Chain of Access Archives - understand-culture

The Direct Petition

On December 10, 1901, Tanaka Shōzō resigned his seat in the House of Representatives. Then he ran toward the carriage of Emperor Meiji with a petition in his hand and was arrested. For years, he had fought the pollution from the Ashio copper mine.

The petition had been written at his request by the journalist Kōtoku Shūsui. It describes the land along the river: Gyozoku zetsumetsu shi, den’en kōhai shi, sūjūman no jinmin san o ushinai. The fish are extinct, the fields are ruined, and hundreds of thousands of people have lost their livelihood.

A Letter at the Garden Party

On October 31, 2013, at the autumn garden party of the imperial palace, Yamamoto Tarō, a member of the House of Councillors, handed the Emperor a letter. His office said that the letter set out his personal feelings.

Yamamoto admitted: Rūru o shirazu ni otegami o watashita koto wa jijitsu. It is true that I handed over a letter without knowing the rules. On November 8, the House of Councillors decided on a strict warning by its President. Reports describe the second measure differently. TV Asahi called it a ban on attending imperial events, and the news site Data Max a request to refrain from them.

Skipping the Office

Osso (越訴). The Daijisen dictionary defines it as bringing a complaint in the Edo period to a higher office over the head of the office or official in charge.

The penalty is described in different ways. The Nipponica encyclopedia writes that people who appealed directly to the top were generally punished by death. A dictionary of history published by Yamakawa writes that unauthorized appeals were not punished severely.

Direct Report to the Throne

Under the Meiji Constitution, the army and navy ministers and the chiefs of the army and navy general staffs practiced iaku jōsō. They reported on military matters directly to the emperor, without going through the cabinet.

The Order of Introductions

Japanese business manners fix who is introduced to whom first. The person closer to oneself comes first: Jisha no hito to okyakusama nara, ika naru toki demo jisha no hito ga saki desu. Between one’s own colleague and a client, one’s own colleague is always introduced first.

Between people of the same closeness, position, title and age decide. The person of lower standing is introduced first.

The Vocabulary of Going Up

Jōshin (上申): speaking upward. The Daijisen dictionary defines it as stating an opinion to those above.

Ukagai o tateru (伺いを立てる): to put up an inquiry. To ask a superior for a decision, instructions or an opinion.

Jōi katatsu (上意下達): the will of those above reaches those below. The orders and intentions of superiors are passed down. Its counterpart is kai jōtatsu (下意上達), the feelings and opinions of those below reach those above.

Reporting the Boss

In June 2007, Hamada Masaharu, a sales employee of Olympus, reported to the company’s internal compliance office that his boss was trying to recruit an employee away from a business partner. He was then transferred from sales to a department where he had no experience.

He sued. In June 2012, a judgment became final at the Supreme Court. It ordered the company to pay damages and withdraw the transfer orders.

The Vocabulary of the Proper Route

Suji o tōsu (筋を通す): to run the line through. To give a matter its correct line, as in hanashi no suji o tōsu, to keep a discussion on its proper line.

Sujichigai (筋違い): off the line. Against reason, or aimed at the wrong place, as in watashi ni kujō o iu no wa sujichigai da, complaining to me is the wrong address.

Atamagoshi (頭越し): over the head. An example from a bilingual dictionary: kare wa kachō no atamagoshi ni chokusetsu shachō ni sono teian o motte itta, he took the proposal straight to the president, over the section chief’s head.

Sakura Sōgorō

Sakura Sōgorō was a village headman of the early Edo period. According to the legend, he appealed directly to the shogun against his lord’s heavy taxes, and he was executed for it.

In 1851, his story was staged at the Nakamura-za theater in Edo as the play Higashiyama Sakura Sōshi. He became the best-known gimin, a man who gave his life for the people. Little about him is historically certain, and some have argued that he never existed.

Report, Inform, Consult

Hōrensō means spinach. It is also made of the first syllables of three workplace words: hōkoku (report), renraku (inform) and sōdan (consult).

Around 1982, Yamazaki Tomiji, president of Yamatane Securities, started a “spinach campaign” in his company. His book on it, Hōrensō ga kaisha o tsuyoku suru (Spinach Makes a Company Strong), appeared in 1986. One account says the idea came from his father.