Re: Why forced singing of national anthem does not work
- From: "chance" <livewire@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2006 21:41:32 +0900
"Prophet of the Way" <afu@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:45202eab$0$1353$834e42db@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A group of teachers have won a lawsuit against the local government
concerning forced rituals during public ceremonies. This is a district
court ruling. The defendant side has decided to appeal.
This problem is discussed as a human right issue: to what extent the
government can use force upon citizen. I wish to examine the language
side here.
---
Article from the Japan Times:
Tokyo teachers win anthem fight
'Kimigayo' directive violates freedom of thought, court rules
September 22, 2006
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20060922a1.html
The Tokyo District Court on Thursday ordered the Tokyo Metropolitan
Government to pay 12.03 million yen, or 30,000 yen each, in
compensation to 401 teachers who objected to a city directive obliging
them to stand and sing the national anthem at school ceremonies.
(Registration necessary to retrieve full article from the Japan Times
archive.)
Mainichi Shimbun:
Court rules teachers in Tokyo don't have to stand up for national flag
September 21
http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20060921p2a00m0na018000c.html
Asahi Shimbun editorial column:
Patriotism is never strengthened by coercion
September 23
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200609230114.html
---
Discussions on patriotism revolve around two issues. One is tribute to
the national banner and anthem. The other is how citizens collectively
should remember the past war. Little attention is given to voluntary
acts done out of affection toward the country, such as offering
directions to the foreigner, editing a web page about local heritage, or
just collecting litter off the sidewalk.
Few people in Japan, including teachers in public schools, appreciate
the literature from the period which produced the poem 'Kimi ga yo'.
Those who study traditional poetry are widely considered just another
variety of otaku (an enthusiast with a very narrow scope of interest).
Try asking your Japanese friends about the lyrics.
Judging from public manners, it is hard to believe that these mandatory
rituals contribute to the moral improvement of the young. Some teachers
nevertheless speak of accomplishment with great pride. There is serious
talk of installing decibel meters to monitor singing efforts.
We do not need to look far to find that bold pledges and slogans can be
repeated countless times, yet go widely ignored. Convenience store bags
abandoned on the curb sport messages like: "Please put litter where it
belongs. Keep our streets clean." Making the messages louder is not a
solution to their lack of effect.
The kanji "rei" 禮 covers several notions: "salute", "gratitude",
"etiquette", "politeness", "proper social conduct" and "courtesy". It
is written with the "god" radical (shimesu-hen) on the left side, and
traditionally "piled offerings" on the right. The simplified form used
in Japan today 礼 replaces the "piled offerings" with a stick figure of
a "person kneeling". Mencius 孟子 (Meng Zi, Japanese "Moushi") says
that the spirit of yielding and conceding 辞譲 is the beginning of
"rei". In that sense an instructor that relies solely on coercion is
not setting a good example.
English translation of 'The Book of Mencius', by James Legge
http://www.sacred-texts.com/cfu/menc/menc06.htm
The part about the "four principles" 四端 is the best known passage in
'Mencius' in Japan.
Original Chinese text:
http://sangle.web.wesleyan.edu/etext/pre-qin/mengzi.html
The chapter name in Chinese is 公孫丑上 . See [3.6]
Thank you for reading,
Douso, The Prophet of the Way
The phenomenon may be a typical collective hypocracy.
How long the Japanese could deceive themselves into believing
the nation exists not for the people themselves,
but solely for one man, emperor, is a matter of interest to the whole world.
The few brave people have spoken out and have won, but only,
for the time being. In this particular connection, I can't but feel
the whole Japanese are a fool.
CK
.
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