The “happiness” concept in the Japanese and English cultures: comparative analysis

Abstract

The study aims at examining the concept of “happiness” and its manifestations in Japanese and English. At the same time, there is no task to highlight specific features of the conceptual sphere in Great Britain, the USA and Australia. The main emphasis is placed on the comparative aspect, which also conditioned the use of the comparative method in the article. When describing the semantic field of the “happiness” concept in the Japanese culture, it is important to consider the influence of hieroglyphs borrowed from China, values and ideas about the organization of social life, the role of traditional beliefs, everyday magic and kotodama (the soul of language). Finally, it is worth mentioning the broad synonymous content of the “happiness” conceptual field in the dictionary “Ruigo reikai jiten”. It combines the native Japanese 幸せ shiawase “happiness” and 幸い saiwai with the Sinicisms containing the hieroglyphs 福 fuku and 幸運 ko:un “luck”. At the same time, 運 un “fate, luck” is among the following synonyms: 天命 tenmei (“destined by the sky”), 命運 meiun and others, representing the concept of “fate”. In the course of the study, the authors have emphasized the influence of ethical ideas contained in the axiologeme do:toku 道徳 and the desire for harmony on the Japanese culture. In the English-speaking cultures, this ethical component becomes secondary in comparison with materially expressed success and luck, the principle of preserving one’s own freedom and independence. However, the impact of time (globalization, Internet communication, the dominance of English) gradually led not only to the emergence of Anglicisms in the Japanese culture but also to a change in the content of significant concepts, in particular the concept of “happiness”.