Mental health essays

The Mask Of Majime – What Is The Price Of Extreme Politeness?

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Majime essay by Jamie Ryder.

A major stereotype of Japanese culture is an overwhelming seriousness, encapsulated in the concept of majime. This translates to seriousness or soberness, implying a lack of emotion and straight-facedness linked to the working world. The personification of majime is the salary man who works long hours, spends all his life in one job and sees his tenure as a badge of honour, an emblem to be wielded as fiercely and as proudly as a samurai with his katana.

But is majime a stereotype or can it have certain benefits when looked at from the wider perspective of Japanese culture? Let’s explore that in more detail and see what that looks like from a mental health perspective. 

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Mental health essays

Can We Develop Healthier Eating Habits With Kuchisabishii?

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Kuchisabishii essay by Jamie Ryder.

It’s a Friday night. You’ve had a long week at work and you’ve already eaten plenty that day. But you have a craving for pizza, even though you know you’re full in the sense of getting all your calories and basic human needs satisfied. You know you aren’t ‘hungry’ in the ‘I’m-starving-not-actually-starving-life-or-death’ kind of way that gets said so much it’s a first world cliche (especially if you’re from the UK). 

You order the pizza anyway because the craving demands it. And once you’ve finished, all you can think is why did I eat that goddamn pizza? I wasn’t even hungry.

If that sounds familiar, then maybe it’s time to embrace the concept of kuchisabishii. This Japanese concept roughly translates as ‘lonely mouth.’ But rather than it being a damnation of mindless eating, kuchisabishii offers a reframing of why we eat when we’re bored or sad. 

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Mental health essays

Tsundoku – The Art Of Never Reading Books

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Tsundoku essay by Jamie Ryder

For as long as I can remember, my life’s been filled with books. Crime novels, fantasy epics, philosophy texts, historical narratives and subjects with only a passing interest. Some books I’ve read multiple times, others I’ll never touch again and will probably keep gathering dust on the shelves.

Maybe for you it’s different. Maybe you stack your shelves with books you’ll never read once. And that’s okay. There’s a term for that in Japanese called tsundoku, which means collecting books that pile up in the home and won’t ever be read. 

But at its core what does tsundoku represent? The habits of a hoarder? The preening of a pseudo-intellectual? Let’s answer those questions in my third essay on an exploration of Japanese mental health concepts.

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Mental health essays

Heart Is Where The Home Is: The Roots Of Furusato

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Furusato mental health essay by Jamie Ryder.

There’s a somethingness in me. A specific kind of somethingness that speaks of the place where I was born. The rabid mania of football fans dressed in red, making pilgrimages to see their beloved team every home game. The constant trickle of rain on the pavement, sliding between showers and storms against the backdrop of grey skies. The thrum of skyscrapers being built into infinity.

The symbology of worker bees, splashed across alleyways, offices and my own skin. The restless, dynamic spirit of a city that powered warehouses, cotton mills and commerce in the heydays of The Industrial Revolution. The energy of collaboration sparking between people from all walks of life. The energy of Northern Soul. 

Growing up in Manchester, I’ve seen all these aspects converge and mingle. To describe all of this in one word, to convey all the emotions that are tied up with home isn’t easy. But a word that captures the essence of what I feel is the Japanese term furusato. Usually translated as ‘hometown’, furusato is more than just the place of where one is born. It’s a feeling of multiple meanings.

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Mental health essays

Toxicity In Context: The Double-Edged Sword Of Gaman

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Gaman mental health essay by Jamie Ryder.

Japanese wellness and mental health concepts have a certain mythology about them, both inside and outside the country. Often, in the cases of concepts like ikigai and wabi-sabi, they are viewed as romantic and completely holistic. But we have to be careful with seeing only positive connotations and not viewing a concept in the context of its culture. 

A bad example is when things like ikigai are appropriated, stripped of their original meaning and hailed as the next big wellness trend by productivity bros with a hard-on for selling business courses that at best only scratch the surface of what the concept was in the first place, and at worst, offer no value, provide inaccurate information and further damage the mental health of the people they’re selling to. 

That’s not to say that these concepts aren’t helpful (when they are properly understood). And in the spirit of balance, this is the first of ten essays about Japanese mental health constructs. 

My aim isn’t to offer mental health ‘advice.’ It’s to show the different interpretations of how these constructs manifest in daily life through my own subjective experience. So, let’s explore the first concept – Gaman. 

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Pop Culture and Japan

The Art Of Mixing Koji Cocktails Is A Book For Japanese Drink Nerds & Beginners

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The Art of Mixing Koji Cocktails by Sam Boulton.

The world of Japanese drinks is an endlessly fascinating space. Whether it’s the variety of sake or the deep traditions of spirits like shochu and awamori, Japanese drinking culture has something for everyone. And if you’re interested in falling down the Japanese drinks rabbit hole, you’ll want to read The Art Of Mixing Koji Cocktails by Sam Boulton.

An accessible guide to Japanese drinks, the book covers different production methods, categories, brands and cocktails to try. 

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Pop Culture and Japan

The Dark Side Of Mental Health In Japan: Addressing The Suicide Epidemic

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Japan is one of the leading countries in the world for deaths by suicide.

From the outside, Japan feels like a place of healthy living and forward thinking policies. The esoteric, romanticised ideals of wabi-sabi and ikigai pervade Western interpretations of good mental health practices. With that in mind, the actress Yuko Takeuchi should’ve been living a charmed life. She’d won several awards for her acting talents and celebrated the birth of her second son in 2020.

But on the 27th September 2020, Takeuchi was found dead in her home. She’d hanged herself. This tragic incident isn’t isolated. Other Japanese celebrities like the wrestler Hana Kimura took her own life in the same year. She was 22. Then there’s the actor Haruma Miura who killed himself at the age of 30. 

Japan’s relationship with suicide is a complex subject. It needs to be talked about and addressed so perspectives change and more is done to make suicide prevention stronger in the country.

This article explores the reasons behind suicide in Japan and initiatives that are trying to make a difference.

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Pop Culture and Japan

Blue Eye Samurai Review – Edo Revenge Thriller Breaks New Ground For Established Genre

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Blue Eye Samurai review.

Samurai fiction is one of the most popular storytelling genres in Japan. This formula of honourable warriors and katanas has plenty of romantic juice left in it. Juice that will continue to be squeezed and wrung out for years to come. So, when something new gets thrown into the formula, I pay attention.

The fresh ingredient is in a perspective that’s not often explored in samurai literature. The story of a woman in the role of a samurai and how that shapes the cultural landscape. That’s the case with Blue Eye Samurai. An Edo revenge tale from husband-and-wife team Noizumi and Michael Green.

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