Practicing Gaman Every Single Day
Celebrating AAPI Heritage Month 2023
A few years back, I did the 23 and Me DNA test to see what my actual heritage is. A relative said that the Portuguese explored Shikoku Island (where all four of my grandparents are from) in the 16th and 17th centuries, and since my dad and I have naturally wavy hair, maybe we have a long lost Portuguese bloodline.
Well, it turns out my genetic history is 99.6% Japanese with a little Korean and Pacific Islander of miniscule fractions of a percent! I began to ask around. “Do you know anyone who is 99% of one race?”
That’s when my friend whose family member has a PhD in genetics said that it is rare. At least for centuries, both my mother’s or father’s side of the family stayed close to home in Ehime and Kochi prefectures, Shikoku Island, Japan. So here I am, 99.6% Japanese by blood and 100% American in all other ways! I was raised with some Japanese culture and family traditions, but my Japanese-ness is much more than my DNA, and that’s arising the more I speak to groups about The Kindness of Color.
I’m especially seeing more of the Japanese culture in myself as I answer Q&As. My sponstaneous answers come from a specific Japanese cultural trait more deeply ingrained in me than I ever thought: Gaman.
Many have asked these questions:
Why wasn’t there more outward resentment and protest against incarceration? Why don’t you have more resentment for what your people suffered?
How did the Japanese Americans have such industriousness to literally build working cities within the incarceration camps after being unjustly accused and forcibly relocated?
My answers are deeply rooted in gaman - a foundation in the shame-based cultural ethos of Japan. In a shame-based culture, people bear the burden for the whole community, and in this case, the innocent Japanese Americans bore the shame of Imperial Japan's horrific bombing of Pearl Harbor. Many likely felt they had to obey the Executive Order 9066, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a sign of obedience; they were born American citizens being loyal to the President despite their innocence.
Gaman (我慢) means to endure the seemingly unbearable with patience, dignity, tolerance, self-control, and self-denial.
It originates from the Bushido code of the samurai and values the display of calm forbearance and dignity or poise in the face of adverse situations beyond one’s control. One exhibits gaman by accepting whatever life throws at you without complaint, persevering forward no matter how difficult the obstacles ahead. It is also a sign of strength and maturity when one keeps private affairs, problems and complaints to themselves and assumes others have more significant issues than they do.
This is a distinguishing cultural trait of the Japanese. The March 2011 earthquake and tsunami immobilized the country for a while, but the people stayed diligent, industrious and resourceful even in the midst of thousands of lives lost and whole towns destroyed. Survivors bore their hardships with extraordinary dignity and organization in the midst of the chaotic tragedy. Japan and its people were resilient as they began to mobilize to rebuild and heal their families and country. Their display as a country of gaman is undeniable.
During the WWII incarceration, Japanese Americans had gaman as they decided to be survivors, not victims, and organized with hard work and steadfast determination to make the camps as livable as they could. They built school campuses, organized community events, and tried hard in every way to give the community a way to endure the difficult living conditions. When the odds are against you, Japanese lean on their gaman versus focusing on despair. They believe hard work is the prescription to not only ease the pain, but also work towards a more productive future, no matter the difficult circumstances.
I’m 100% American and 99.6% Japanese but I’m glad that I inherited this character of gaman from my grandparents and parents. May I be resilient and steadfast in all I’m called to do and be for others, persevering forward to make our communities better for all.
In the Press
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