Management Future Notebook - Friday Edition (No. 38) - Sample Version: "What Have Kyoto People Been Afraid Of?"
Management Future Notebook - Friday Edition (No. 38) - Sample Version
"What Have Kyoto People Been Afraid Of?"
(Author: Akifumi Yasumura / Business Capability Development Co., Ltd.)
👉 This full version explores the deep background of Kyoto people's indirectness, covering:
Defense techniques born from a thousand years of fear, Type 6 as a city, and applications to management!
👉 Click here for the complete archival version (3000 characters, 500 yen):
→ https://note.com/quiet_gnu5848/n/n76c25db8535b
On Fridays, we deliver "stories that connect the past and the future."
Through episodes of history and culture, we share inspiration that will stay with you over the weekend.
■ Introduction
The way people in Kyoto speak is somehow soft, ambiguous, and full of implications.
"It would be good if you thought about it well."
"As for that part, well... I'll leave it to you."
Whenever people encounter such phrasing,
many wonder, "Where does their true intention lie?"
However, the indirectness of Kyoto is not just a temperament.
It is a "city defense technique" polished to survive in a thousand-year-old capital.
Today, I would like to unravel the story of "fear" and "survival" that sleeps deep within Kyoto culture,
and consider what kind of shadow this structure casts on the communication of us modern Japanese people.
■ The Indirectness of Kyoto People Was Born from "Fear"
Kyoto was—
with emperors, court nobles, monks, samurai, and daimyo from other provinces...
it was "the most dangerous city in the world," where multi-layered powers were constantly swirling.
Who was the real power holder,
who was connected to which faction,
whose single word could cause a family to fall into ruin—
an era where you couldn't read any of this continued for over a thousand years.
Therefore, Kyoto people accumulated the experiential knowledge over many generations that
"showing your true intentions can be fatal."
There was no place where "verbal failure" could influence one's life as much as this city.
That is why they learned.
That speaking ambiguously is the safest, most beautiful, and wisest method.
■ Three Defense Techniques Born from a Thousand Years of "Fear"
The indirectness of Kyoto culture is largely formed by three "fears."
1. Fear of incurring the wrath of power
At the end of the Heian period, the Taira clan ruled,
and after that, the Minamoto, Ashikaga, Oda, Toyotomi, Tokugawa...
powerful external military forces occupied Kyoto many times.
Especially during the Onin War,
the city of Kyoto was reduced to scorched earth, and the merchant culture completely collapsed.
The fear that homes, land, and human relationships could be "lost overnight."
Therefore, Kyoto people polished the techniques of
"not making enemies"
and "accepting whoever is in power."
This defense technique is still alive today.
2. Fear of not knowing who is an ally
Kyoto's political structure was always multi-layered.
・Emperor
・Regent families
・Court nobles
・Cloistered government
・Samurai government
・Religious forces
・Foreign envoys
・Local powerful clans
Ordinary townspeople lived on top of a "power relationship layered like geological strata."
In other words, Kyoto was the city with the most "enemies disguised as allies."
Therefore, Kyoto people polished the technique of not showing their inner hearts.
If you show it, you will be used.
If you show it, you will be snitched on.
If you show it, your legs will be swept out from under you.
Indirectness was a "shield to protect the heart."
3. Fear that true intentions become a "weapon"
A famous line from Kyoto people is
"Would you like some ochazuke?"
It is often said that this means "please go home now," but the essence is deeper.
For Kyoto people, "true intentions" are as sharp as a sword and can sometimes take a life.
That is precisely why they dare to hide their true intentions,
entrust things to the other party,
and weave relationships within the margins.
Kyoto culture can be said to be the wisdom that has protected for 1,000 years "relationships that would break if spoken to directly."
―――――――――――――――――――――――――――
The free article up to this point is about half of the complete archival version.
In the continuation, I explain in depth "Type 6 as a city personality" and "applications to management."
✂️ From here on is the paid, complete archival version ✂️
[Point 1] How to see through the "psychology of indirectness" lurking in an organization
[Point 2] Practice of psychological safety and communication design
👉 The complete archival version (3000 characters, 500 yen) is available below
→ https://note.com/quiet_gnu5848/n/n76c25db8535b
🐾 Cat's Tweets
"It seems that cats in Kyoto don't say 'meow' when they meet for the first time, but greet each other with their eyes."
■ Next Preview
'Why do companies that express gratitude grow?'
#FutureRealization #Enneagram #HRConsulting #HandsOnSupport #PsychologicalSafety