Gaman (term)

Gaman (我慢) is a Japanese term of Zen Buddhist origin which means "enduring the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity".[1][2] The term is generally translated as "perseverance", "patience", or tolerance.[3] A related term, gamanzuyoi (我慢強い, gaman-tsuyoi), a compound with tsuyoi (strong), means "suffering the unbearable" or having a high capacity for a kind of stoic endurance.[4]

This article is about the term. For the film, see Gaman. For the Japanese television show, see Za Gaman.

Translations of Gaman
English	Perseverance
Japanese	我慢
Glossary of Buddhism

Gaman is variously described as a "virtue",[5] an "ethos",[6] a "trait",[7] etc. It means to do one's best in distressed times and to maintain self-control and discipline.[8][9][7][10]

Gaman is a teaching of Zen Buddhism.[11]

Analysis

Gaman has been attributed to the Japanese-Americans and others held in United States' internment camps during World War II[12][13] and to those affected by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in northern Japan.[14] In the internment camps, gaman was misperceived by the non-Japanese as introverted behavior or as a lack of assertiveness or initiative rather than as a demonstration of strength in the face of difficulty or suffering.[15] Gaman and the related term yase-gaman are, in Japanese society, closely related to complying with conformity,[16][17] and silent heroism, which seems to be hidden pride for compensation for sacrifice[18][19] and be satisfied to pay reciprocal service in advance,[20] or to be seen themselves as victims by folks.[21][22] Gaman toward authority, 'unquestioning obedience'[23] or 'blind obedience'[24] is supposed to be unfit to a healthy democracy.[25]

After the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the resilience, civility, lack of looting and ability of the Japanese to help each other was widely attributed to the gaman spirit.[10] The 50–70 workers who remained at the damaged and radiation-emitting Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant despite the severe danger demonstrated what was regarded as gaman as well.[26]

Gaman is also used in psychoanalytic studies[27] and to describe the attitudes of the Japanese. It is often taught to youth and largely used by older Japanese generations. Showing gaman is seen as a sign of maturity and strength. Keeping your private affairs, problems and complaints silent demonstrates strength and politeness as others have seemingly larger problems as well. If a person with gaman were to receive help from someone else, they would be compliant; not asking for any additional help and voicing no concerns.[9][8]

See also

• Ganbaru
• Jewel Voice Broadcast
• Sisu
• Stiff upper lip

Notes

1. "The Art of Gaman". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
2. "Arts and Crafts from the Japanese American Internment Camps, 1942-1946". apanews.si.edu. Archived from the original on 3 March 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
3. "WWWJDIC". users.monash.edu. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
4. DeMente 2004, pp. 74–75.
5. Lang, Kieron (19 March 2011). "Japanese resilience shines in light of tragedy". CTV Ottawa. Retrieved 8 July 2020. ... "it can't be helped", as well as the virtue "gaman" which defies easy translation, ...
6. Swann, Christopher (20 January 2013). "Atomic nightmares". Business Standard (India). Retrieved 8 July 2020. Experience with crises has shaped the Japanese ethos of "gaman" — "enduring the unendurable". Even after the March 11 disaster ...
7. Jones, Clayton (15 March 2011). "A nuclear meltdown in Japan? Not if these brave workers can help it". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 8 July 2020. One noble trait that the Japanese admire is gaman. It is their word for the ability to persevere, endure, and overcome, with patience ... Japan may remember them for their gaman despite personal exposure to dangerous levels of radiation
8. Kolb 2007, p. 146.
9. Burns 2005, p. 51.
10. Lloyd, Mike (16 March 2011). "Japanese remain calm while dealing with quake aftermath". www.news1130.com. Archived from the original on 24 March 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
11. West 2009, p. 4.
12. "The Art of Gaman: Enduring the Seemingly Unbearable with Patience and Dignity". Japanese National American Museum. March 2010. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
13. "Art by Japanese-American Detainees During World War Two Shows Their Struggle and Humanity". VOA News. 18 May 2010. Archived from the original on 18 September 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
14. Köhler, Nicholas; Macdonald, Nancy; Kirby, Jason (25 March 2011). "Why the world is wrong to count Japan out". www2.macleans.ca. Archived from the original on 24 February 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
15. Niiya 1993, p. 143.
16. Dower 1986, p. 230.
17. MacFarlane 2007, p. 228. sfn error: no target: CITEREFMacFarlane2007 (help)
18. Hearn 1904, pp. 245–241.
19. Hearn 1986, pp. 132–133. sfn error: no target: CITEREFHearn1986 (help)
20. Benedict 1946, pp. 116,230–232.
21. Takeo 1971, pp. 129–130.
22. Dower 1999, pp. 284,518.
23. Hearn 1904, pp. 204,243.
24. van Wolveren 1989, p. 250. sfn error: no target: CITEREFvan_Wolveren1989 (help)
25. Dower 1999, p. 218.
26. Mateo, Ibarra C. (27 March 2011). "Japanese show power of patience, stoic discipline amid triple crises". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2020. Fueled by gaman ..., the workers did not abandon their posts even if it seemed suicidal to go on. They showed another Japanese trait: putting first their country, community and group over their individual concerns.
27. Johnson 1995, p. 181.

Bibliography

• Benedict, Ruth (1946). The Chrysanthemum and the Sword. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
• Burns, Catherine (2005). Sexual Violence and the Law in Japan. Taylor & Francis. doi:10.4324/9780203429433. ISBN 9780203429433.
• DeMente, Boye (2004). Japan's Cultural Code Words: 233 Key Terms that Explain the Attitudes and Behavior of the Japanese. Tuttle Publishing.
• Dower, John W. (1986). War without Mercy: Race & Power in the Pacific War. Pantheon.
• Dower, John W. (1999). Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II. W. W. Norton & Company.
• Hearn, Lafcadio (1904). Japan: An Attempt at Interpretation. Dodo Press.
• Hirasuna, Delphine; Hinrichs, Kit (2005). The Art of Gaman: Arts and Crafts from the Japanese American Internment Camps, 1942-1946. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press. ISBN 9781580086899. OCLC 494064406.
• Johnson, Frank A. (1995). Dependency and Japanese Socialization: Psychoanalytic and Anthropological Investigations Into Amae. New York University Press. ISBN 0814741924.
• Kolb, Patricia (2007). Social Work Practice with Ethnically and Racially Diverse Nursing Home Residents and Their Families. Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231125321.
• Macfarlane, Alan (2007). Japan through the Looking Glass. Profile Books.
• Niiya, Brian (1993). Japanese American History: An A-to-Z Reference from 1868 to the Present. Facts on File. ISBN 9780816026807. OCLC 26853950.
• Takeo, Doi (1971). The anatomy of dependence. Kodansha International.
• van Wolferen, Karel (1989). The Enigma of Japanese Power: People and Politics in a Stateless Nation. A.A. Knopf.
• West, Mark I. (2009). The Japanification of Children's Popular Culture: from Godzilla to Miyazaki. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810851214. OCLC 232786129.

Further reading

• Kennicott, Philip (28 March 2010). "The Art of Gaman: Life behind walls we were too scared to live without". The Washington Post.

External links

• The Art of Gaman: Arts and Crafts from the Japanese American Internment Camps, 1942-1946 at Smithsonian Institution
• The Art of Gaman at the University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts
• 尊厳の藝術展 (The Art of Gaman) at NHK.or.jp (in Japanese; archived)
• Gaman at American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) (archived)