Nutan Tai asked me about Japanese principles. Tai said, "You can write a sentence and share it." So I wrote this.
Devadasi and Geisha
In a recent class, Nutan Tai mentioned the Japanese Geisha. The intent was that no matter what type of dance, without repetitive training, it will never reach the level of art. This is true whether it is Kathak or Geisha culture.
Tai emphasized the word "discipline." Tai is interested in "Japanese discipline" and sees it in Geisha culture and Japan-made industrial goods. She also considers that the fact that Japan became an economic superpower about 30 years after its defeat in World War II may have something to do with this.
As the only Japanese student, I have the responsibility to respond to the topics Tai presented. Here, I will talk about Geisha culture and then connect it to the larger agenda of "Japanese discipline."
Referring to the existence of Devadasi in India, Tai recognized that Geisha girls in Japan may have similarly received an unfair reputation as primarily providing sexual services to men.
Indeed, Devadasi and Geisha are similar in the following ways. They were performers of traditional arts such as dance and music. And because of the narrow sexual morals of 19th century Europeans, the sensual aspect was overemphasized and understood as a low and barbaric custom.
Even though I am a Japanese student of Indian classical dance, I had not noticed this similarity until Tai pointed it out. The differences were more significant to me, and because of this, the similarities never came to my attention.
Consider the difference between the two.
(I hope my understanding of Indian dance is not off the mark.)
In my view, Devadasi and Geisha differ in two ways. First, whether or not they have a religious or sacred quality. Secondly, whether or not their performing arts have vitality in the present day.
First, regarding religious or sacred quality, Devadasi have this and Geisha do not. Devadasi have their origins in Hindu temple culture, where their dance, and even their whole existence, was considered an offering to deities. Namely, they were an element of the religious life of the Indian people.
On the other hand, Japanese geisha culture has little, if any, religiosity. Geisha is written in Japanese as "芸者," where "芸" means art or skill and "者" means a person. Their "芸" is not intended to worship or dedicate to deities, but rather to serve as an entertainment at banquets. Though it requires a high level of skill, it is a very secular art.
Second, regarding vitality in the present day, we can see the difference between the modern times that India and Japan have experienced, or the difference in the sense of history.
In India, amid the national revival of the early 20th century, there was a Renaissance in the world of dance as well. The dances of Devadasi and Nautch Girls came to receive legitimate recognition. With the development of theoretical aspects, their dance style gained a more systematic and comprehensive scheme.
Today, learning traditional dance is a common practice in India, especially for women, and many modern dancers and actors start from some kind of traditional dance as a background. The sophistication of movement cultivated through training in traditional dances provides a qualitative enrichment to modern dance.
The symbol of this cultural achievement is Madhuri Dixit. Her Kathak dance is wonderful, and her Bollywood dance is also wonderful. In her dance, history and the present are not separated. Traditional and Contemporary styles coexist naturally.
What about Japan? Geisha still sing and dance in restaurants in Kyoto. But there was no Renaissance. Geisha’s dance never developed into the equivalents of Kathak or Bharatanatyam, because we chose to get Westernized.
In the 19th century, Japan also faced the threat of invasion by Western powers, and resisted them by transforming itself into a country like the Western powers. As a result, Japan did not become a colony. But the cost was heavy. The loss of history.
Geisha are still living in today. We have Noh and Kabuki also. Not only dance, but many other traditional arts still exist in Japan. However, both the style and content of these arts are quite distant from the lifestyle of ordinary people. For many Japanese, our traditions are even the object of exotism.
In Japan, there is often a lack of natural communication between traditional and contemporary elements, as they are separated by history and the present. Therefore, Madhuri Dixit cannot appear in Japan, and even if she did, we cannot find her.
Devotion to Reality
Next, let's discuss the discipline of the Japanese people.
As previously mentioned, Geisha culture lacks religious elements, and their art is not intended to worship deities but rather to provide secular entertainment. This focus on providing worldly pleasure is not unique to Geisha but is a fundamental aspect of Japanese culture as a whole, including the mindset of the Japanese people.
The discipline of the Japanese people comes precisely from the lack of religious elements. This does not mean that there is no religion or spirituality in Japan. Rather, it means that the religious sense or passion is not associated with transcendent dimension but is directed toward concrete and secular things.
This is because Japanese people are unfamiliar with understanding transcendent dimension or metaphysical things. We struggle with grasping abstract concepts as abstract. Japan has religions such as Buddhism and Shinto, but these religions are also considered as secular rituals to a considerable degree. They do not have a strong ability to cultivate feelings of reverence or awe.
Due to the lack of connection to the transcendent dimension, Japanese are always anxious and lacking in self-confidence. So to relieve this anxious, we stabilize our ego by anchoring ourselves in a secular reality. This process often has a religious passion, sometimes can be irrational or even completely meaningless. It is truly devotion to reality.
Although not good at perceiving abstract concepts, Japanese people are very sensitive and delicate to objects and things in mundane reality. Using this delicate sensitivity to grasp reality and unify oneself with it. This is Japanese devotion.
And the manual for this kind of devotion is our discipline.
We have benefited in many ways from this Japanese nature of devotion and discipline. Not being connected to the transcendent dimension means that we have no beliefs, so we can change rapidly according to circumstances.
When the Western powers came to Japan in the 19th century, and when Japan was defeated by the United States in the 20th century, Japan underwent a transformation and successfully adapted to a new order.
The reason why Japanese products are of high quality and uniformity and trains arrive on time within a minute is because Japanese people approach their work and tasks with a religious passion.
They maintain a high level of precision even though it is not a commandment from God or a dedication to God. We behave so naturally disciplined and add aesthetic refinement to it.
The same nature that produces benefits has often led to enormous disasters, which still suffering the Japanese people today.
Discipline loses its purpose and eventually begins to work as pressure. Meaningless discipline restrains us and makes us feel as if we cannot breathe. We can change with the situation, but at the same time, we are extremely fearful of change and hate those who try to change.
If Japanese people can accurately recognize reality and establish appropriate models, they can demonstrate very high performance. However, if they fail to do so or if the situation changes and the effectiveness of that model is lost, the result can be disastrous.
The Empire of Japan maintained its independence by modernizing, but failed to envision an order separate from imperialism, leading it to invade Asian countries. We continued to fight a war that we had no hope of winning, and could not stop until the United States dropped two atomic bombs on us.
After the war, Japan aligned with the Western bloc in the Cold War structure and achieved remarkable economic growth under the leadership of the United States, becoming an economic powerhouse. However, since the 1990s, following the end of the Cold War, Japan has experienced little economic growth over the past 30 years and has been facing increasing poverty.
Japanese people tend to be resistant to change because they have a strong connection between their sense of self and their surroundings. As they view themselves as an integral part of reality, any criticism or alteration to their environment can feel like a personal attack.
As a result, they tend to attack the criticizer. Therefore, once a certain order is established and functions well, and they have a successful experience, it becomes extremely difficult for Japanese people to abandon it.
Almost 80 years have passed since the war, but in Japan, one political party has almost always been in power, and there has been little political turnover. This is not because their politics are always great, but because it is the norm for Japanese people to adapt to the current order without criticizing it.
"The norm" refers to behaving like everyone else. Japanese people do not read the Gita, the Bible, the Quran, the Buddhist scriptures, or the Analects of Confucius. There are no clear standards for living anywhere. The only principle is to avoid friction with others and not to inconvenience them.
Since Japanese people are also modern people, everyone wants to live as themselves and wants to liberate their individuality. That is also true. However, it is difficult for both oneself and society to change. Japanese people are currently suffering from this.
They are afraid of change, both in themselves and in society, because their identity is bound to the reality to which they adapt. When someone tries to change oneself, society gets in the way. When someone tries to change society, you get anxious and stop them.
Despite being wealthy and living long lives, the low level of happiness is due to this wonderful discipline.
Of course, there are also Japanese who cannot endure secularism and seek transcendence. Such people may study philosophy or join a particular religion. Some people also go abroad.
I am one of them, by learning Kathak, I hope to connect with a dimension separate from secular reality.
