Drinking has always been a way to strengthen human social relationships. It is also considered as a good icebreaker in quite formal situation. However, there is a whole anthropology behind drinking as it differs from country to country and sometimes even from region to region. Therefore the action of drinking encompasses more social aspects that the act of drinking itself. for instance, in Morocco, when someone invites you to stop by his house to have a cup of tea, this means that this person has the willilness to strengthen your relationship or revitalize it.
The First informal thing I discovered after the "formal" campus and seminar house tours was the "beer park". This place was a meeting point for all the Gaijin drinking community. It allowed them to get to know each other and became friends. Therefore, in Japan as in any other part of the world, there is a whole etiquette for drinking and a whole social aspect behind it. Let's zoom it in:).
Our ancestors said centuries ago "In wine is truth", we will see how this applies to different situations within the Japanese society. In Japan, drinking is present in the professional and networking situations, business deals as long as in dating situations.
First, in a professional context, bosses generally invite their workers to the Isakaya, a restaurant bar or a all you can drink. The idea is to remove inhibitions and create a fluid and friendly environment for social interaction, free from the strains, anxieties, and rigid order of the workplace, the classroom, and society in general. Essentially, what happens in nomikai stays in nomikai, so participants are free to talk and bond in ways that would normally be impossible in the Japanese workplace, without fear of repercussions when they return to their daytime lives.
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| A night of drinking. By jamesjustin CC License |
The second situation where the "nomoucommunication" is present is for business deals. If nommunication is a powerful tool in the hands of a salesman, it is sometimes the cause of pressure and stress for those junior employees who feel obliged to accept their superiors' invitation. Male employees are more exposed to this kind of pressure as they are expected to be heavy drinkers.
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| A night of drinking. By jamesjustin CC License |
Drinking is a very good catalyst for the "Kompa" that refers to the Japanese blind dating. In Japan, one hand it is not good for a girl to be single by the age of 30 and arranged family marriages are not very common. On the other hand, the professional context is not a good plane to find the potential husband. Therefore, having a drink with a stranger might me a good way to get married and fulfill the socially imposed roles.
Finally, drinking plays different roles within the Japanese society. It is the only occasion for the Japanese to show their real personalities considering how professional they should be within a work framework.
This is certainly a timely post as we enter the season for end of the year parties and new years parties. But I am not sure the infamous Beer Park fits within the Japanese context.
ReplyDeleteYou seem to be missing one original photo here.
Hello Sir,
ReplyDeleteTalking about the beer park was just an attempt to show how driking works a good catalyser and ice breaker. I personnally do not have any picture that fits the context but I will do my best to get some.
Thank you!