earticle

영어

This paper attempts to deal with how the art of living, characteristic features, ways of thinking, distinction between the sexes, views of the language and money are represented in Japanese proverbs. Major findings are as follows : 1) In the art of living, the Japanese tend to be realistic, practical, and selfish. In addition, they are opportunistic and value saving one's face. They also pay respect to those who are in power. On the other hand, they look down upon the weak. In everyday life, they judge diligence and sincerity based on the facts such as how early they get up and how hard they work, and they also give high value to persistent efforts and patience. 2) Regarding characteristic features, Japanese people are portrayed to be quite ambivalent; they are in general warm-hearted toward neighbors but from time to time they are mean to them. Accordingly, it is hard to predict when they would change their attitudes from being kind to being evil-minded toward neighbors. On the other hand, they sometimes do disgraceful or impersonal things with no scruple when they are not seen by others. Moreover, in order to hide their weakness, they don't usually hesitate to boast themselves and justify their behavior. The Japanese have a very solid attitude toward friendship. They believe the friends of the past can not become the enemies of the day. Thus, their relationship is built upon a high standard of courtesy and moderation. 3) Gender-related proverbs portrait women positively only in a limited sense. Overall, the predominance of men over women prevails. This has been formed since the aristocracy of Heian period (A.D. 794～1192) and through the 700-years-long ruling by Samurais. Particularly, the confucianism which was the political ideology of Tokukawa period (A.D. 1603～1867) played a major role in promoting the gender segregation. 4) With regard to the use of language, many proverbs deal with the verbosity and the negative use of language. Thus, Japanese people are very much prudent when they communicate each other. 5) Proverbs dealing with money matters often show that Japanese people are devoted to the pursuit of wealth and they are likely to clearly define where their interests lie even between parents and children.