Depression murders the unknowing masses. As the technological capital of the world, Japan oddly enough lags far behind when dealing with mental illness in comparison to most modern, first world countries. Doctors who practice medicine in Japan tend to treat depression, borderline personality disorders, and even anxiety with an attitude of ignorance and, even in some cases, absolute denial. Years upon years of conditioning the Japanese population to not believe in the credibility of these very real diseases leads to the widespread misinformation regarding mental health, which inevitably results in an abhorrent amount of suicides within Japan even today. Considering this, Gail Tsukiyama, a Japanese-Chinese American author, writes an eloquent…show more content… At every opportunity given to him, Matsu dedicates both his life and the majority of his time providing for Sachi and the village of Yamaguchi. He overlooks his Japanese heritage and Japan’s common practice of ignoring other peoples’ problems, and this results in him saving the life of Sachi who once existed in a tremendously miserable state. The villagers of Yamaguchi also help her through her difficult times, and they act as her “crutches” while she settles into life with the lepers. Even though Matsu planned to build a rock garden for Sachi as a gesture of kindness in their friendship, it gave her a personal form of therapy to “rake” her waves of emotions into coherence and finally into contentment. Whereas most western culture prides itself in bearing personal problems as a collective unit—i.e. people casually venting to their friends during socials—Japanese philosophy tends to suppress its population into enduring problems in solitude. Matsu thwarts off this established set of ideals by nursing Sachi back into civilization with his friendship and her “lifeless” garden, which paradoxically breathes life back into her over the course of her many years of recovery. Once Japan as a whole discovers a way to implement treatments of benevolence to the mentally ill, its society will finally establish itself as advanced as its technology. Computers, TVs, and holograms aside, Japan must learn to adapt, or its society will similarly wither with the technology of the
