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Difference between revisions of "Aidagara (Japan)"
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In contract situations, ''en'' is also used when a person does not want to maintain associations with another person. A business person who wants to sever his or her links with a potential business partner politely would say, ‘''Go-en ga nakatta to iukotode.''’ (We should not enter the business, because we do not share ''en''). He or she implies that ending their association is not because of his or her intention, but because of the lack of ''en''. | In contract situations, ''en'' is also used when a person does not want to maintain associations with another person. A business person who wants to sever his or her links with a potential business partner politely would say, ‘''Go-en ga nakatta to iukotode.''’ (We should not enter the business, because we do not share ''en''). He or she implies that ending their association is not because of his or her intention, but because of the lack of ''en''. | ||
Thus ''aidagara'' is believed to be the embodiment of ''en'', which the Japanese believe (or pretend to believe) that they cannot control. These characteristics are different from those of similar concepts such as [[guanxi]] and social capital. [[Guanxi]] is a Chinese word expressing social relationship. It was thought to exist only in China during and after the Cultural Revolution, but Lin (2001<ref></ref>) argues that it exists in other countries and at other time periods, implying that it is a general concept. He defines [[guanxi]] as follows (Lin 2001: 159<ref>Lin, N. 2001.‘Guanxi: A Conceptual Analysis’, in A. Y. So, N. Lin and D. Poston (eds.), The Chinese Triangle of Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong: Comparative Institutional Analysis. Westport: Greenwood Press: 153-66.</ref>): ‘[[guanxi]] are enduring, sentimentally based instrumental relations that invoke private transactions of favors and public recognition of asymmetric exchanges’. What is important in this definition is that [[guanxi]] is instrumental. For example, if person A wants to conduct business in a city in China, he or she needs to find a person (person B) who has large social networks of locals in the city and needs to establish a relationship with him or her. If person A succeeds in establishing a relationship with person B, he or she may then utilise person B’s networks to conduct business. Person A, in this case, intends to establish a relationship with person B in the expectation of using the relationship as an instrument. | Thus ''aidagara'' is believed to be the embodiment of ''en'', which the Japanese believe (or pretend to believe) that they cannot control. These characteristics are different from those of similar concepts such as [[guanxi]] and social capital. [[Guanxi]] is a Chinese word expressing social relationship. It was thought to exist only in China during and after the Cultural Revolution, but Lin (2001<ref>Lin, N. 2001.‘Guanxi: A Conceptual Analysis’, in A. Y. So, N. Lin and D. Poston (eds.), The Chinese Triangle of Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong: Comparative Institutional Analysis. Westport: Greenwood Press: 153-66.</ref>) argues that it exists in other countries and at other time periods, implying that it is a general concept. He defines [[guanxi]] as follows (Lin 2001: 159<ref>Lin, N. 2001.‘Guanxi: A Conceptual Analysis’, in A. Y. So, N. Lin and D. Poston (eds.), The Chinese Triangle of Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong: Comparative Institutional Analysis. Westport: Greenwood Press: 153-66.</ref>): ‘[[guanxi]] are enduring, sentimentally based instrumental relations that invoke private transactions of favors and public recognition of asymmetric exchanges’. What is important in this definition is that [[guanxi]] is instrumental. For example, if person A wants to conduct business in a city in China, he or she needs to find a person (person B) who has large social networks of locals in the city and needs to establish a relationship with him or her. If person A succeeds in establishing a relationship with person B, he or she may then utilise person B’s networks to conduct business. Person A, in this case, intends to establish a relationship with person B in the expectation of using the relationship as an instrument. | ||
This makes [[guanxi]] different from ''aidagara''. The Japanese do not believe that they can intentionally establish ''aidagara'' between themselves and another, acknowledging that it is not their personal intention but ''en'' that creates ''aidagara''. As mentioned above, they refer to en intentionally only when they want to end their ''aidagara''. | This makes [[guanxi]] different from ''aidagara''. The Japanese do not believe that they can intentionally establish ''aidagara'' between themselves and another, acknowledging that it is not their personal intention but ''en'' that creates ''aidagara''. As mentioned above, they refer to en intentionally only when they want to end their ''aidagara''. | ||