8. You Had Me at Hello【Column: Leap Before You Look】

I admit.  I am guilty of surrounding myself with ハローキティ (Hello Kitty).  I drink tea out of my Hello Kitty mug.  My cello case has a Hello Kitty sticker (I call it Cello Kitty).  My car has two Hello Kitty decals and a Hello Kitty license plate frame.  I have a Hello Kitty tote bag and a Hello Kitty key chain and a Hello Kitty thermos and a Hello Kitty screen saver and a Hello Kitty pop socket and more.  A lot more.

Hello Kitty is a white cat with a red bow and no mouth.  She precisely represents the high context culture of Japan.  Our communication relies heavily on nonverbal cues and implicit understanding.  Who needs a mouth?!

以心伝心 (ishin denshin) derives from teaching core principles of Buddhism not through words but through actions and mindfulness.  阿吽の呼吸 (aun no kokyu) means understanding each other without words.  ツーカー (tsuu kaa) is quick to take a hint.  一を聞いて十を知る (ichi wo kiite jyu wo shiru) is to hear one and understand ten.

We find more value in silence than chatting away at 100 miles per hour.  沈黙は金 (chinmoku wa kin) – silence is golden.  言わぬが花 (iwanu ga hana) – better leave it unsaid.  口は災いの元 (kuchi wa wazawai no moto) – out of the mouth comes evil.

We are supposed to 行間を読む (gyokan wo yomu) – read between the lines, and 空気を読む (kuuki wo yomu) – read the atmosphere, while listening.  Those who 空気が読めない (kuuki ga yomenai – can’t read the atmosphere) are shunned. 

According to サンリオ (Sanrio), the company that created Hello Kitty, she doesn’t have a mouth so that people can “project their feelings and have a sense of connection and shared experience.”  The fact that is considered an “advantage” is so very Japanese.

But say no more.  Remember, silence is golden.  We’re the exotic Japanese with mysterious expression (or lack thereof) as in 能面 (Noh mask) or in the face of Hello Kitty.  But I’ll let you in on our secret – deep inside, we’re yearning to grin big time like a Cheshire Cat.  So, don’t be fooled and say Hello!