Ki and Freedom
The English word "spirit" and the French word "esprit" are usually translated into Japanese as seishin, but in my opinion the word ki is a better translation. According to the kojien (a Japanese dictionary), ki means (1) the mental activity that is the primal force of life; (2) the activity of the mind in general. Synonyms for ki include reason, emotion, will, intention, conscience, spirit, disposition, and nature.
Many Japanese expressions are built around the word ki: ki ga susuma nai (I don't feel like doing anything); ki ga chiru (to be distracted); ki ga meiru (to feel depressed); ki ga ki de nai (to feel uneasy); ki wa kokoro (to have goodwill); ki o torinaosu (to brace oneself); ki ga tooku naru (to feel faint); ki ga tsuku (to notice); ki ga kiku (to be considerate); ki ga hikeru (to feel inferior); and ki ga nukeru (to be dispirited).
Beer that has lost its ki (ki no nuketa biru) is beer without punch, and it is a dull drink. A spiritless answer (ki no nai henji) is a reply without any feeling, and like beer without the carbon-ation it is dull. Spiritless writing (kak-ki no nai bunsho) is a literary style without force or energy. Ki in all these phrases represents the spirit at the center of something, especially at the core of human feeling.
My next example may take your breath away, but because it is an apt metaphor for the freedom the human spirit craves, I see no reason to hesitate. There is an expression in Japanese that you won't find in the dictionary: kiga iku (literally, "the spirit goes").
This expression has an English equivalent in which the direction is typically reversed: the slang expression "to come." In Japanese, the vulgarism ki ga iku is used to indicate sexual climax, a peak state for the entire body. However, the expression is generally limited to cases of mutual orgasm and is not used to refer to ejaculation by masturbation. It expresses great freedom—not freedom in isolation, but freedom in the embrace of a partner. When both parties reach a climax at the same time, the Japanese say, ki ga au (spirits meet, or match). This is the most desired state, the state of total release that all human beings desire. Of course, this freedom of release is not available in sexual assault, or in sexual activity without love.
The expression ki ga au is not limited to descriptions of sexual climax. It can be used to refer to the "meeting of minds" that occurs whenever two partners work together with complete mutual satisfaction. In practice, the expression is used even more casually, to mean "we see eye to eye," "we understand each other," or "we can work together." In any case, the essential meaning of the phrase is two free minds meeting, communing, and finding mutual satisfaction with the implication that true human freedom never exists in isolation. True freedom is achieved by doing what you want Me harmonizing with others and staying in tune with your surroundings.
Of course, this freedom is not easy to attain. A look at the word kimama makes this clear. Kimama means "just as your spirit wants"; it is self-indulgence, or the pursuit of self-satisfaction. Retiring to a mountain hut and living exactly as you please might seem like a paradise, but unless you can also eliminate all worldly desires, you won't achieve true freedom. If the slightest wish or desire intrudes on you, you will be driven to dissatisfaction by the principle of kimama and will soon be unable to enjoy anything.
At any rate, very few people these days try to find their freedom by eliminating desires. Instead, they seek their freedom within society by trying to satisfy all their desires in a patently self-indulgent manner. Self-indulgence (kimama) becomes selfishness very easily and never gets satisfied.
The Magic of Language
According to Pavlov's "conditioned response," dogs can be taught to salivate at the sound of a bell. We human beings are more complex than dogs and have been conditioned to react to many things, but our strongest reactions are probably to words. We react to words more powerfully than to anything else.
The Japanese language contains many emotionally charged words. Since they are emotionally subtle, they often sound delicate and ambiguous. And people's reactions vary according to their interpretations of the words.
In a homogeneous society like Japan, where people are not very different from each other in their ways of thinking, communications do not have to be very explicit or precise. In the case of husbands and wives especially, communication need not always be fully worded. Husband and wife are so in tune with each other that things often go smoothly between them without many words. At the same time, in a society where delicacy and sensitivity to feelings are such important parts of human relationships, the use of words is very crucial and difficult. The emotionally charged Japanese language embodies a lot of magic power, and people need to be aware of this magic power in their choice of words. The language has, as clearly revealed in the literature, a rich variety of words denoting subtle esthetic and emotional states.
Words of Affection
Emotion is an important element of any culture, and people represent their emotions in words. In Japanese, different words are used by men and by women, whereas in Western societies the same words can be used by both sexes. The use of Japanese words is quite complicated, as stated in the previous chapter.
Not only do the words used by men and women differ, but a number of words take different forms for different situations and relationships between the speaker and the listener or the person referred to. For example, there are many words for "you"—omae, kimi, anata, kisama, anata-sama, and so on. And certain words are used only between a husband and wife to express their delicate conjugal relationships.
Omae (you) is a popular form of address by a husband to his wife. However, there is some controversy over this word. Those who favor using omae reason that it conveys feelings of "dignity," "warmth," and "intimacy." Those who dislike omae, most of whom are among the younger generation, argue that it carries connotations of "domination" and "superiority"—a husband being above a wife—and "boastfulness." Both arguments do not make much difference to the many husbands who have been using omae as a convention for years. Another word meaning "you" now often used by young husbands is kimi, which has a friendlier sound but lacks dignity.
In fact, the word omae is used by a man in two cases: when calling another male rather rudely on an equivalent level and when calling his wife. Thus omae, when the "you" is female, can be used only by a husband addressing his own wife. In other words, there is only one man in the world who can call a woman omae; that is her husband. Although omae does convey a nuance of domination or rudeness, it is the privilege of a husband to use this word. In a sense, omae symbolizes the happy monopoly of the marital relationship.