Reflections on yesterday's seminar - jishuku

Some thoughts from yesterday's seminar and readings.

Jishuku - voluntary self restraint.   According to the readings it was being practiced after the Kanto earthquake and a central purpose seems to be 'teaching the children'.  I have heard the same thing after the Tohoku earthquake... teaching the children.  A genarationally imposed custom? I wonder how widespread  jishuku was after the Kanto daijishin?  Was it just a Kanto thing? How about the 1896 Sanriku tsunami?  Was there national jishuku? Is it a long held tradition that has been widened as the sense of what is near and known about also widens or is it a Meiji nation building construction - as is suggested by those who see the aftermath of the Kanto Daijishin as containing the origins of Japanese miliarism?  I don't know the answer to any of those questions.  How old is the word?  There is not really an equivalent word in English.   Jishuku does build a spirit of common experience which can  unite people.  It also accords respect to those who have died and who are suffering terrible losses.

Jishuku doesn't affect everyone equally though.  For people like Tokyo Governor Ishihara urging restraint makes little material difference to his life.   The same is true for university professors, teachers, police, government workers who have steady salaries and almost no chance of losing their jobs - a year with a few less atsumari means more money to go overseas in the summer....  But for the people who rent kimono for graduations, the men and women who run bottle shops (off licences), for the restaurant owners, for the hotel staff who have their shifts cut when atsumari are cancelled  their burden is quite disproportionate.  It's been pointed out in other places that restricting consumption constricts the supply of tax revenue, and there is an awful lot of tax revenue that is needed at the moment.

Had it been up to me, I would have let graduations and the like go ahead, perhaps toned down, but have then as a vehicle for something constructive... like fundraising or have collection of goods that are needed and in short supply up there.  I have been through my cupboards here and pulled out all the boxed gifts from weddings and funerals - new sheets, towels, blankets etc to send to a friend in Morioka who is involved in distributing things on the coast.  A collection like that at an entrance ceremony... now that's a productive idea..

This video below was put out by an Iwate sake brewer after Gov. Ishihara urged jishuku. The brewer is urging people to enjoy Tohoku sake through the hanami.