Reciprocal Obligation Archives - understand-culture

The Vocabulary of Discounts

Benkyō shimasu (勉強します): literally, we will study. The Daijisen dictionary gives a merchant’s sense of benkyō: to cut the price of goods and sell them cheaply.

Makeru (負ける): literally, to lose. The Daijisen dictionary gives the sense of lowering a price, or adding something as an omake, an extra.

Nasake wa hito no tame narazu (情けは人の為ならず): kindness is not for the other person’s sake. Kindness to others comes back to oneself in the end. The national opinion survey on the Japanese language for fiscal 2010 found that fewer than half of respondents understood the proverb in this original sense.

Toyota Takes On the Costs

In July 2022, Kumakura Kazuo, Toyota’s head of purchasing, gave an online briefing on the company’s dealings with its suppliers. Toyota would cover the usual changes in material costs that follow the market. It would also consider bearing its suppliers’ energy costs, which had not been covered before.

Paid at Bon and Year-End

In the Edo period, trade on kake, credit, meant payment twice a year, at Bon in summer and at the end of the year.

A Temporary Cut

A guideline of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry for the casting and forging industry, last revised in April 2019, describes a case under the Subcontract Act. A buyer obtains a price cut from a supplier on the promise that it is only temporary. When conditions recover and the supplier asks to discuss the price, the buyer keeps it down on its own, without enough consultation.

The guideline treats this as kaitataki, beating down the price.

The Vocabulary of Indebtedness

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.

Year-End Gifts

Oseibo is a gift sent at the end of the year. It thanks people for their help, including people who have helped in one’s work.

In summer, ochūgen is sent to relatives and to people who have helped, as a seasonal greeting of thanks. It goes back to the Chinese festival of Zhongyuan, which merged with the Japanese festival of Obon.

Steel Prices Every Six Months

Toyota negotiates with steelmakers such as Nippon Steel, buys steel in bulk, and sells it at low prices to its affiliated parts makers. The price of this supplied steel is reviewed every six months. It is linked to the cost of raw materials such as iron ore and coking coal.