Kazakhs and Japanese. Fortitude and perfection. Almaz Braev

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СКАЧАТЬ culture. The first Europeans who visited Japan noted the small stature of the Japanese, the absence of overweight people, and the miniaturization of Japanese things. They said that the Japanese served treats in toy dishes. All the Japanese things reminded them of children’s toys. The Japanese, like children, always bow to each other.

      (The Japanese, for their part, also did not remain in debt. These red-haired Portuguese and Dutch seemed to them disgusting demons from the world of demons – so huge and with the same big noses as Tengu (Tengu is a Japanese demon with fiery hair). They called “nanbandies” actually Chinese, but the Europeans also came from the side of China – what’s the difference? So, the Europeans also turned into barbarians because the Europeans had a bad smell. Where were they supposed to take a bath? How can this be done on a ship?)

      Of course, the Europeans were surprised by the absolute purity of the Japanese. The Japanese were clean and tidy, even simple peasants and porters. They wore robes in which they wrapped their body; even the Japanese socks were white. There was not a single extra thing in Japanese homes. Entering their house, the Japanese took off their shoes and put on slippers; even for the toilet, they had separate slippers. All the household members, after greeting and curiosity, disappeared somewhere. Everyone, including the head, behaved towards the guest like the Japanese emperor had come in. The guest was necessarily seated in the most honorable place. If the guest showed shyness and did not sit there, the host and wife fell into a stupor – they did not know what to do, so the Japanese had everything painted according to the age-old etiquette.

      Before serving the most exquisite treats, all the housewives said the same words: “I’m sorry that we have almost nothing on the table.” It’s good that the guests did not understand anything; they themselves would have fallen into a stupor from such words because all the delicacies were put in front of them. During the meal, the host and hostess would not have said a word, except for toasts, pronounced in honor of the guest several times, and the absorption of Japanese rice vodka “sake”. In other cases, including semi-official ones, the Japanese behave as if they desire to disappear, to evaporate. Absolute modesty and tact. Buttoned-up jackets and a look at the floor. Thus, the Japanese not only have all the rooms ergonomic, but the Japanese themselves are ergonomic in their own body, if I may say so.

      Someone may suspect that this behavior is also the result of the age-old administrative dictatorship of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Maybe everything can be. I think this is because almost 70% of Japan is occupied by mountains. Japanese rice fields are so tiny that willy-nilly, one might think they could all disappear. And these miniature areas would really like to disappear because cyclones are real Japanese disasters.

      In this respect, the nomads have a great expanse to ride over the endless distance. Who’s going to stop him? There is no one a thousand kilometers ahead. Ride as much as you want, and no one will limit you. The nomad must move as far as possible and use the entire territory to be overcome. Maybe that’s why even a modern Kazakh boss seems to be alone in his office; no one else is around, but they are. Kazakhs need to designate their territory by themselves, by their presence, by their importance, so to speak. The Arab Abu Ziad was asked jokingly how the Kazakhs walk. He must have seen them when they made the Hajj to Mecca. The observant Abu Ziyad laughed and walked forward, waving his arms and spreading his legs apart as if not one but two people were walking to show their territory – he was joking.

      Meanwhile, this does not give anyone dignity. As the Prophet said, may Allah bless him and grant him: “Do not walk the earth proudly.” In general, there are 128 million Japanese in Japan and 9 thousand officials. In Kazakhstan, 82 thousand civil servants account for 19 million people. There are obvious shortcomings with the ergonomics of power.

      Chapter 9

      The quality of bureaucracy

      Amakudari (literally “descent from heaven”)

      “Officials are people who want to surround themselves with as many subordinates as possible. The more subordinates there are, the more stable the official’s position is and the more opportunities he has for further advancement to the top.”

      Hiroshi Fujiwara

      In 1945, Japan lay in ruins. Everyone knows about the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In fact, the damage from the nuclear bomb was only a tenth of the carpet bombing by the American Air Force. Squadrons of 500 B-29 bombers burned down all Japanese cities in two years. When the emperor addressed the nation, all the Japanese could stand at the radios. Young Akio Morita, the future founder of the legendary Sony company, stood at attention in the uniform of an officer of the Imperial Navy with a sword. Yes, the Japanese bureaucracy itself was one of the ingredients of success (the other most important factor of the Japanese miracle was the highest discipline and diligence of the Japanese people. The unwritten and little understood by others, the strict practice of amakudari (“descended from heaven”), of course, requires clarification.

      What is amakudari?

      This is a lifetime contract of an official with the state. There are a lot of applicants, but there are few high government posts. So, officials of that age did not stay too long in office; thus, they could find work in commercial firms. The pension was good because the work in a commercial company will also be recorded in the work experience. At the age of 50—53, high officials leave for business structures, that is, long before retirement age. They go to private companies, where they are invited as top managers. Although they have modest salaries in the ministries, they, as a rule, do not steal – they know that they will honestly take their own in the private sector. There is, of course, an opportunity for patronage and corruption because the “favorite” company, for example, will not check enough. But this does not greatly affect Japanese corruption in general. Corruption in Japan is very low. Suspicion of corruption for a modern Japanese official is the same indelible shame as for a Japanese during the shogunate. The Japanese just mortally do not want to be a laughing stock in front of society. That’s the positive legacy the Japanese received from the shoguns.

      In Kazakhstan, they try not to check the companies in which relatives of big officials work. This is not accepted. Any inspection of a large firm or a large bank is authorized only from above, and any errors are excluded. Basically, inspectors check small businesses, and everything is already possible there. Small businessmen are better off not contradicting and agreeing with everything with small officials; otherwise, it will be more expensive.

      Thus, all power is tied to big business. You need to have large relatives in the executive branch to have an unsinkable business. The higher the position in which an official sits, the bigger his business affairs are, and this is almost a rule.

      If the government changes, then, of course, the whole pyramid changes. They select “their own people”, their own team. There is also a redistribution of large businesses’ assets. Therefore, power cannot be lost in any way. Every official knows this. Therefore, no one wants to leave voluntarily. Disloyalty to the regime can serve as a reason for dismissal, so no one wants to get involved with the opposition. No one wants to be overly active, say, in work, but everyone tries to praise the course of the current president, and the president himself should always be praised (for example, give to streets, parks, and squares the president’s name). If an extraordinary event occurs in the controlled territory of a big official, enemies and competitors for a lucrative place immediately take advantage of it, and they quickly inform the leader. The official is first checked for loyalty, and then everything else is checked.

      The culture of power is always linked to culture in general. The desire of a nomad to occupy more space around himself is quite understandable. СКАЧАТЬ