Japanese – Today’s Spartans!!

 

Well…this is my first article on this blog. Would like to take the opportunity to thanks Shashi bhai for inspiring me to take this on me and try to get back in touch with my left brainJ. It’s a menial attempt to express my hearty reverence to Japan and its people who have been an inspiration for me.

Well, Japan and Sparta – One a country and the other a city. Both located at the extremes of the monstrous land mass called Asia. Both are known for more than one reasons, the name of Sparta stands the test of time since the mighty-heart King Leonidas(I) fought the Persians, from the day the beautiful Helen of Sparta was abducted which led to the Trojan war and defeat of Troy till the day you read this, the other being a culturally, traditionally, linguistically and scholarly rich race. One being famous from the mighty roar of the “300” and the other being a real life example of the Phoenix rising from ashes.

Why I compare them, what they have in common, you might ask. Behold as the only word that describes their commonality with each other is: “National Character”. Ancient Greece was one of the first civilizations to develop a colony. Man is a social animal, and we might attribute this to the early civilizations, a prominent one of which was Greece. We only owe so much to the Greeks as without them, we’d not have: half the worlds in the English dictionary, different styles of theatre (drama, comedy, tragedy, etc), the Hippocratic Oath, the Olympic Games and (wait for it…) DEMOCRACY!!! The other is no less a warrior state, Japan’s contributions to the world range from the art of self defense (Martial Arts), Instant Noodles, Video Games, Karaoke, Robots to Electronics which are ever abundant in any market of the world and almost an integral part of a majority of people across the globe today.

Why do we need to compare the two, aren't the two milestones in their own rights? Yes and No.

I am not comparing Japan with Sparta here. I mean to bow and respect the Japanese men and women and just add a feather to their already accomplished hat by comparing a few characteristics of the Japanese with those of the Spartans. The Spartans were fierce, brave soldiers who feared nothing but infamy. Death was their cape and fear bowed in front of the glaze of their swords. All in all, tactical people who lived for Pride and Freedom long before it was known to the world. The then society of Spartans was divided into many categories. Majority stake holders in the community were: soldiers, senators, thespians, potters, farmers and helots (a section of society which comprised neither slaves nor free men). The Spartan youth and upbringing was one of the crudest and unfathomable ones ever heard of. As young men and women, the Spartans had to EARN their citizenship. No one but no one was granted a citizenship on the merit of birth to Spartan parents (except for the king’s first son – the heir to the throne). As a high-born Spartan, the welfare of the state is the motivation behind everything you do. If you are male, you will be trained to become a warrior. If you are female, you will produce many healthy children and be an exemplary mother to future warriors and good citizens. The ephorate (an elected body of 5 wise men - ephors) controlled the military and education system. From the ages of 7 to about 18, noble Spartan boys were trained to be soldiers and were taught to survive in harsh conditions.

As much as it saddens me that even though my own country was freed from the British almost at the same time when Japan had faced the heat from WWII Allied Forces, Japan is today the third largest economy (overtook by the People's Republic of China only in 2010) and we're still dealing with poverty, rampant corruption, wide-spread hunger and education system crises, I owe them for the inspiration they've been for the whole world. Japan's education system played a central part in Japan's recovery and rapid economic growth in the decades following the end of World War II. Education is compulsory at the elementary and lower secondary levels. Most students attend public schools through the lower secondary level, but private education is popular at the upper secondary and university levels. The Japanese society, like the Spartans, witnesses a well formed divide, a demarcation of duties of men and women. A man's primary focus is the workplace and a woman's primary focus is her home and family, with particular attention to the proper rearing of children. Though there is a demarcation of labor force within the family, women nevertheless make up almost 40 percent of the labor force. The Japanese tend to accommodate others' opinions rather than speak up all the time. They attach much importance to "harmony". So much so, even the Japanese Corporate policies teach harmony and act to maintain it in workplaces.

The result? - Japan is the world's 2nd largest automobile manufacturing country, has the largest electronics goods industry, and is often ranked among the world's most innovative countries leading several measures of global patent filings (e.g.: Toyota Innovation Model, Kaizen Model, Taguchi methods, Fishikawa). Japan is the world's largest crediting nation, generally running an annual trade surplus and having a considerable net international investment surplus. As of 2010, Japan possessed 13.7% of the world's private financial assets (the 2nd largest in the world) at an estimated $14.6 trillion. As of 2011, 68 of the Fortune 500 companies are based in Japan. The economy of Tokyo is the largest metropolitan economy in the world.

Facing increasing competition from China and South Korea, the manufacturing industry in Japan today focuses primarily on high-tech and precision goods, such as optical equipment, hybrid cars, and robotics.  You might as well put a tag of “evolution” on them, 'coz that's what they do. One has to be amazed when an Archipelago near burnt to ashes, hit by frequent earthquakes, flooded by the oceans, devastated  by tsunamis can harbor humans whose life teaches us how to live, where modesty is the prevailing attitude, where honesty and integrity have not lost their meaning. If I could borrow Rabindranath Tagore's lines and place them here saying “Into that heaven of freedom, let my country awake…” , I’m sure I wouldn't be wrong.

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I’d be posting soon with more anecdotes and views, till then…please keep reading and commenting…

May I enjoy life and art, be respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter…
(- excerpt from the Hippocratic Oath).