The Dark Side of Japan

Japanese Selfless Interdependence and the Concept of Meiwaku

Japanese people are traditionally interdependent. This concept of interdependence probably comes from a concept of selfless from Buddhism. 

無我 called 'muga' which literally means "myself doesn't exist". 

Although 無我 for me doesn't reflect the idea of selfless and I'd prefer to use 非我 'higa' meaning "not myself" by using this, it can express subtle nuance that not myself but there's something else. Interdependence is the key, because it's partially you but not entirely you and by balancing it out, the border to you and not yourself becomes ambiguous and this is the common Japanese identity: interdependent. 

This could be observed from Japanese everyday life. 

For instance, the word 迷惑 'meiwaku' which is translated as annoyance, or trouble but this doesn't reflect accurate meaning. Meiwaku means trouble you would cause to others including yourself. To give more specific example, when you are on a train and you got a phone call. I would answer immediately and just continue to talk because I know I don't care. I also don't care when someone else makes a phone call on a train. But in Japan, when someone gets a phone call, they won't answer or they answer and immediately puts the phone down because that's so called Meiwaku to other people. In a sense it is a trouble, but it's not directed to you, but to others who are around you. 

This is hard to understand but this consideration of others as they are part of you is a part of 非我 concept, as in not myself.