christ. It is active and ongoing. Believers are the “believing ones” who are constantly relating themselves to God’s act of salvation.

When Japanese people say they “have no faith” they merely mean that they aren’t very zealous when it comes to a religious activity. It never really touches on the Christian notion of faith being based on a personal relationship with a deity.

Biblical faith, on the other hand, speaks of a special relationship in which God embraces the whole man or woman. All of the blessings which Christ has gained by virtue of His exaltation become common property with those joined to Him. Even better, all of the rebellion, sin, and unworthiness of the believer become Christ’s possessions as He suffered on the cross.

Japanese faith is a mental activity or religious rite performed by man. Biblical faith is a joining between man and God. It is one more way that the Gospel is very good news for the Japanese, if we take the time to help them understand.

~ Clay

Note: As I continue to learn the Japanese language and culture, these Spotlight posts seek to highlight things I find curious, interesting, and meaningful. The relationship between language and culture runs deep. In fact, there are many points where it gets hard to tell one from the other. “Language is not merely an indifferent mechanism for cataloguing men’s experience but the language itself affects the cataloguing process…. The language system of each culture is a fluid factor in culture; it varies with each generation and serves as clue to its thinking as well as actually coloring and molding this thinking.” In other words, if I am going to learn how to reach Japanese people, I need to understand how Japanese people think. The process of how they think is intimately intwined with the language they use. Unfortunately for us, it goes far beyond simply using “Google Translate” to come up with the right vocabulary. Language embeds the foundational concepts of culture into everyday interaction. So, deeper we go into this wonderful world of language exploration! Much of this information comes from Charles Corwin’s Biblical Encounter with Japanese Culture (Tokyo, 1967).

Whether they are practicing Buddhists or not, Japanese people are deeply influenced by Buddhist thought through fundamental ideas held at the core of Japanese culture and society. This word for love (“ai“) is no different. Buddhism sees a dichotomy between loves that are either “defiled” or “undefiled.” Essentially, the difference boils down to whether the object of a person’s love is desired for selfish or selfless reasons. Desire for fame, wealth, carnal pleasure, or a general lust for life fall into the defiled idea of love in Buddhist thought. Buddhists see these sorts of self-pleasing desires as working against an individual’s progress toward detachment and enlightenment, the primary goals of Buddhist practice. Undefiled love, then, is characterized by selfless compassion for all sentient beings. In practical terms, however, most behavior falls into the first category so Buddhist scholars generally list “ai” among the catalogue of Buddhist sins.

The Christian concept of love is very different. The greek language of the New Testament employs several words that could be translated as love. Eros (sexual love), philia (friendly affection), stergo (family affection), philadelphia (love between brothers and sisters), philanthropia (love for humanity), and agape (love expressed in action). The New Testament writers chose to focus on the word agape and infuse it with additional meaning to present the astounding message that God’s love is above and beyond what humans typically express toward each other. Christ brought a new order, a manifesto of love. He not only declared that this was the supreme criterion in life but by His life and death showed that this love is intrinsic to the very nature of God. This is the endearing, sacrificial, pardoning love of God which moves out to embrace sinful men.

Modern usage of the Japanese “ai” tends to focus more on the ideas of “compassion” or “fondness” rather than what we in the West would consider the deeper meaning of love. Even so, it is not often used. In truth, so many varied concepts of Japanese affection are conveyed by the word “ai” — compassion, desire, eros, regret — that it has become unwieldy for the average Japanese person. Up until the Edo period, the Japanese language developed through Imperial court literature. In such surroundings, the slightest expression of innuendo, the mere glance of the eye, the wave of the hand in guarded moments were keys unlocking unseen vaults of human emotion. Buddhist frowning upon any human endeavor which released craving, desire, or passion furthered this dampening of affections.

Even today the word “ai” ( as in the forthright expression “I love you”) is too outright. Rather, the young suitor will tell his lover “I am fond of you” (anata ga suki desu). This is all she needs to know; he has told all. The kanji character of “heart” in the word fixes it in the mind’s eye as a human emotion springing from man towards a desired object. It expresses desire for possession and at the same time a regretting, since failure to possess or parting is man’s common experience.

What sets Biblical love off from Japanese ai is the contextual use of the Greek agape expressing a Divine love that soars above the human plane. It is a love which manifests itself in determined, one-sided acts of salvation, pardon, adoption, faithfulness toward the unlovely, undeserving, and unfaithful.

Japanese ai is reaching out to possess; Biblical agape is God’s reaching out to redeem.

~ Clay

Note: As I continue to learn the Japanese language and culture, these Spotlight posts seek to highlight things I find curious, interesting, and meaningful. The relationship between language and culture runs deep. In fact, there are many points where it gets hard to tell one from the other. “Language is not merely an indifferent mechanism for cataloguing men’s experience but the language itself affects the cataloguing process…. The language system of each culture is a fluid factor in culture; it varies with each generation and serves as clue to its thinking as well as actually coloring and molding this thinking.” In other words, if I am going to learn how to reach Japanese people, I need to understand how Japanese people think. The process of how they think is intimately intwined with the language they use. Unfortunately for us, it goes far beyond simply using “Google Translate” to come up with the right vocabulary. Language embeds the foundational concepts of culture into everyday interaction. So, deeper we go into this wonderful world of language exploration! Much of this information comes from Charles Corwin’s Biblical Encounter with Japanese Culture (Tokyo, 1967).

To those of us raised in the west, Japan can often appear to be very homogeneous. The people are all the same. Their customs are based on long-held and unchanging traditions. There is a lack of diversity (as compared to other places) and the Japanese seem to cherish it. I hear again and again how Japan is monolithic in its tendency to prefer conformist practices and that I need to get used to feeling like an outsider. While there is a strong push in this direction overall, reality is much more nuanced and varied.

The closer one gets to the Japanese, the more these variations become evident. We watch a lot of programming on NHK-World. It is the English-language streaming service produced by Japan’s public broadcaster NHK. Now, I am fully aware that the selection of shows and topics presented are highly curated toward showing a version of Japan that is a little more polished than otherwise experienced. However, even within these parameters one can find a great variety of individual stories, preferences, and experiences. Human nature, after all, didn’t skip the Japanese people. They just show it to the outside world a little differently than other cultures.

Our word for this Language Spotlight is eien, which translates to eternity. As with most of these studies, it isn’t a fully accurate translation though. Japanese concepts of eternity are different than those found in the west. Additionally, this word also highlights one of the rare moments where competing ideas seem to occupy the same space. The kanji for eien consists of two characters: the one for “long” and the one for “far”. There are also echoes of “water” and “river” in the kanji for “long”, which evokes images of a long river that gets ever wider as it progresses downstream.

The Japanese concept of eternity, though, is not really concerned with the length of the river. Rather, it might be better understood as a rock that sits fixed in the riverbed, unmoving and unchanging, while the water continuously swirls around it. Most Japanese people, when referring to eternity aren’t trying to reference a concept related to time. Instead, they are drawing upon the notion of “changelessness”.

Here is where we find our rare occurrence of non-conformity. The concept of changelessness runs directly counter to the key Buddhist teaching of impermance. To Buddhist thought, everything is always changing. Nothing remains constant – even for a moment. How the Japanese hold these two positions together, I still don’t readily understand. One key might be their tendency to identify the divine within nature.

For Christians, eternity is not bound by our current understanding or experience. God is described as eternal because He is not subject to the limits of time. His love is everlasting (Jeremiah 31:3), as is His covenant (Jeremiah 32:40), His righteousness (Isaiah 51:6), His salvation (Isaiah 45:17), and His word (Isaiah 40:8). Zechariah makes clear to us that it is man who is mortal while God is everlasting.

If the ultimate in Japanese thinking is trapped within the confines of our experienced world and so measures eternity through the lens of impermanence, then at best man can only hope for being situated in that riverbed like a stone, unmoving and unchanging, while the waters of life rush around him. On the other hand, the Bible places God and those united to Him by faith in an eternal state. More than just duration or changelessness, it is a transcendent dimension outside of the bounds of time.

It is this other dimension that we look forward to!

~ Clay

Note: As I continue to learn the Japanese language and culture, these Spotlight posts seek to highlight things I find curious, interesting, and meaningful. The relationship between language and culture runs deep. In fact, there are many points where it gets hard to tell one from the other. “Language is not merely an indifferent mechanism for cataloguing men’s experience but the language itself affects the cataloguing process…. The language system of each culture is a fluid factor in culture; it varies with each generation and serves as clue to its thinking as well as actually coloring and molding this thinking.” In other words, if I am going to learn how to reach Japanese people, I need to understand how Japanese people think. The process of how they think is intimately intwined with the language they use. Unfortunately for us, it goes far beyond simply using “Google Translate” to come up with the right vocabulary. Language embeds the foundational concepts of culture into everyday interaction. So, deeper we go into this wonderful world of language exploration! Much of this information comes from Charles Corwin’s Biblical Encounter with Japanese Culture (Tokyo, 1967).

Japanese society has a collectivist nature which often gets overlooked by those of us in the United States. It governs nearly every interaction of daily life in Japan and drives many of the internal impulses that make people behave the way they do. The Japanese concept of sin is no different. A New Testament understanding of sin is fundamentally about how an individual has broken an intimate and personal fellowship with God. The fallout of sin includes all of the things we see in a person’s life such as hurt, injustice, and other negative consequences, but the root of the sin always comes back to how the sinner has fallen short of God’s intention for how life should be lived.

When a Japanese person thinks of the word tsumi, however, they tend to merely think about such things as police stations, law courts, crime, and criminals. It is a term that is primarily technical. One does not become a “sinner” until they are convicted by a human court. Sin is seen more in the context of purity than in relation to a Creator. If a moral fault is discovered by another person and brought out into the open, the person at fault is overwhelmed with a sense of shame, but the idea of sin doesn’t really enter the equation yet. Instead, the error of the sinner is seen in light of how and to what degree it disrupts the surrounding community of people. Maintaining social relations and harmony with nature is paramount for maintaining honor in Japanese society, and sin is primarily seen in those terms instead of spiritual ones.

Biblical sin is an interruption of man’s relationship with his Creator. It is all of the ways that people fall short of God’s purpose or break the boundaries God has set, leading to rebellion and a perversion of God’s ways. These perverted ways lead humans further down into a spiral of self-idolization, pride, and moral distortion. Scripture returns again and again to this issue of sin between man and God. No one can escape the inevitability of sin and its damaging effects. Or, as Paul puts it, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23).

This bright spotlight on our human shortcomings is admittedly distasteful and off-putting for many Japanese people. They have spent centuries attempting to reach a pristine concept of humanity living in complete harmony with nature. However, this spotlight on sin also helps to highlight the positive. Christ’s work on the cross accomplished a perfect forgiveness and deliverance from the condition sin places us in. Or as Paul continues in the verse above, “and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24).

One reason for the slow advance of Christian missions in Japan may be traced to an inability to understand and value the redemptive work of the Cross. In order for the Japanese to fully appreciate the gains won by the empty tomb, we first have to back up and help them discover what has been lost through a correct understanding of sin. Man at his very best is still a sinner before a Holy God. If we can help them understand this reality, then we will be able to help them discover and experience the awesome wonder of the Good News!

~ Clay

Note: As I continue to learn the Japanese language and culture, these Spotlight posts seek to highlight things I find curious, interesting, and meaningful. The relationship between language and culture runs deep. In fact, there are many points where it gets hard to tell one from the other. “Language is not merely an indifferent mechanism for cataloguing men’s experience but the language itself affects the cataloguing process…. The language system of each culture is a fluid factor in culture; it varies with each generation and serves as clue to its thinking as well as actually coloring and molding this thinking.” In other words, if I am going to learn how to reach Japanese people, I need to understand how Japanese people think. The process of how they think is intimately intwined with the language they use. Unfortunately for us, it goes far beyond simply using “Google Translate” to come up with the right vocabulary. Language embeds the foundational concepts of culture into everyday interaction. So, deeper we go into this wonderful world of language exploration! Much of this information comes from Charles Corwin’s Biblical Encounter with Japanese Culture (Tokyo, 1967).

Japanese usage of the word yorokobi usually involves the emotional response to a pleasant situation. Today, most Japanese would consider it to be similarly defined as “celebration” or “gratitude” or “enjoy.” Digging a little deeper, though, there is a tension within Japanese culture that gives this word some pause. The Japanese, as a people, tend to walk back and forth between the two poles of Buddhist pessimism and Shinto optimism. Scholars debate as to which pole has had the stronger influence on Japanese thinking, but some evidence seems to suggest that the Buddhist line holds the slight edge.

Buddhism’s over-concern with sufferings and man’s escape from the hopeless cycle of existence has made joy an unknown concept in their train of thought. The word doesn’t even appear in some Buddhist dictionaries. The many Shinto shrines with their festivals have monopolized this aspect of the Japanese emotional experience. Still, the strong undercurrent of Japanese culture is to play down any joyful expression lest you come across as superficial or trying to be “Western” in some way. To show off what joy you might be experiencing would draw attention to yourself in a way that would be detrimental to those around you who are not experiencing it. Since Japanese culture operates from a group-first paradigm, this sort of placing yourself above your peers, as harmless as that seems to Westerners, shows severe lack of consideration for your neighbor.

One key aspect to Christian joy that is completely absent in its Japanese version is a sense of purpose. Rather than our joy being sourced from our response to a pleasant situation, we experience joy as a result of much deeper forces. The Christian’s joy is rooted in the confidence in our relationship with our Creator, the one who sustains us. Because we have this sort of relationship with Jehovah God, we can experience both pleasant and unpleasant circumstances with a measure of joy. This joy comes not from the actual feelings produced by those circumstances, but from the knowledge that through God’s providence and mercy, these experiences are purposeful. Even when we can’t quite put our finger on that purpose directly or articulate it to those around us, God’s Spirit works within us to remind us that His ways are perfect and intend for our blessing.

What a difference! By giving us purpose and meaning, God has enabled us to experience a Joy that is infinitely deeper and more meaningful that simply being able to experience good feelings with pleasant things happen. Moreover, this sort of Joy gives us comfort during the many times when pleasant things seem to be far away and out of reach.

May you experience the Joy of the Lord in all its many forms in your day to day walk.

~ Clay

Note: As I continue to learn the Japanese language and culture, these Spotlight posts seek to highlight things I find curious, interesting, and meaningful. The relationship between language and culture runs deep. In fact, there are many points where it gets hard to tell one from the other. “Language is not merely an indifferent mechanism for cataloguing men’s experience but the language itself affects the cataloguing process…. The language system of each culture is a fluid factor in culture; it varies with each generation and serves as clue to its thinking as well as actually coloring and molding this thinking.” In other words, if I am going to learn how to reach Japanese people, I need to understand how Japanese people think. The process of how they think is intimately intwined with the language they use. Unfortunately for us, it goes far beyond simply using “Google Translate” to come up with the right vocabulary. Language embeds the foundational concepts of culture into everyday interaction. So, deeper we go into this wonderful world of language exploration! Much of this information comes from Charles Corwin’s Biblical Encounter with Japanese Culture (Tokyo, 1967).

Chie (wisdom) is a key concept in Buddhist thought. It can be defined as that which is gained through removal of passions and illusionary conceptions and focusing on becoming free from taint. Thus in many ways in Japan, wisdom is thought of as the mental ability to distinguish what is true from what is false and alternatively as the ability to make decisions through eliminating doubt. Curiously, this word can sometimes also mean bad wisdom, as in ideas that appear to be wise but can lead someone away from the true (perfect) form. Weird!

The Old Testament, however, wisdom includes the idea of skillfully reaching the right end by the right means, but it goes beyond that. Because Biblical wisdom is fundamentally from God and not man, its fullest form will also blend in a sense of goodness or righteousness. Even though “worldly wisdom” may seem to be productively advancing a particular culture and society, if it does not find its locus in God himself, then it is actually folly in disguise.

New Testament writers applied this concept to Jesus directly. Wisdom is deemed to be true wisdom when it aligns with Christ. For Paul, Christ Himself becomes a reservoir of wisdom and the incarnation of the very wisdom of God. So, Japanese Chie is the ability to discover basic principles and the “essence” of things. It can even be the ability to destroy the illusion of opposites and misconceptions. Chie boils down to simply a mental process by which knowledge is applied correctly to a situation yielding the right decision. We might think of it more in terms of “intelligence.”

While Biblical wisdom seems at first glance very similar, it has a very different foundation. It has its locus in God, beginning from Him and effecting a clearer knowledge of His will. Wisdom isn’t just knowing what to do in a given situation. Wisdom is knowing what to do because how it will align with God and foster a deeper understanding of His will. Ultimately, Biblical wisdom is finally found in the person of Christ.

So, even the naivest of men, if united to Christ as the source of wisdom, can walk through this world with confidence.

~ Clay

Note: As I continue to learn the Japanese language and culture, these Spotlight posts seek to highlight things I find curious, interesting, and meaningful. The relationship between language and culture runs deep. In fact, there are many points where it gets hard to tell one from the other. “Language is not merely an indifferent mechanism for cataloguing men’s experience but the language itself affects the cataloguing process…. The language system of each culture is a fluid factor in culture; it varies with each generation and serves as clue to its thinking as well as actually coloring and molding this thinking.” In other words, if I am going to learn how to reach Japanese people, I need to understand how Japanese people think. The process of how they think is intimately intwined with the language they use. Unfortunately for us, it goes far beyond simply using “Google Translate” to come up with the right vocabulary. Language embeds the foundational concepts of culture into everyday interaction. So, deeper we go into this wonderful world of language exploration! Much of this information comes from Charles Corwin’s Biblical Encounter with Japanese Culture (Tokyo, 1967).

Here in the U.S., many characteristics and practices of the Christian faith are so well-known that they become part of our culture and you can simply refer to them by name. Most people have a pretty decent grasp of what you are referring to – even if they aren’t Christians. It is part of what makes the fabric of our culture, and so you hear it frequently in our daily lives coming from a great variety of places. The concept of prayer is no different. For most Americans, the idea of prayer naturally just comes with the related (but distinct) idea that there is someone you are praying to. In Japan, however, things are a bit more obscure.

As a land dominated by the dual influences of Buddhism and Shintoism, Japan has a very different experience with prayer. In the first place, Buddhism (in its purest form) has no God which might hear prayers. Buddhists rely on sacred texts which serve to help them refine their own thinking, but the version of prayer that Buddhist adherents perform are not petitions as we know them. Instead, they are simply expressions of their conviction to attaining buddhahood. In other words, rather than sending prayers out to some deity, they are turning their prayers back inward to influence their own thinking.

Shinto, on the other hand, believes that a whole pantheon of kami exists in the world, particularly in nature. They might be guardian spirits, deceased ancestors, or other undefined spiritual forces which exert influence over daily life. Consequently, practitioners perform specific actions such as clapping and ringing bells, particularly at public facilities where these kami are enshrined. They hope that the actions will serve to announce their presence to the kami and attract its attention so that their petition for some kind of material blessing might be heard.

Christian prayer, on the other hand, has a relational dimension that gives it a completely different foundation. As we seek to deepen our personal relationship with a loving and responsive Father God, our prayers take on a much fuller role. Jesus’s teaching on prayer and especially his example of a life rooted in prayer is very illustrative. One scholar put it this way: “The prayer of Jesus is so much an attitude that the individual acts are secondary; yet the Christ who is in such constant touch with God can also turn to the Father in petition and intercession and intercede for His own.” Prayer, for a Christian, includes a certainty of being heard. There is no need for getting God’s attention, because prayer is rooted in an existing relationship with God.

The difference in concept between Japanese culture and Christian thought can be large. In Japan, man initiates and calls forth a spiritual power to assist him with a specific need or goal. For the Christian, prayer is instead a response to the loving providence already provided by God and any petitions which might be made are done so in confidence that God will ultimately provide the very best for His people. Prayer is a natural extension of an already established personal relationship initiated by God.

~ Clay

Note: As I continue to learn the Japanese language and culture, these Spotlight posts seek to highlight things I find curious, interesting, and meaningful. The relationship between language and culture runs deep. In fact, there are many points where it gets hard to tell one from the other. “Language is not merely an indifferent mechanism for cataloguing men’s experience but the language itself affects the cataloguing process…. The language system of each culture is a fluid factor in culture; it varies with each generation and serves as clue to its thinking as well as actually coloring and molding this thinking.” In other words, if I am going to learn how to reach Japanese people, I need to understand how Japanese people think. The process of how they think is intimately intwined with the language they use. Unfortunately for us, it goes far beyond simply using “Google Translate” to come up with the right vocabulary. Language embeds the foundational concepts of culture into everyday interaction. So, deeper we go into this wonderful world of language exploration! Much of this information comes from Charles Corwin’s Biblical Encounter with Japanese Culture (Tokyo, 1967).

For English speakers, the word ‘hope’ has a great variety of levels. Some use it when they really mean ‘wish’ and others use it when they actually should say ‘want.’ Hope can refer to something trivial and fleeting, such as “I hope I’m able to get a nap later today.'” We also use it when we desire to express a deep longing, even on behalf of someone else: “We hope that you find fulfillment and renewal as you begin retirement.” Frequently, we view ‘hope’ in terms of our own perspective. It is hope for some thing to appear (or disappear) or some circumstance to change in our favor.

Yet there is a more foundational way that we use the word ‘hope’ – one that sounds more like it is a noun. The well-known hymn comes to mind: “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.” Not to suggest that hope is a thing which may be possessed, but more like a state of being in which we can live. Often when I pray, I express to God my deepest gratitude that as adopted sons and daughters we enjoy the privilege of living our lives from a basis of hope rather than fear. It is a foundational component of how we orient our lives day in and day out.

The Japanese word kibo (hope) is comprised of two characters. One character often can mean ‘rare’ and the other usually means ‘want’ or ‘request.’ Together, Kibo is often understood as a longing for something which is beyond one’s capability of obtaining or longing for something that is nearly hopeless.

In the Old Testament, there is no neutral concept of expectation. An expectation is either good or bad, namely hope or fear. Trust in things or situations is perilous – riches, righteousness, friends, religious inheritance – they all are inadequate grounds for confident Hope. Hope is instead found only in God Himself. The believer is called on to not fix his hope on things which are controllable, but on God who is uncontrollable. This is why Israel could have hope even when in exile in Babylon. Her hope was grounded in belonging to Jehovah.

This root concept is carried forward into the New Testament. Hope as used by the NT writers is not the vague, utopia-type thinking common among first century Greek philosophers. It is rooted in the understanding of the unchangeable God and His covenant with His people. It is a sense of expectation but with a strong nuance of counting upon. True Christian hope is grounded on the historical facts of Christ’s resurrection. The Resurrection of Christ is God’s mightiest act and it has created our faith. Paul says the non-Christian has no hope, not in the sense that he has no concept of a future beyond this life, but rather such hope has no well-founded basis for trust.

The concept of hope in Japanese thinking is at best something similar to the original Greek concept – it is easily and so often deceived or disappointed. With a hope like that, man is advised to pin his hopes on that which can be detected or proven by visible means. Hope in this sense does not go far beyond the human horizon. Biblical hope pierces beyond present situations, either of blessing or misfortune, to the person of God and Christ’s saving acts. The one who has fixed his hope upon Christ and His salvation as revealed in Scripture is given a hope which produces trust, expectation, and patience toward the future.

This hope is not an emotion stirred up within man by his own wishful thinking or even his erratic strivings of faith. Rather it is a divine gift, implanted in his heart by the God of hope, that is, the God who bestows hope to those united to Him (Romans 15:13).

I pray it so for each of you as well.

~ Clay

Note: As I continue to learn the Japanese language and culture, these Spotlight posts seek to highlight things I find curious, interesting, and meaningful. The relationship between language and culture runs deep. In fact, there are many points where it gets hard to tell one from the other. “Language is not merely an indifferent mechanism for cataloguing men’s experience but the language itself affects the cataloguing process…. The language system of each culture is a fluid factor in culture; it varies with each generation and serves as clue to its thinking as well as actually coloring and molding this thinking.” In other words, if I am going to learn how to reach Japanese people, I need to understand how Japanese people think. The process of how they think is intimately intwined with the language they use. Unfortunately for us, it goes far beyond simply using “Google Translate” to come up with the right vocabulary. Language embeds the foundational concepts of culture into everyday interaction. So, deeper we go into this wonderful world of language exploration! Much of this information comes from Charles Corwin’s Biblical Encounter with Japanese Culture (Tokyo, 1967).

Truth is a vitally important concept in Biblical thought, so it would stand to reason that Shinjitsu is a Japanese word that I need to become familiar with. Japanese concepts of truth stemming from earliest meanings of “straight” and “full” to the present usage as “genuine” and “inner part” lays stress upon the dualistic contrast with that which is false, crooked, exterior. The word finds its standard in man; he is either “true” or “false.” Man has inherently within him the capacity for truth; he can be “shinjitsu” if he speaks sincerely and in accordance with the facts as he knows them. Buddhist philosophical notions concerning different grades of truth underpin this term, yet very few Japanese have this concept when using the word. Originally it did have a point of reference, the way of Buddha, but now it does not. Hence there are ambiguous notions about absolute standards or tests for truth. Pressed farther “shinjitsu” means to the average man, “What I think and feel is right.” Truth then is not sifted through the Western screen of (a) logical consistency, and (b) fitting with facts, but is sifted through Japanese sentiment and notions built in through tradition and custom. The test for truth, for the Japanese, lies within the emotional framework of the reader.

Biblical truth finds its locus in the character of God. God’s nature is all comprehensive of fact and goodness, and so is, all in all, the source, support, and objective of all concrete being. The will of God thus reveals, persuades to, and achieves the ideals and ends of complete existence. The term truth, therefore, is sometimes nearly equivalent to the revealed will of God. Hence truth, as expressive of His will, qualifies His relations and activities. It is the guarantee of His constancy, the ground for confidence in His promises. Men thus find the source and test for truth in God and His revelation, whether it be the inscripturated or the incarnate Word. Man himself has a proclivity to falsehood, hypocrisy, lying, and vanity. The Bible constantly warns men against men and suggests setting up criteria for truth, e.g., by their actions, by the actual fulfillment of their words, or by orthodox confession of Christ. Men can only become “of the truth” by the supernatural work of the Spirit of Truth.

Japanese “truth” finds its nexus in man; Biblical truth finds its nexus in the character of God. A very important distinction!

~ Clay