Japanese is comparable to a complex secret code, designed to protect the elaborate workings of Japanese society from rude outsiders and their clodhopping foreign ways. Only when you've cracked the code — that is, you can speak Japanese — can you begin to understand the country's unique culture and access its secrets. Although this is true to some extent of any language, Japanese linguistic expression and psychology are interwoven to such an astonishing degree that if you pick almost any word, you have the germ of a cultural seminar.
Central to traditional, hierarchical Japanese society is the concept of wa, meaning "harmony." Harmonious relations are de rigueur in all aspects of life, including government and business. The delicacy of the Japanese language, with its characteristically vague and soft expressions, helps to keep the boat from rocking and ensure no one is offended. A Westerner who tries to jolly proceedings along with some crass idea of telling it like it is, is likely to bring on retreat accompanied by a shudder of distaste. If in doubt, apologize in advance for the offence you're almost bound to cause.
One of the most remarkable and remarked on aspects of Japanese life and language is its emphasis on aesthetics. This cultural obsession with beauty has given rise to a richly expressive vocabulary that puts English to shame - our untranslatables merely skim the surface. Consider myo, yugen, and shibui. Myo refers to the mysterious spirit that imbues the truly beautiful. Yugen expresses the mystery and subtlety that lie beneath the surface of things. Shibui embraces both myo and yugen and is a more generic term, epitomizing classic Japanese simplicity. Whether being steeped in expressive vocabulary makes the Japanese more artistic in general is a moot point. They certainly have bags of style.
yokomeshi [yo-ko-meh-shee] (noun)
As an untranslatable, this one ranks high on my list of favorites. I could not improve on the background given by commentator Boyé Lafayette de Mente about this beautiful word, yokomeshi. Taken literally, meshi means "boiled rice" and yoko means "horizontal," so combined you get "a meal eaten sideways" This is how the Japanese define the peculiar stress induced by speaking a foreign language: yoko is a humorous reference to the fact that Japanese is normally written vertically, whereas most foreign languages are written horizontally. How do English-speakers describe the headache of communicating in an alien tongue? I don't think we can, at least not with as much ease.
aware [a-wa-reh] (noun)
An awareness and appreciation of the ephemeral beauty of the world. The seasons change, the cherry blossom gently falls, the crops are planted, grow, and die. Aware is that poignant sensation one has of time passing, of the inevitable cycle of life and death. From the noun comes the idiom mono-no-aware. Roughly translated as "enjoying the sadness of life," it's that bittersweet, vaguely poetic feeling you get around dusk, on a long train journey, looking out at the driving rain . . . a few autumn leaves still clinging to your coat.
hai [hye] (adverb)
The smallest words can cause the greatest misunderstandings. Hai is a constant source of problems in East-West relations. The closest we have to it is an encouraging "ummm" combined with a sympathetic nod of the head. It means, "Yes, I am listening to you and I understand what you are saying." What it certainly doesn't mean is, "Yes, I agree with you." There lies the rub.
nemawashi [nem-ah-wash-ee] (noun)
Literally meaning "revolving the roots," nemawashi describes the long process that permeates the ranks of a Japanese company as it contemplates a new proposal or action. Since the Japanese characteristically function as a group, nemawashi is likely to involve almost everyone in the company. As an outsider with a vested interest, patience is your best asset. Aggressive persuasion tactics and a snap decision are out of the question.
tatemae [ta-teh-ma-eh] (noun)
A term often translated as "form," but it also has the specific cultural meaning of "the reality that everyone professes to be true, even though they may not privately believe it." For privately held views, the Japanese have a different term, honne, meaning, "the reality that you hold inwardly to be true, even though you would never admit it publicly." The British civil servant muttering the reproach "bad form, old boy" over a drink in the club, may be expressing something very close to the quality of tatamae.
sempai [sem-pye] (noun)
Simply translated as "senior," it is the highest honor to be sempai in the vertically arranged world of Japanese society. The position is enduring — your sempai at school or college remains worthy of respect and deference for life. More than a mere "mentor," a sempai is never free of the special obligation to watch out for and advise his or her juniors, whether at work or in their personal lives.
shibui [shib-oo-ee] (noun)
Shibui describes an aesthetic that only time can reveal. As we become older and more marked by the riches of life's experience, we radiate with a beauty that stems from becoming fully ourselves. The term can be applied to almost anything - a landscape, a house, or even a piece of aged wood can be deemed fine art.
hanko [han-ko] (noun)
The Japanese system of writing, originally borrowed from the Chinese, uses several thousand complicated ideograms that are extremely difficult to master both in reading and writing. A hanko is a stamp carved with your name as an ideogram, which is used as a personal seal. This seal traditionally appears in place of your signature and it is still widely used today for all official documents. Paintings and other art are also "stamped" with an artist's hanko.
wabi-sabi [wab-ee-sab-ee] (noun)
Meaning something like "tranquil," wabi is one of the most important words in the extensive aesthetic vocabulary of Japanese. Unless something has wabi, it simply isn't Japanese. The first people involved with wabi-sabi, that is, the aesthetic system that places wabi at its center, were Zen Buddhists — tea masters, priests, and monks, who emphasized a direct, intuitive insight into transcendental truth. Therefore wabi-sabi is the beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, incomplete, modest, and humble.
kokusaijin [kok-sye-djin] (noun)
Another noun that represents Japan's untranslatable world-view is kokusaijin literally meaning "an international person" but referring exclusively to Japanese citizens who are able to get along with foreigners. "Cosmopolitan" is the closest English equivalent, but this word connotes someone who speaks foreign languages and knows a lot about foreign countries and cultures. A Japanese kokusaijin may be an ordinary person with a flexible and open personality.