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〔〔Ruth Benedict,The Chrysanthemum and the Sword,1946〕 is a Japanese value roughly corresponding to "duty", "obligation", or even "burden of obligation" in English. It is defined as "to serve one's superiors with a self-sacrificing devotion" by Namiko Abe. This value is so integral to Japanese culture that the conflict between ''giri'' and ''ninjō'', or "human feeling", is said to have been the primary topic of Japanese drama since earlier periods in history. Today, social critics decry the diminishing influence of giri on ''shinjinrui'', the new generations of Japan, who pursue an individualistic path in life that seems quite disparate from traditional Japanese culture. ==In behavior== Giri may be seen in many different aspects of modern Japanese behavior: # Japanese gift-giving is marked by an unwritten but no less real perceived balance of "giri", whereupon unusually large gifts must be reciprocated. "Giri choco" is a specific term referring to the obligation of close colleagues or associates to provide Valentine's Day or White Day chocolates to each other even if they feel no romantic feelings. # Japanese corporations fire or lay off their employees at one of the lowest rates of any industrialized nation, and employees reciprocate this loyalty through their personal habits. Whereas in the West, where engineers from different companies might be friends, this is far more rare in Japan. Employees' sense of obligation may be so strong that they consume only the beer and other products produced by their conglomerate's affiliates. Part time workers, however, are not so particular. # Japanese abroad often complain about the poor service to be found in non-Japanese countries. While Westerners might prize individuality and the right of a serviceperson to be an assertive social equal with opinions, Japanese generally value carrying out one's work obligations (giri) to the best of this ability, including what might seem to those from less formal social environments like excessive, mawkish, or even hypocritical or contrived formality and servility. Some social historians believe the pervasiveness of this concept in Japanese culture is a reflection of the static feudal order that defined Japanese society for centuries. "Giri books", or village registers that included all the unpaid obligations of one family or individual to another, were a cultural phenomenon that could only exist in a static agricultural culture, as opposed to a migrant or hunter/gatherer tradition. Other historians see more influence from samurai and Rinzai Zen traditions, which included a placid acceptance of death and willingness to commit suicidal actions forbidden in the Western Christian tradition. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Giri (Japanese)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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