R.E.S.P.E.C.T-- Find out What It Means to Me
Aya Terki (East Meadow High School)
“Ki wo tsukenasai!”, my mother warned, as I ran out of my grandparents’ apartment to the bookstore
down the block. I heard a clerk welcome me from the back of the store: “Irashaimase!”. I grabbed my
favorite Japanese book that I waited for months to get my hands on and dashed to the cash register. “That
will be 700 yen please”, said the cashier with a smile. I quickly pulled out seven 100-yen coins from my
jacket pocket and went to drop them into the cashier’s hand. Her smile faded and her eyes widened as she
gasped. Out of nowhere, she pulled out a small, rectangular tray and held it under my hand, apologizing
profusely. I remembered watching my mother place her money in a similar tray, so I assumed I was to do
the same thing. The cashier counted the money, gave me the receipt with my book and bowed multiple
times, embarrassed. I bowed back, and rushed back to the apartment. A bit confused, I told my okaasan
what happened in the bookstore and asked her why the cashier was so apologetic. She explained to me that
when purchasing an item in a Japanese store, the money or credit card should be placed in the tray that is
provided. It is a sign of respect, and it symbolizes that the item is worthy of being handled with care. Being
raised in America, such a way of handling money seemed silly to me. I was used to seeing crumbled up
dollar bills with mustaches drawn on President Washington’s face. I was accustomed to seeing pennies on
supermarket floors, or dimes glued on to subway seats. Such disrespect towards one’s surroundings is
frowned upon in the Japanese culture.

Respect for the environment is another quality that is emphasized in Japanese culture. Streets, subway
cars, train stations and even public toilets are clean and garbage cans are easily accessible in busy areas.

During a recent trip to Japan, I went to Tokyo DisneyLand with my family. A young child in front of me
was eating a piece of candy and dropped her wrapper. Immediately, another guest at the park picked up the
wrapper, and threw it away into a nearby garbage can. Witnessing that took me back to my studies in a
Japanese elementary school. Every day, we had “osouji no jikan,” or clean up time, and we rotated shifts to
clean the floors of the classroom, wipe desks and clean the bathroom. By doing so at a young age, we
learned to take responsibility not only for our own actions, but for others’ as well. It was an important
lesson for me to learn because back at home, I selfishly depended on custodians or sanitation workers to
pick up my garbage later. Being put into their shoes helped me realize that I should at least be accountable
for my own things, and I think many Japanese students also realize that and apply it in their daily lives. For
example, many public bathrooms do not provide paper towels because it has become customary to carry
around a handkerchief. Also, a popular movement called “My Hashi” makes it trendy to carry around your
personal pair of chopsticks. This is in place of using disposable wooden chopsticks called waribashi. These
trends encourage all kinds of people to participate in a team effort to be more eco-friendly in order to help
out and give back to the environment.

Though respect is a universal concept, why is it applied differently in other cultures? It seems as if in
American culture, respect is something we only give to people. In Japanese tradition, respecting others is
something that is shizen, or natural, but in addition to another form of respect: Respect with their
surroundings. Right now, the entire globe is facing an environmental crisis due to overuse of our natural
resources and the tremendous amount of pollution. We use things and then throw them away mindlessly,
without thinking of the consequences. Through my experiences in Japan, I’ve made a conscious effort to be
more eco-friendly myself. I use a reusable bag for grocery shopping, and I use a handkerchief instead of
paper towels. If we all learn to respect and appreciate our surroundings like the Japanese, I believe it will be
easier to help preserve our planet and keep it healthy to sustain future generations.

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