Our friend, Christal Whelan, has written an interesting article for Daily Yomiuri about the Japanese fondness for robots. The positive attitude of Japanese towards robots contrasts with the suspicion towards them in Western culture, where they are often depicted as a threat to humanity (think 2001). Japanese manga by contrast are more likely to view them as cute and helpful. Why the difference? Whelan hits on an interesting idea below with the traditional notion of a spirit inhabiting objects. It’s why there are so many pacification rituals (kuyo) for things like used needles, dolls and even old shoes.
Here’s an extract from Whelan’s article, which can be read in its entirety here.
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The willingness–or even desire–in Japan to coexist with mechanical beings is not solely explained by Shinto animism, often cited as the nation’s cultural basis. Nor can the impact of postwar robot icon Astro Boy account for the aspirations of humans who would readily live in symbiance with machines.
The concept of modern robots in Japan was triggered in 1924 by Czech playwright Karel Capek’s hit drama R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots), which was staged in Tokyo two years after its Prague debut. Capek used the Czech term robota, meaning serf labor, to refer to the synthetic, mass-produced factory workers in his play.
Capable of feeling emotion, these robots soon revolted against their human inventors, and eventually killed them.
However, classic Frankenstein plots so pervasive in Western narratives lack resonance in Japan, a country where the bond between an artisan and his tools has deeper, enduring roots. Tools are revered in Japan not because they are “alive,” but because they are an extension of the craftsman’s body. Through daily use, a worker infuses his tools with his soul so that they acquire a kind of life of their own.
This idea is common currency in Polynesia, where it is referred to as mana. Since a person and his tools make human livelihood possible, the product of this relationship is one of profound gratitude, a central value prevalent in Japanese culture that fosters a subjunctive mood. The tools are “as if” they are alive, but not mistaken for living things.
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(For an example of the Japanese propensity for robots, see the article about the role of robot seals in Japan Today about healing tsunami victims.)
High-tech fluffy seals that respond to human touch are the latest weapon in the battle against depression for survivors of Japan’s tsunami disaster.
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