“Here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.” Ecclesiastes 12:13
Our home phone rang unexpectedly Sunday morning, about an hour before the service started for the church plant we were leading. I wondered who it could be… “Sumimasen, this is Mrs. Takahashi and I regret to inform you that I will be unable to attend church this morning.” A few minutes later the phone rang again. “Sumimasen, this is Mr. Sasaki and I’m sorry to say that none of our family will be at church today.” While I was disappointed by these sudden developments, I was also a bit mystified. I wondered why these church members felt compelled to let me know of their absence. I didn’t have to ponder long to arrive at an answer: Gimu (義務). Roughly translated as “obligation, duty or responsibility,” gimu is a powerful force in Japan that drives a tremendous amount of social interaction.
This vague sense of obligation is frequently imposed by rules and regulations associated with one’s occupation, social status or family position. Giri (義理) is a closely related word that captures a similar sense of duty arising from a person’s place in societal structure and focuses more on the burden or responsibility placed upon an individual. While closely linked to the concepts of loyalty, gratitude and indebtedness, gimu is a key element for maintaining social harmony in Japan. Its earlier manifestations were seen in the responsibilities samurai bore under their feudal lords who provided for their subjects in exchange for their unquestioning devotion. Centuries later, this value of gimu transferred easily to the Japanese workplace environment where new “masters” expected a subtler form of subjectivity. Gimu is often visible in family relationships too, with the prime example being an eldest son who is traditionally expected to shoulder certain responsibilities. The value of gimu is certainly present in the educational system, particularly in teacher-student relationships. Likewise, church can easily be perceived as a similar hierarchical structure, which accounts for the earlier response of our church members.
The awareness of owing something and being put in the position of repaying that obligation accounts for a lot of social behavior in Japan and can have a tremendous upside. However, the darker or more extreme side of gimu was embodied by World War II kamikaze pilots who sacrificed their lives in obligation to their country. But the power of gimu in recent history also inspired many employees at the doomed Fukushima power plant to heroically risk their lives to avert a nuclear disaster following the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011.
Another term, ninjō (人情), or the human emotion of sympathy and kindness, often comes into conflict with giri so this is a common theme found in Japanese literature. In a society where the concept of self is often defined through social interaction, an individual can understandably feel trapped between the pressure to fulfill his or her perceived duty and the desire to follow their own emotional impulses.
Duty, or the fulfillment of responsibilities, is certainly a biblical value, thus a substantial amount of teaching is devoted as to how these values should be played out within human relationships and social constructs in a way that honor God. But superseding all human social obligations is our duty to fear God and keep His commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13). In fact, our duty to daily offer to God everything we are and everything we own cannot be separated from our duties to our fellow man. However, unlike giri, these are not a burden we have to bear; instead, they are the basis for harmony with others, flowing out of relational harmony with God. Stated more simply, our mandate or obligation is to love God and to love others (Luke 10:27). This is where gimu and ninjō seamlessly come together at the foot of the cross.
Ippo Ippo 