Fall Seven Times, Get Up Eight

The essential reference on Japanese customs and etiquette told from the inside.

Japan’s image in the world, and self-image, is tied up in a tumultuous history, from turbulent medieval ages, to the stable Tokugawa era, to catastrophic world war, to global economic powerhouse, and to a period of stagnation leading into the shattering earthquake of 2011. As the New York Times reported on the Fukushima Nuclear Reactor disaster: “Maybe we can learn something from Japan. . . . The selflessness, stoicism and discipline in Japan these days are epitomized by those workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.” This book, told from the inside by a distinguished Japanese ambassador, explains the value set and culture that underpins modern Japan. As the Western model of capitalism appears to struggle with civil disorder and crime, there is much to be learned from the cultural systems of these steadfast islanders.

Satoshi Hara, born in Japan in 1947, studied international law at Kyoto University, Japan, and joined the Japanese foreign services. He continued his studies at Christ Church, Oxford. As a diplomat, he has traveled widely, serving in UK, Canada, South Africa, Kuwait, Malaysia, and he was Japan’s Ambassador to Brunei and Portugal. He has visited some eighty countries in the world and his experiences have given him an understanding of just how different Japanese values are from others. Over the course of time his studies in Japanese values and the way of thinking have culminated in writing this book. He believes the expansion of Japanese values will have an important role to play in the pursuit of creating a truly peaceful and harmonious world. Hara now teaches diplomatic history and cross-cultural studies at Kyoto University of Foreign Studies.