The difference in seeing "Nature" between Japan and Western countries

Sifis Sato Vourkoutiotis

No 5vax3, OSF Preprints from Center for Open Science

Abstract: Living in Japan means having a close relationship with nature. The Japanese way of thinking about nature is that "without plants and animals there would be no food, and the rain that falls from the sky accumulates in the mountains and forests, and people eat it." The Japanese view of nature is that "without plants and animals, there would be no food. The Japanese have the phrase "Itadakimasu" (Thank you for the food) as a basis for this belief. The Christian view, however, is quite different. The idea is that God is the creator of all things, including man, and that man is a special being who looks most like God. Therefore, they believe that he is the administrator of the rest. And in the West, especially Christianity, man is considered to have the right to dominate and conquer nature. In fact, the basis for the Western view of nature as an object of conquest is mountain climbing. The expression "I have conquered the mountain" is often used in the West when the summit is reached. This background led people to believe that they could use nature freely, and the idea of "conquering" nature was born. At the same time, the opposite idea to that of Japan, that nature worship is uncivilized and socially unacceptable, was born.

Date: 2022-07-30
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:osf:osfxxx:5vax3

DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/5vax3

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