Rice Cohesion

A very important aspect of Japanese culture was explained to me today. Japan is an extremely conformist place. They have a saying that the nail that stands up quickly gets hammered down in Japan. Group dynamic and cohesion is regarded as paramount. A Japanese woman explained to me that this stems back to the harvesting of rice in Japan. Rice was all important. Rice was survival. In order to effectively plant and harvest it was necessary for neighbours in a village to help each other a great deal in the agrarian society. Non-confrontation (at least directly) and maintaining the appearance of harmony with everyone was the Japanese method of continued success with the harvest. It all goes back to rice, according to this woman.