Two words describe the bond between the Kamakura shogun and his vassals. Go’on, favor, is what the shogun gave his vassals, the gokenin: appointment to posts, new land, and confirmation of the land they already held. Hōkō, service, is what the vassals gave back: fighting in war, guard duty in peace, and payments.
A vassal who neglected his service could lose the land he had received.
In 1929, during the depression, Matsushita Kōnosuke refused to cut the workforce of Matsushita Electric. Dakara, hitori mo kaiko shitara akan. So not a single person is to be dismissed.
Production was cut in half, and the factories worked half days. Shikashi jūgyōin no kyūryō wa zengaku o shikyū. But the employees were paid their full wages. In return, the employees were asked to put all their effort into selling the stock.
Oyabun kobun (親分子分): parent role and child role. The encyclopedia Mypedia defines it as a relationship of domination and subordination that a protector forms with a dependent within a social group, especially one that involves the whole person and resembles that of parent and child.
Another encyclopedia notes that the phrase now calls to mind the yakuza or political factions. In sociology and folklore studies, however, it is a key term for understanding the structure of Japanese society.
Amae (甘え): the Daijisen dictionary defines it as the feeling of counting on the goodwill of others. In 1971, the psychiatrist Doi Takeo published “Amae” no kōzō, The Structure of Amae. The book sold more than two million copies.
Doi defined the psychology of amae as an attempt to deny the fact of separation that belongs to human existence, and to overcome the pain of that separation.
The oil company Idemitsu Kōsan was built on the principles of its founder, Idemitsu Sazō. A Japanese encyclopedia names among them daikazoku shugi, the principle of the great family, based on respect for people.
The business press summarizes it in three absences: shukkinbo nashi, teinen nashi, rōdō kumiai nashi. No attendance records, no retirement age, no labor union. The magazine President titled an article on the company: Idemitsu does not dismiss a single employee.
In Japanese university clubs, seniors often pay for juniors. A former club member told Money Post: Ichinensei ni wa ichinenkan, senpai ga zengaku ogoru no ga dentō deshita. It was our tradition that the seniors paid the whole bill for first-year students for a full year.
The duty is felt. In a survey of 406 people by the company LeoSophia about paying for juniors, 231 said it was a slight burden and 56 a heavy burden. 119 said it was no burden.
Nakanishi Keiji, who works to revive the nakōdo, the go-between, told J-CAST News how marriages used to begin. Kinjo no hito ya kaisha no jōshi, shinseki to itta daisansha ga wakai futari o hikiawasete senaka o oshite ita. Neighbors, a boss at the company, relatives and other third parties brought the young couple together and gave them a push.
In the Zexy wedding trend survey of 2009, only 1.1 percent of couples had a nakōdo.
Yatte mise, itte kikasete, sasete mite, homete yaraneba, hito wa ugokaji. Show them how, tell them, let them try, and praise them. Otherwise people will not move.
A publication of the city of Hamura attributes the saying to Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku, commander of the Combined Fleet. The magazine Bungeishunjū calls it a well-known maxim for leaders, used in management training. Neither names an original document, and their wording differs slightly.
Ongaeshi (恩返し): returning a favor received, as in sewa ni natta hito ni ongaeshi suru, to repay someone who has looked after one.
Giri (義理): what one must do for others, or return to them, because of one’s position or as a moral duty in social life. An encyclopedia notes that always returning gifts given at weddings, funerals and other ceremonies is also called girigatai, being true to one’s obligations.
On o ada de kaesu (恩を仇で返す): to repay a favor with harm.
In 1701, Asano Naganori, lord of Akō, drew his sword on the court official Kira Yoshinaka inside Edo Castle. Asano was made to commit seppuku the same day.
Early on December 15, 1702, forty-seven of his former retainers attacked Kira’s mansion in Edo. They then went to report to their lord’s grave at Sengakuji. On February 4, 1703, they committed seppuku on the shogunate’s orders. The story lives on as Chūshingura, which differs in many ways from the historical events.