Japan Through the Eyes of Ezekiel Brito
What does the land of the rising sun look like from the perspective of a 14-year old?
Note: It was such a delight to have my son with me on this trip. I thought it would be great to get his perspective on things.
Guest Substack from Ezekiel Brito
Many people have written large volumes on Japanese culture. The authors who have written these books have the resources of analytics, eloquence, and thorough research. I do not have a large store of any of these attributes. Nevertheless, the ability to perceive and then to discern is a gift that I share with many. I won't delve into how the psychology of disasters has shaped the Japan we know today, but in this brief essay, I will reflect on how perception and discernment have influenced my time in Japan. So let's begin.
As many of you who read my dad’s Substack know, I was presented with the privilege of a lifetime and traveled to Japan with my parents. We stayed for a total of ten days, but there was so much to do, and it seemed like there was so little time to do it. But we got around and packed each day full, ticking off many of our bucket list items in the process. My favorite sceneries were the Himeji Castle and Tokyo Tower. I truly felt incredibly blessed by the simple fact that I was in Japan. Some people don’t travel outside of their country during their lifetime, yet here I was, 6,500 miles from home and only 14 years old. It was an incredible reality.
The Japanese People
But it wasn't just the sites that made my travels delightful, but the people themselves. The Japanese people are decidedly wonderful. They have a very different culture that lends itself to an overall clean and welcoming society, with respectful people and easy friendships. The church where my Dad lectured and preached in Japan, Mitaka Evangelical Church, was home to some of the most wonderful and friendly people in the world, thankfully mostly bilingual. They introduced themselves to me and were the best friends I’ve made in such a short time. They were actually all college students, but because of my height, I was often mistaken for being 19, so I think I fit right in. They were not the only incredible people, but they were the few whom I got to know well, and I owe them a great deal of gratitude for the way they accepted me.
I hope it is clear that the people I met were wonderful, but the strangers that we saw, our waiters, the hotel staff, and the bullet train attendants were also gracious. They were kind, and they smiled. Before leaving the room, they would bow. Their service was on point, and as much as their English permitted, they never tired of helping us. A perfect demonstration of this was our airport experience. The difference was quite stark. At the Tokyo airport, the staff were helpful and professional at every stage, but at the Dallas airport, we observed employees cutting off people mid-sentence and insulting others' intelligence. In short, we learned that Japanese culture, apart from their largely pagan identity, is in most ways far more reliable and relational in their day-to-day endeavors. Let me provide a few points.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Respect is key to Japanese culture. As I mentioned earlier, employees at most places would bow before they left your room/train car. I have not witnessed this respect for others in our country. America has a lot to be proud of, let me stress that point, but America has become so saturated with pride that even the idea of respecting the people you serve is far from natural. Americans could learn a great deal from the humility demonstrated by the Japanese people. Once, I walked up to a temple with a can of my favorite Japanese sparkling juice, and a security officer approached me to make sure that it was not alcohol. This was not uncommon, as people often mistook my age; even at an eel restaurant we visited, I was served a beer. But the point was that he approached me in the most kind, humble way, even apologizing when he realized his mistake.
Additionally, at a restaurant we visited, one of our chopsticks broke. When we asked a waiter for a replacement, their first question was, “Did anyone get hurt?” In summary, the humility, care, compassion, and kindness of the Japanese people are noble qualities that are often lacking in America, where personal pride usually prevents us from apologizing for our mistakes.
The Virtue of Japanese Culture
And the final point I would like to address is a bit different, but in my opinion, interesting. Albeit it might be a little weird coming from a 14-year-old boy. However, it is a point worth making, primarily because I interacted with the local CREC pastor in Tokyo and heard his thoughts on the Japanese youth. It concerns the hyper-sexualized culture in America in contrast with what I witnessed. This could not be more apparent in the awful things even 8th graders in public schools will do and say about their female peers. But in Japan, this is not the reality. Boys and girls of all ages often hang out, and it is not weird or in any way sexualized. A girl can be just as good a friend as a boy, in Japan, that is. It isn't as if this isn’t true in America. Still, in the sexualized culture that we live in, a male and female hanging out at a high school age can lead to misunderstandings, and in a non-Christian environment, to sexualized habits and practices. This is most definitely a condemnation of specific aspects of American culture, which is sad considering that, in some ways, Japan acts more Christian, even though only 1% of their population is in reality Christian.
On the final night of our time in Japan, my parents went to dinner with some friends from Japan. While they were away, I went to a family’s house that had three girls and one boy of the age of 9. While I did hang out with their boy and play a lot of soccer with him, I also had a very cultural experience hanging out with some of the girls. I went in with a lot of hesitation, but they could not have been nicer. We discussed music, played dodgeball and Super Smash Bros, and it wasn’t awkward. This was a surprise of the best kind.
In short, America has a long way to go until our culture can match that of Japan's. I am a firm believer in America; I genuinely love the country I live in. However, going to Japan and utilizing the powers of perception and discernment I mentioned have opened my eyes to areas where American culture can improve.
Therefore, I encourage you to keep your eyes open and discern well, and to learn from what is good. My time in Japan opened my eyes. I have learned that humility is noble, respect is honorable, and friendship is wonderful.
Visit Japan if you can. Maybe you will see what I am talking about. Perhaps you will come to the same conclusions that I have. Maybe you will end up loving Japan as much as I do now. Japan is one of those places that makes the world so delightful, and indeed it has truly delighted me.
Thank you for taking me on a mind tour of Japan. I have never been there, but you & your dad have planted the seeds of desire in me to one day do so.
Your comments on Japanese culture are excellent, particularly with regard to your comparisons between our two countries on the issue of respect with strangers. That’s a big deal with me. It’s my experience that how you treat others will either boomerang back into the hand that tossed it or into the face in a most painful manner. Knowing your personality, I am certain you left a sweet taste in the mouths of those with whom you came in contact.
Enjoyed reading your observations of the Japanese culture. How wonderful you had this experience and can share what you learned from it with others!