MutualUnderstandingBetweenAmericansandJapanese
AStudyofGung‑Ho1
AThesis
Presentedto
TheFacultyoftheHumanities
TbyamaUniversity lnPartialFU1偶11ment oftheRequirementsfbrtheDegFee
BachelorofArts by
YbkoHayamizu
January2004
〜

/ ，
CONTENTS
Introduction・・・・．・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・1
Chapterl
Workers'CharacteristicsAppearedinTheirWbrkEthics．．・・・・・・・4
ChapterⅡ
TheCulturalDif6erencesofWbmen・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・15
Chapterm
ForAchievementofMutualUnderStanding・・・・・・・・・・・・・・20
Conclusion・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・。。・・・・・・・・・・・30
WbrkCited・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・32
(6242words）

Introduction
Inmygraduationthesisldiscussthemoviegl辺g山型（1986）whichwas directedbyRonHoward，andwrittenbyLowenGantsandBabalooMandel・The
● expression GungHo1'，means Charge! andwasusedamongmarmes・Italso symbolizestheenthusiasticworkethicofJapaneseworkers・Thismoviemakesclear thattherearemanydiffbrencesofviewwithregardtoworkbetweenJapaneseworkers andtheirAmericancounterparts、Inmythesis,IdiscussJapanesestereotypesand
● contrastthemwithAmericancharactersthatappearinthおmovle・Moreove風I considertheigsueofmutualunderStandingbetweenthediffbrentcultures,whiChisthe
● themeofthismovle．
Mostrepresentalio ofJapaneseinthemajorityoffbreignmoviesshowa smallmanwearingglaBses,havingnarroweyes,andlarge丘ontteethltcanbeseen
● thattheimagesof"ge通ha,，, sumo‑wrestlef',and"samuraf'stinremamasstercotypes
■ ofJapaneseallovertheworld・Inthismovle,anAmericanworkergoestoJapanand imploresaJapanesecorporationtotransfbrtoAmerica・Manymaythinkthatthe
● Japanesewouldfailintheventure，andthisisamov1eswhichmocksJapanese．
● However;whenweseethjsmov]e,wecanrealizethattherearemanygooddescriptions ofJapaneseinthel980's、Eventhough此mocksJapanese,itnevermakesusangry
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insteadwesmilebitterlybecauseitsumsupthecharacteristicsofJapaneseworkers weⅡ． lnChapterl，IdealwithJapaneseandAmericanworkers,bothexecutives andblue‑conarworkers，whowork幼rtheAmericanbranchofthecompany;Assan
Motors，Ing旦迎g二旦QLJapanesearedegcribedasfanaticworkers,whoarecold･hearted， andperfbctionist・Ontheotherhand，Americansaredescribedasselfcentered， home･orientedandirresponsibleworkersIdiscussthesetraitsthroughgomeepおodes
● inthemov1e． lnChapterⅡ，Ifbcusonthestereotypicalrepre8entationsofJapaneseand
Americanwomen，especiallythewivesoftheworkers・Iexaminethemregarding
● appearanceandattitudes・Inaddition,IaL3ocompareAmericanwlveswhowantto
● participatembusinesstalkswiththeirhusbands'colleaguesandJapanesewweswho thinktheyshouldnotbeconcernedwiththeirhusbandswork． lnChapterⅢ,Idjscus8TakaharaandHunt,JapaneseandAmericanheroes inGung･Ho1TheAmericanprotagonist,Hunt,hasfdendlyrelationshipswithother
Americanworkersoutsidework・However;theJapaneseprotagonist,Thkahara,who isleaderoftheAmericanbranchofAssanmotors，doesnot・Iwindescribethe diffbrCncesbetweenTもkaharaandHunt，andanalyzewhathappensandhowthey
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鰯 reaChmutualunderstanding
仁少】
例
？
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' ､
Chapterl lnth鵡Chapter;IwilldjscussthedjfferencesbetweenAmericanandJapanese worker噂'sem9eofvalues．
First,IwmexaminetheirthoughtsandattitudestowardtheirfamnyThen,I wi]lpresenttheirworkethicsandculturalCharacteristics・Afterth狛,Iwillcompare theAmericanandJapaneseworkersregardingthegepoints、IwinmakeJapanese s e o p a h a e i l m i l r c s r n e ． lnorderfbrthereadertounderstandthispaperwen,Iwmpresenttheplotof
Gung‑Ho1below：
Hunt,theprotagonistofthおstory;istheleaderoftheAmericancarfactory； whiChisonthevergeofbankruptcyinatowninAmerica・HegoestoJapanand managestoinvitesomeASSANCarCorporationmemberstohisfactoryWhatHunt seesinJapanisthehardtraimngfbremployeeswhofallbehindwithwork，Afterthat， hehasapresentationfbrAssanexecutives,andhethinksmgprQjecthasfailedbecause theJapaneseworkersneversmileatthemeeting・HereturnstoAmerica,thinkinghe hadnotsucceededinattractingtheJapanesecompanytohistown．
However；afewdayslate葛theASSANcarcorporationmergeswiththe companyfbrwhiChHuntworks，andKazUhiroThkahara，thenewleader；andsome
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御
ASSANexecutivescometothefactory；ThugmanyAmericansandsomeJapanese starttoworktogetheratthefactoryinAmerica･TheAmericanworkersgetconfUsed andcomplainoftheJapaneseworkingstyleandtheideathatthemostimportantthing
● inlifeiswork・Ontheotherhand,theJapaneseworkersandsupervlsorscannot accepttheAmericanworkingstylebecameitseemsselffshandremiss．
● Tbraisethemorale,HuntandTakaharapromisecolleaguessalarymcreasesif
● theycanproducel5,O00carsmamonth・However;atfHrst,theAme]Eicanworkers thinkitiswasteof位meiftheycannot・OnlyTakaharaandHuntwhoaChievemutual understandingeaChothercontinueworkinginorderto丘nthequota・Seeingthesetwo areworking,theotherscamebacktoworkandtheymakecarsthroughoutthenight．
Whenthedeadlinearrives，theyhavebuiltl5,O00car8，includingdefective
● ones,whichtheJapanesesuperv]sorsfindeasily6Itisa1mostdecidedthattheywill dosetheAmericanbranChdown・Howeverthen,theJapaneseprincipalofASSAN
● appears．Heおsolmpressedwiththeircooperationandimprovementthathedecides toa1lowtheplanttocontinueandtoincrea8emonthlypaymentseventhoughthey actuallycouldnotmakel5,O00carsperfbctly6
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− −
A・ThelmportanceofFamily
1.AnExampleofanAmericanworker:Willie
WiniebeganworkatAssanmotorsthatopenedabranchinAmerica・Oneday5 heaskshおboss,T葱kahara,ifhemightleavetheof5ceearlybecausehおsonhashada to illectomyHoweve風T泡kaharadoesnotallowhmltogo・Wmiesaysagainand again： Ipromisedmyson，hebelievesme"・Fromthisscenewecanseethat
Americanscherishtheirfamilyも
2.AnExampleofJapaneseworker:T油kahara
HuntvisitsT掴kaharawhenheheardthatherefUsedWillie'srequest・Hunt wasveryembarTassedbecausehehadthoughtandtoldWilliethathewouldbeallowed togo・HuntseesaphotoofTmkaharaﾉsfamilyinhjsof5ce・WhenHuntasks mKaharahowhおwifbis,heanswersthathedidnotaSkhereventhoughtheylive togetherkThissuggeststhathedoesnotusuallyconcernhimselfabouthisfamily5
ThisおatypicalattitudeofJapaneseworkerswhothinkbusinessmostimportantin theirlives,andthisisoneofthestereotypicalattitudesofJapanese．
Inthefbnowingaconversationisprcsentedinordertofbcu8onJapanese husbandswhodomina蛇theirfamily;andconsidertheirworkasbeingmoreimportant ascanbeseeninthefbⅡowing．
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へ へ oneday;Takahara，swifeaskshimtoassembleabicyclefbrtheirson・Inthat scene,theyspeakbothJapaneseandEnglish
(T=Ka7mhi'?oTakahara/W＝hiswife）
W:Excuseme，Wnlyouputthjsbiketogethertonight?(inJapanese）
T:PracticeyourEnglish．
W:Tbmorrowおtheboy'sbirthday6Iboughtthebicycle．Ican？tputuptogethem
T:Nottonight
W:Overtime・Iwantyoutoseehimwakeuptomorrow
( a h a y o i ）
W:Ka7mhim？
T:Caxftyouseel'mworking？Ihavenotime1
(HiswifethrowsthepartofbicycletoTakahara.）
T S p o n ( J a s
W:Ybu地inkon]yaboutbusiness1Ybunevercareaboutyourchildren1( n p e ）
T:Dolftinterruptme1(InJapanese） ltseemsthathefindshjssolisbirthdayastroublesome,anditalsoseemsthathehates beingspokentowhenheおworking・Hethinksanything,evenhischild]gen,ifthey preventhim丘omworkingareno地ingbutobstacles・Itiseasnyunderstood量omthis
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/ 1 conversationthatheseemsdominantandauthoritativelyinhishome,thoughhelooks weakjustljkeastereotypicalJapanesemen:hewearsglasses,hasblackhair;narrow eyes,andおshort・ComparedwithAmericans,heseemssma1l,powerless,andnotto caringabouthjsfamilyverymuCh・Moreoverwerealizethat,inthismovie,Japanese menareshowntobeljevethatagoodfathermustworkhard・Thiswayofthinkinghas lasteduntiltodayinJapan．
BWOrkingStyles:AmericanWbrkersandJapaneseWbrkers lAmericanWOrkers a・Cheerfijness
● Inthismov]e，mostoftheAmericanworkersmakejokes，andare alwaysCheerfUlwhjletheyareworking・WhenHuntwenttoJapantoinviteAssan motortoUSA,heshowedJapaneseexecutivesaphotoofasexywomanattheimportant meeting、Thoughhetriedtomakethemeetingsociablewiththejoke,Japanese
● executivesdidnotappreciateit・Ontheotherhand,inthesceneofthemormng assemblyattheAmericanbranchofAJgsan,Americanworkerswhoareembarrassedto
● dotheexerclses,startdancingandenjoythemmstead・Thus,Americangaredepicted aspeoplewhomanagetoenjoytheirljfeunderanycircumstances,andthatisoneof
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t e s e h ． b・SelfCenteredAmericanWbrkers
● ItisnotstrangefbrAmericanworkerstoenJoymusic，cigarettes，and newspapersduringwork、Eventhoughthisresultsinmanydefもctivecarsdueto m x g s e a e e a m t h c i t n h i e o b l y t e e someproblems、Theythinkthese】lingagentshouldcompensatefbrthese,andwhat theyshoulddoismerelyreaChthequotassetfbrthem．
Inaddition,Americamgseldomhesitatetotelltheiropimoninpublic・Atthe
甲 ● meetingofthelaborunion,mostAmericanworkersstandupandshouttheiroplmonsto expressthemselvesasintheexamplebelow
AttheLaborUnionmeeting,numerousAmericanworkerscomelDgetherinthe hall・Themeeting鵡totalkabouttheemploymentcontractsofAssanmotors・Auof theAmericanworkersareyeningfbrhigherpay；First，themayortriestospeak．
Eventhoughhemanagedtocalmthemdown,noonebecomescompletelyquietuntil
Crandlestartstospeak・Heisamanfromthelaborunion・Whenheannouncesthat
Assanhassetthestandardsalaryat＄8.75anhouI;anofworkersbegintoshoutout loudlyagain・Aworkershoutsthattheyhadbeenabletoget＄11.50anhourbefbre．
EveryworkerexpresseshisopinjontoCrandle・Suddenly;intheblackatmosphere,a
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緬 湿翰 middle･agedmanshoutsthathewantstoworkeventhoughthesalaryislowerthan befbre･Theconversationcontinuesasbelow．
Crandle:Allright・WOrkfbrthecontract．
WOrkerD:Doyouthinktheygivethecontract？
Crandle:Ithinkthey・・・
WbrkerD:Wait1Wait11Iknowlaskyou・I，maBkingyou1
FhFomthisscene,itcanbeseenhowfewjobstherearCinAmericainthosedays・I、 additiontothehecklingofCrandle,therearesomemenwhodisturbhiminhisspeech．
MostAmericanworkershavetheirownopinion，andtheynevercompromise．
Americansputaspecialemphasおonindjvidualandfbelings．
■
WhilewecanrealizetheaggresslvenessofAmericans，theyalsogivethe
● mmpressionthattheyaremorese出shthanJapane8e・Theymanagetopushthrough
由 ● theiroplmoneventhoughthoseareintheirprivates・ManyAmericanshave
● confidenceinthemselves・Aworke風Buster;inthおmov]erepresentsthistype・Heis themostselfcenteredAmericanworkerand鱈veryfat・Hewasshiftedtotheposition ofsweeperasapenaltyfbrirrGsponsiblework・Ontheotherhand,onedaybefbrehe wasshifted,workersinAssanmotorshaveanAmericanversusJapanesesoftbangame tocreatefriendlyfbelingeachothe工Tbwardstheendofthegame,Busterdeliberately
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御 chargeshおboss，Sakamototowin・BothAmericanandJapaneseworkersare displeasedwithBuster'sselfrighteousactinthegame・Itisa]sothereasonofhisshift fieomworkertosweeperinthefactoryDespitethis,heisveryproudofhimselfeven thoughheislazyandhebelieveshisdemotionおcausedbySakamoto'sretaliation、He ragesagam3thisbossaboutthiswithoutrenectingabouthimself
Therearemanydescriptio oftheselfishnessofAmericanworkersinthis b mov]e・Fbrexample,theydonotconcentratetheirworkbecausetheymanagetoenjoy musicandcigaretteswhileworking・ALgotheypushtheirclaimeventhoughtheyare egotistic・Consequentlytheylacktherealizationthattheyarethemembersofthe company8Whiletheyhavehighpride,andenjoytheirlifbincMingwork,theyare sometimesremissintheirduiies,andmindhavingthedefbctsintheirproductspointed
O ．
1.JapaneseWbrkers
a・ExpressionlessJapanese
WhenHuntheldthemeetingattheAssanheadquartersinJapan,noneofthe
Japaneseexecutive8eversmjled，butwereexpressionlessasifbeingangryabout something，EvenwhenHuntgivessomegreetingsinJapaneseandmakesjokes,they
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' 1
● justlookathimasifheisodd,andnobodyrespondstohim、Inthismovle,most
JapaneseworkersatAssan，e8pecia1lyexecutives，seldomlaugh・Huntthinkshis presentationhasfailedbecauseoftheirattitudes，butlate葛hereahzeshehas succeededandtheAssanmotorcompanycanstartafactoryinUSA
Japaneseareoftenshownasbeingexpressionlessandstoicinmanymoviesan
● overtheworld・Theyalsoseemtobetoosolemnandhatejokes・Inthismovle,wecan realizeeventhoughtheyareexpressionless,theydoesnotalwaysrefUse，Itisalsotrue， occasionany；thatJapanesepeopleseldomspeaktheirownopinioninpublic・The problemisthatthesekindsofJapanesestereotypesareexaggeratedinmanymoviesin theworld,andareestablishedthepositionofoddrace・ItisaLgotruethatthereare s i m y r g r e e s h e o p o a e e h t a e p s n e ， solemn,andunsociable．
DescribingJapanesease叩ressionlesssymbolizestheAmericans'fbarofthe
Japanesebecauseinl980's，Japanesewereconsideredasathreatandunidentifed
● powerintheworldlnthosedays,actually;Japanhadahigheconom1cgmwthrate， andbecameaneconomicpowerintheworldalthoughJapanhadlostWWⅡ、The
● relatjonofJapaneseandAmericaninthおmovlesuggeststherealrelationshipbetween
JapanandAmericainthosedays．
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郷 ′ 1 b・BusyBees
Inthismovie,eventhoughtheportrayalsofJapaneseworkersareexaggerated， theyarenotentirelywrong、Japaneseworkersarepmudoftheirjobastheyarehard workers，butarenotpmudofthemselvesintheirprivatetimes・Thus，Japanese workersarelessattentivetheirfamilyandexpendalmostanoftheirljvesontheirwork becausetheyareashamedofanymistakesordefectsintheirproducts・Theyseemljke slavesbecausetheybeljevetheymustsacrifcetheirmindandlifefbrworkaslongas theyaxeemployees．
Inaddition,Japaneseaccepteverythingthattheirbossdecidesevenifheis tyrannical・Sincethethoughtthattheymustworkasslavesおimprintedonthemind ofJapaneseworkers,nobodyreactsagainsttheharshexecutivetrainingprograminthe
U opening8ceneofthismov]e・ThisisthescenethatinwhichJapaneseworkerswho cannotkeepupwiththeothersarefbrcedtotraintheirminds・TheworkersatAssan motorwearstrangecostumesandheadbands（伽chimakjandshoutanoathof allegiance・AttimestheirbosshitsthemwithawoodenplankThereisathoughtin
Japanthatitisnaturalfbrworkerstoacceptthepoljcyofthecompanyoftheirown accords・Inthismovie,thesenaturesofJapaneseworkersaredescribedweninthe
● sceneofwearingunifbrmsanddoingexermse．
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ForAmericanswhorespecttheirprivatetimeoremotions,itseemspeculiar totrainworkersingroupsortoworkfbrtheircompanyもTheyarenotaseageras
Japanesebecauge theyworktoljve，，、Ontheotherhand,Japanesehavemaderapid
● economicpmgre8s，andbecomean1mportantpowerintheworldwithoutadopting individualjsm・Theythinkworkinghardmustbringsuccessandhavegood consequences,andfinanytheJapane8ebegantoliveonlyfbrworkandsacrihcetheir pleasantintheirlifb、Eventhoughwhentheyplaybasebanfbrtheiramusement，
JapanesewearunifbrmsandpracticeinanorderlymannemItisalsoJapanese stereotypicalCharacteristicthattheyalwaysstra血1fbrasuccessfUloutcomeandcannot r l q s h r e i も
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