A mechanism for the sustainable inheritance of values learned from the "Do(Way)" of Japanese culture

//Summary - Level-C2//

The "way" (道) in Japanese culture emphasizes mastering skills through repetitive practice of forms without immediate explanations, fostering deep experiential understanding. This approach, found in practices like tea ceremony, Kyudo, and Judo, prioritizes character development, humility, and values like "truth, goodness, and beauty." By internalizing the essence through repeated practice, practitioners transcend technical skills to gain profound personal growth. This method, adaptable for modern management, suggests embedding values into routines and experiential learning, as seen in examples like HP and Park Corporation corporate rituals. The process ensures sustainable inheritance of values across generations through experiential engagement and personal realization.

A)
1)
SDGs and sustainability have recently attracted attention, but Japan already has many cultures and traditional industries that have continued for over 1,000 years.

In this series, "Learning SDGs from Japan," we will unravel the sustainable essence seen in examples of Japanese cultures, such as long-established Japanese companies, shrines, and temples, so that they can be applied to modern management.

2)
What is the "do(way)" of Japanese culture?
In Japanese culture, many things are called "do(way)," such as tea ceremony, flower arrangement, kendo, Kyudo, and aikido. Kyudo "do(way)" in the first place? In other words, it is the process of training to improve traditional skills and also the process of training instructors such as masters and professors.

3)
You enter one school, train under one teacher every day, and aim to obtain the qualifications of a master's or professor. However, I often hear that the purpose of training is not to improve one's skills. It seems contradictory to train to master the skills to the point of being called a professor or a master and not to improve one's skills.

4)
For example, it is said that Kyudo aims for "truth, goodness, and beauty," and Judo aims for "Making good use of one's energy, mutual prosperity for oneself and others." Other words such as "being free of thoughts," "human power," and "spiritual richness" are also often heard. In this way, the purpose of many ways is to grow through training and become a person of character.

5)
The five principles of the Ogasawara-ryu Sencha tea ceremony, which I enjoy, show how a person should be, but there is no mention of "improving one's skills." Instead, it warns against "not being arrogant about the skills you have acquired." The way is a system for comprehensive human resource development. Why are people attracted to such a way? This is because they value the experience on the road.

B)
6)
The value of the road from the perspective of experiential value

The concept of experiential marketing states that experiential value has excellent power in deepening the engagement (connection) between customers, brands, and companies. Professor Bernd H. Schmidt, who proposed a strategic experiential value module to improve this value, organizes experiential value into five elements.

7)
1. Sensory value (Sense) felt by the five senses
2. Emotional, experiential value (Feel) expressed in emotions and moods
3. Creative and cognitive experiential value (Think) where new knowledge and ways of thinking are learned and curiosity is stimulated
4. Physical, experiential value and value obtained from lifestyle in general (Act) where the sensation of moving one's body and the experience are considered in everyday life
5. Association with reference groups and cultures (Relate), which leads to the reassurance of belonging to the same organization and sharing the same culture

These are the five above terms of experience. Let's take the tea ceremony as an example.

8)
The taste of tea and sweets, the beauty of the design of tools and tea rooms, etc., are sensory values (Sense). The feeling of calmness from practising is "emotional experience value (Feel)".

Tea ceremony, as a comprehensive art with a long history and aesthetic sense, stimulates intellectual curiosity, which is a "creative and cognitive experience value" (Think). Learning beautiful manners through practice is "physical experience value and value gained from lifestyle in general" (Act).

The sense of belonging to the same school where you have practised is "association with a reference group or culture (Relate)". The content experienced in thWayay comprises five elements of experiential value that are comprehensive and deeply connected to each other. That is why people are attracted to it.

C)
9)
The common feature of the way is that it starts with a form
I think the experiential value framework has revealed the elements that have attracted people for so long to throw away. However, this alone cannot explain why it has been passed down for hundreds of years. What is the reason why this has continued for hundreds of years?

Here, I would like to focus on the common feature of the Way: to master the technique, you start with a form. When you begin, beginners practice the basic form repeatedly without any reason until their body remembers it.

10)
In the famous book Zen and Archery, German philosopher Eugen Herrigel also explains that the Japanese training method is "unconditionally mastering the form" and that masters dislike teaching and reasoning and simply give instructions. Herrigel starts Kyudo in Japan but is initially confused by the style that begins with a form. The style of drilling basic forms without logic seems outdated now.

D)
11)
The meaning and reason are not taught - you realize the essence of "the Way" yourself.
Do, which starts with a form, does not aim for efficiency; in other words, short-term learning. Its purpose is to bring you to a "state where your body remembers". A state where your body remembers is a state where it moves without you having to think about it and is a higher level of proficiency than a state where you can do it without a doubt.

12)
When learning something new, generally, the explanation comes first, and then you move your body. However, in "The Way", you start with a form and aim for a state where your body remembers, and understanding the meaning comes later. So when are the meanings and reasons taught? They are not. You are expected to realize it yourself.

13)

Even if someone first explains to you the meanings of conceptual values such as "truth, goodness, beauty", "human power", and "spiritual richness" that you should understand through "the way", it will only be a definition in someone else's words.

Then, it is still someone else's problem. You have to realize it yourself and make it your own - you have to practice many times, and by the time you do that, you will have enough time to become a master or professor.

14) Once you start with the kata and understand the values of the "way" you have walked through your body from the techniques you have learned and your many years of experience, you will desire to teach and recommend it to others.

This feeling stirs many people to naturally play the role of evangelists, which is probably why the "way" has been passed down for so long.

15)
The previously mentioned Herrigel also gradually became attracted to Kyudo's deep charm, and after obtaining his master's qualification, he returned to Germany.

After that, he gave many lectures based on philosophical considerations based on his experience in Kyudo. He must have had to deepen his understanding of the values Kyudo seeks from his training experience, put them into words, and convey them to others.

E)
16)
Suggestions from the "way" of inheriting values

Even in today's world where efficiency is sought, the "way" style starts with a form—two processes: repeatedly learning until your body remembers it and it becomes a habit, realizing and thinking about its meaning, and effectively inheriting values for generations.

17)
For example, there are many cases where a set routine or style fosters corporate culture. President Inoue of Park Corporation, which operates the Aoyama Flower Market, has set the value of "creating a brand that delivers a rich life surrounded by flowers and greenery to urban dwellers. "

Every Monday morning, all company employees water and care for the plants. This activity should naturally convey the company's values to employees.

F)
18)
In addition, the corporate culture of Hewlett-Packard (HP), known as the HP Way, which many Silicon Valley venture companies have modelled after, has an open door policy, which allows people to express their opinions openly regardless of hierarchical or organizational barriers.

This culture is fostered by the MBWA (Management by Walking Around), which is mandatory for HP managers. Informal communication makes communication easier with subordinates and other departments, and the open-door policy is naturally practised.

19)
In this way, the Japanese cultural "Do(Way)" suggests one way to pass on corporate culture and management philosophy. Design an experience process with five elements that appeal to the experiential value that attracts people, learn it with your body, think about the meaning of what you have learned, and verbalize the values that should be passed on in your own words. In this way, the values will be Shifted.

20)
If Herrigel were alive today, he would say, "First, follow the teacher's instructions and start with the form," rather than asking for a detailed explanation.

I have included many examples of tea ceremonies this time, but they may be challenging to understand if you have no experience. I recommend watching the film "Every Day a Good Day (2018)" for those people. You can imagine the scenery and feelings of tea ceremony practice.

A mechanism for the sustainable inheritance of values learned from the "do" of Japanese culture

https://globis.jp/article/7547/

Essayist Noriko Morishita's popular essay "Every Day is a Good Day: 15 Things Tea Taught Me About Happiness" about her 25 years at a tea ceremony class has been adapted into a film starring Haru Kuroki and co-starring Kirin Kiki.

20-year-old Noriko, living her college life without finding what she "really wanted to do," learns that "Auntie Takeda," rumoured to be something special, is a teacher at a tea ceremony class. When her mother encourages her to learn tea, Noriko replies disinterestedly. Still, when her cousin Michiko, enthusiastic about learning tea, invites her, she starts attending the tea ceremony class as if swept away by the current trend.

Having been exposed to a world of tea full of "rules" that she had never seen or heard of before, Noriko continues to study under Professor Takeda for over 20 years, experiencing things such as finding a job, heartbreak, and the death of a loved one, and comes to realize the essential things about tea and life.

Every Day a Good Day (2018)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FT5tknVeVI

Serious, argumentative, and clumsy. Noriko (Kuroki Haru) and her cousin Michiko (Tabe Mikako) decide to learn "tea" from Takeda-sensei (Kiki Kirin), who is rumoured to be "not just anybody." They live in a tiled-roofed house at the end of a narrow alley. Takeda-sensei begins to teach them greetings, but the two are simply confused by the gestures, which they don't understand the meaning or reason for. "Tea starts with the 'form'. You first create the 'form', and then the 'heart' comes in later," says Takeda-sensei—the agility of youth, failure in employment, and parting with a loved one. Noriko can't find her place in life, but something has changed as she attends tea every week... (C) 2018 "Every day is a good day" Production Committee

The English land agent who inspired the "boycott" in 19th-century Ireland

Charles Cunningham Boycott, who died on June 19, 1897, was an English land agent who became infamous in Ireland.
https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/irish-invented-boycott
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Boycott
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%81%E3%83%A3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB%E3%82%BA%E3%83%BB%E3%83%9C%E3%82%A4%E3%82%B3%E3%83%83%E3%83%88

Charles Cunningham Boycott (May 12, 1832 – June 17, 1897 ) was a British landlord who imposed exorbitant rents on tenant farmers in Ireland. This led to his ostracism, which is why "boycott" was coined.

In 1880, as part of their campaign for the three Fs(free sale, fixity of tenure, and fair rent ), and in particular to combat plans for eviction from the land, local activists from the Irish National Land League encouraged Boycott employees, including seasonal labourers needed to harvest crops on Lord Erne's land, to refuse to work, andisolaBoycottott from the local community.