Gaman (term)

Gaman has been attributed to the Japanese-Americans and others held in United States' internment camps during World War II[12][13] and to those affected by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in northern Japan.[14] In the internment camps, gaman was misperceived by the non-Japanese as introverted behavior or as a lack of assertiveness or initiative rather than as a demonstration of strength in the face of difficulty or suffering.[15] Gaman and the related term yase-gaman are, in Japanese society, closely related to complying with conformity,[16][17] and silent heroism, which seems to be hidden pride for compensation for sacrifice[18][19] and be satisfied to pay reciprocal service in advance,[20] or to be seen themselves as victims by folks.[21][22] Gaman toward authority, 'unquestioning obedience'[23] or 'blind obedience'[24] is supposed to be unfit to a healthy democracy.[25]

After the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the resilience, civility, lack of looting and ability of the Japanese to help each other was widely attributed to the gaman spirit.[10] The 50–70 workers who remained at the damaged and radiation-emitting Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant despite the severe danger demonstrated what was regarded as gaman as well.[26]

Gaman is also used in psychoanalytic studies[27] and to describe the attitudes of the Japanese. It is often taught to youth and largely used by older Japanese generations. Showing gaman is seen as a sign of maturity and strength. Keeping your private affairs, problems and complaints silent demonstrates strength and politeness as others have seemingly larger problems as well. If a person with gaman were to receive help from someone else, they would be compliant; not asking for any additional help and voicing no concerns.[9][8]

• Ganbaru
• Jewel Voice Broadcast
• Sisu
• Stiff upper lip

• Benedict, Ruth (1946). The Chrysanthemum and the Sword. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 9780547525143.
• Burns, Catherine (2005). Sexual Violence and the Law in Japan. Taylor & Francis. doi:10.4324/9780203429433. ISBN 9780203429433.
• DeMente, Boye (2004). Japan's Cultural Code Words: 233 Key Terms that Explain the Attitudes and Behavior of the Japanese. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 9780804835749.
• Dower, John W. (1986). War without Mercy: Race & Power in the Pacific War. Pantheon. ISBN 9780394751726.
• Dower, John W. (1999). Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 9780393345247.
• Hearn, Lafcadio (1904). Japan: An Attempt at Interpretation. Dodo Press.
• Hirasuna, Delphine; Hinrichs, Kit (2005). The Art of Gaman: Arts and Crafts from the Japanese American Internment Camps, 1942-1946. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press. ISBN 9781580086899. OCLC 494064406.
• Johnson, Frank A. (1995). Dependency and Japanese Socialization: Psychoanalytic and Anthropological Investigations Into Amae. New York University Press. ISBN 0814741924.
• Kolb, Patricia (2007). Social Work Practice with Ethnically and Racially Diverse Nursing Home Residents and Their Families. Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231125321.
• Macfarlane, Alan (2007). Japan through the Looking Glass. Profile Books. ISBN 978-1847650580.
• Niiya, Brian (1993). Japanese American History: An A-to-Z Reference from 1868 to the Present. Facts on File. ISBN 9780816026807. OCLC 26853950.
• Takeo, Doi (1971). The anatomy of dependence. Kodansha International. ISBN 9780870114946.
• van Wolferen, Karel (1989). The Enigma of Japanese Power: People and Politics in a Stateless Nation. A.A. Knopf. ISBN 9780394577968.
• West, Mark I. (2009). The Japanification of Children's Popular Culture: from Godzilla to Miyazaki. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810851214. OCLC 232786129.

• Kennicott, Philip (28 March 2010). "The Art of Gaman: Life behind walls we were too scared to live without". The Washington Post.

• The Art of Gaman: Arts and Crafts from the Japanese American Internment Camps, 1942-1946 at Smithsonian Institution
• The Art of Gaman at the University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts
• 尊厳の藝術展 (The Art of Gaman) at NHK.or.jp (in Japanese; archived)
• Gaman at American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) (archived)