[[Notes]] - Topics: [[Perspective]] - People: Life Where I'm From - Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOGMkgnc2YY --- ## Summary - The principles, perspectives, and practices of cleaning is deeply embedded into Japanese culture. From it's origins in Shinto and Buddhism, to modern day practices of cleaning from elementary school. - Cleaning is both a PERSONAl and a PUBLIC RESPONSIBILITY. From a young age, the Japanese become aware of waste production and waste management - for themselves and for those around them. - The collective participation of cleaning means that Japanese doesn't require nearly as much waste management compared to other countries, while the standards of cleanliness of other countries. - [[Quality costs less]], if everyone does it everyday. ## Notes ### Public garbage - Because of a Tokyo cult related attack in 1995, public garbage cans were removed. Since then, few public garbage cans have returned. - Due to the lack of public garbage cans, people take their garbage home with them - to sort and dispose of it themselves. These days, public garbage cans can be found in convenience stores (which are their own wonderful cultural phenomenon in Japan) and train station. ### Education - In grained into the Japanese education system, and the Japanese culture, is the idea of cleaning up after yourself. - Elementary school children practice this principle at school during events like lunch time. children collectively dispose of their lunch waste and put away their plates and utensils. For some school, there are children (on rotation) that are in charge of transporting the collected dishes to the school's kitchen. - There are NO JANITORS at school. So it's up to students to keep the classrooms clean. The lack of JANITORS isn't just limited to schools. Business (large and small) follow the same setup where individual workers are expected to collectively clean together. - If you're a student, and you make a mess, not only are you creating more work for yourself, but also for all your classmates. Because of these self and communal cleaning programs, students learn and internalize PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY and COMMUNAL IMPACT of their actions. ### Responsibility - Japanese people FEEL RESPONSIBLE to cleaning not their property, but the public AREAS AROUND them as well. A combination of PERSONAL AND PUBLIC RESPONSIBILITY. - It's very common to see seniors in the mornings cleaning outside their homes. - The world marvelled at how Japanese soccer fans cleaned after themselves after the World Cup match in 2022. ### Public places - Just like how some people clean around their home, shopkeepers and staff clean around their areas as well. - Some local businesses organize workers to clean the area (e.g. Shinjuku Clean). They all take turns beautifying the area they work in. - Works also clean if they have gaps within their work days. This embodies the mantra of, "[[If you have time to lean, you have time to clean.]]" - Overall, there's a high level of personal responsibility for cleaning, and that cleaning is part of everyday (work) life in Japan.\ - Japan does have dedicated cleaning staff, known as "Silver Jinzai". These folks are seniors that do part-time cleaning around their communities. Silver Jinzai can also be seen in the private sector - such as senior care homes or in train stations. ### Garbage day - If you have a home, then you'll most likely be part of a neighbourhood garbage group called Gomi Toban (or Sooji Toban), which means "garbage duty". - Each household take turns ensuring that the neighbourhood garbage, placed for collections, is done properly. This includes proper separation, organization, protected (with a net, from birds), and overall cleanliness. - With the exception of New Years, the weekly garbage collection schedule never changes - even during typhoons. And, they are always on time. ### Culture and religion - Modern practices could be partially attributed to Shinto and Buddhism. For Shinto priests, it's very important to keep their precincts clean. It's been an essential part of their duties for over 1,200 years. - SWEEPING the ground is connected with the idea of RITUAL PURIFICATION. - A Shinto practice of ritual purification by washing the entire body is known as Misogi. This is exemplified by the bathing culture in Japan (e.g. public bath houses and at home baths and shower setups). - "[[Cleanliness, is the most basic practice that all forms of Japanese Buddhism have in common.]]"