Political Parties in Japan - the Christmas Kind

In the run up to Christmas I was lucky enough to get invited to a 'Christmas' party; part cultural-exchange as we taught them about Christmas in England and they taught us how to make sushi, and part excuse for gossip and general merriment. Even amongst this group of middle aged ladies it is possible to see politics in play and an underlying current of Japanese traits. I expect even without prior knowledge of 'collusions' (emic level understanding of a situation - as defined by Befu) that go on in Japan you would be able to spot the tensions that exist between people or are being carefully avoided. When we first arrived we were welcomed in to the hosts "small" house, which was of course not small, especially by Japanese standards. Everyone began to display the food they had made, with some sense of competition - it was at this point that I was glad I had put the effort into making a cake, albeit not a traditionally English one! There was then a definite hierarchical table arrangement, with the hostess at the head and then the gaijin 'pandas' (cute, interesting to look at and fun) placed in the centre to provide the entertainment. Champagne was poured in the same manner as sake; first to the hostess, then a discussion was had about who was the oldest so that they could take their place in the hierarchy, although the Japanese want for privacy kicked in and no ages were actually mentioned. Despite the subtle vying to determine a hirearchy it was done inversely -  comments would be made as to who was the better cook or whose English was the best, and people were constantly trying to top up other's glasses. Perhaps in a society where equality is prized, it is better to set others above you than it is to try and establish power for yourself. 

wrapping up leftover food - note the scales in the foreground

The thing that most drew me to documenting this party in my blog was the precision with which each stage of the afternoon was conducted, from the organisation of the sushi lesson to the clearing up after the meal. Everyone played a part in clearing the table, and when it came to sharing out the food it was a lesson in equality if ever I saw one...scales were used to measure out leftovers so that everyone could take home equal portions. It seems as if the Japanese dislike of conflict has developed so many subtle ways of avoiding it that even personal relationships have a political aspect. I am in no way saying that this is unique to Japan of course, as all societies have their own cultural asumptions and ways of dealing with personal conflict, I just found it interesting the ways in which Japanese people deal with their relationships, and happened upon a great scenario with which to illustrate my ideas. There are many things to notice about cultural collusions, despite not having the emic perspective it is possible to recognise when people are 'acting' out a set of rules that are not literal and straightforward, and I think I will keep it in mind for a future research proposal!