Whether or not you can appreciate a lack of duplicity

A "lack of duplicity" is often spoken of as a virtue, but in reality, it is easily mistaken for "hostility."

This happened the other day when I went to the library to return some books.

Perhaps because there are few users in February, libraries often take a long holiday to organize their collections. The day I went was a Tuesday, right after a nine-day holiday.

I could hear an older woman who was in line ahead of me, checking out books, speaking to the staff member.

"Even though you were closed for that long, you're still going to have two more weekday closures in March, right? You really do take a lot of time off."

I was startled as I listened.
I thought she was indirectly complaining, saying, "Public institutions shouldn't just close whenever they feel like it. Work more."

The librarian who was addressed also seemed taken aback and replied,
"Oh. But this nine-day holiday was scheduled long ago for collection organization, and although we were closed to the public, we were actually here working..."
she said, mumbling.

From her speech, she probably wasn't a local.
The people around here speak in Kansai dialect (strictly speaking, it might be different, but I can't tell the difference, so I assume it's Kansai dialect).
People who speak standard Japanese are those who have come from elsewhere.

The woman, seemingly sensing something from the librarian's tense atmosphere, said,
"Oh, that's not it. I don't have much fun other than reading books, so I just thought I'd prefer it if you didn't take so many days off. I'm not blaming you, really."
The librarian smiled in response.
"Is that so? Thank you as always."
The crisis that seemed on the verge of exploding vanished in an instant.

Since moving here, things like this happen quite often.

When an older woman I became friends with at the gym came to visit my house, she suddenly said,
"It's so messy. Are you bad at cleaning? Shall I do it for you?"
I was so shocked that I let out a strange "Nuh!" sound.
I don't keep it that clean on a regular basis, but I had at least cleaned up because I knew a guest was coming.
To have her say "It's so messy" as soon as she entered the house felt like being slapped in the face.

However, ignoring my shock, the woman was smiling.
And with the energy of someone genuinely about to start cleaning right then, she said while looking at the books piled up,
"Wouldn't it be better to start tidying up from here?"

"No, no, no, I can't have a guest do that. Please, sit down. I'll make you some tea."
I had her take a seat, but she was already half-rising, saying,
"Really? I'm actually quite good at it, you know."

After that happened a few times, I finally understood.
The people here have absolutely no duplicity.
What they think flies out of their mouths immediately, but there isn't a shred of accompanying sarcasm or hostility in it.

When they say, "You take a lot of time off," there is no feeling other than "You have many days off."
When they say, "It's dirty," there is no feeling other than "It's dirty."

"Are you a salary thief for taking so many breaks?!"
or
"How lazy must you be to live in such a dirty house?"
Those kinds of "extra things" are just what I am feeling on my own.

When they genuinely intend to attack, they are the type of people who will say so clearly.

I see. Once you get used to it, I don't think there are any people easier to get along with than these.
That's because you don't have to read between the lines.

I used to think of myself as a "KY" (kuuki yomenai - someone who can't read the room), as the old slang went. I couldn't read the atmosphere, and I would take actions that were inappropriate or unwanted for the situation. And then, I wouldn't even notice the atmosphere becoming even colder because of my actions.

I thought that was a trait of a minority like me, but that wasn't the case at all. In fact, here, if you try to be overly considerate, you're just called "fussy" and seen as a nuisance.

What a surprise. Just by changing where you live, life can become this much easier. It's easier to breathe. You don't have to live with your shoulders hunched.

For those living in large metropolitan areas who are exhausted from constantly trying to read other people's intentions, I can highly recommend living here.

After all, you are freed from useless emotional labor, so it's very comfortable.