Ganbaru

Ganbaru(Ngoan trương る,lit.'stand firm'),also romanized asgambaru,is a ubiquitous Japanese word which roughly means to slog on tenaciously through tough times.^[1]

The wordganbaruis often translated as "doing one's best", but in practice, it means doing more than one's best.^[2]The word emphasizes "working with perseverance"^[3]or "toughing it out".^[4]

Ganbarumeans "to commit oneself fully to a task and to bring that task to an end".^[5]It can be translated as persistence, tenacity, doggedness, and hard work. The term has a unique importance inJapanese culture.^[6]

TheNew York Timessaid ofShoichi Yokoi,theJapanese holdoutwho surrendered in Guam in January 1972, that in Japan "even those embarrassed by his constant references to the Emperor felt a measure of admiration at his determination andganbaruspirit ".^[1]After the1995 Kobe earthquake,the slogan "Gambaro Kobe"was used to encourage the people of the disaster region as they worked to rebuild their city and their lives.^[7]After the2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami,gambaruwas one of the most commonly heard expressions.^[8]

Etymology

The modern spelling isatejiusing theNgoancharacter to represent an unknown original lexeme.^[9]

The sense was originallyto be stubborn, to be obstinate,with negative overtones. The modern positive sense ofto persist, to endurehas arisen since the end of theEdo periodin 1868.

There are three theories of the origin:

Sense shift fromNhãn trương る(ganbaru,"to keep watch on something, to stare at something", literally "keep one's eye on something" )
Shift in reading fromNgã に trương る(ga ni haru,literally "to stick to one's desires, to insist on one's point of view" )
An unknown etymology based on the historical kana formぐわんばる

Analysis

Gambarufocuses on the importance of finishing a task and never stopping until a goal is achieved. The continuing effort to overcome obstacles (even if not successful) is an important concept in Japan.

Unlike the related, but passivegaman,ganbaruis an active process.^[10]

Although there are many nearsynonymsin Japanese, there are fewantonyms.^[6]

References

^^a ^bKristoff, Nicholas D. (September 26, 1997)."Shoichi Yokoi, 82, Is Dead; Japan Soldier Hid 27 Years".New York Times.
^Sepp Linhart; Sabine Frühstück (1 January 1998).The Culture of Japan as Seen through Its Leisure.SUNY Press. p. 104.ISBN 978-0-7914-3791-9.Retrieved22 June2021.
^Kangmin Zeng (4 January 1999).Dragon Gate.Bloomsbury Academic. p. 224.ISBN 978-0-304-70015-8.Retrieved22 June2021.
^Kristoff, Nicholas D. (January 22, 1997)."A Japanese Generation Haunted by Its Past".New York Times.
^Horst Albach (1994).Culture and Technical Innovation: A Cross-cultural Analysis and Policy Recommendations.W. de Gruyter. p. 388.ISBN 978-3-11-013947-1.Retrieved22 June2021.
^^a ^bAnne Allison (28 May 1994).Nightwork: Sexuality, Pleasure, and Corporate Masculinity in a Tokyo Hostess Club.University of Chicago Press. pp. 119, 120.ISBN 978-0-226-01487-6.Retrieved22 June2021.
^Davies, Roger J.; Ikeno, Osamu (15 March 2002).The Japanese Mind: Understanding Contemporary Japanese Culture.Tuttle Publishing. p. 84.ISBN 978-0-8048-3295-3.Retrieved22 June2021.
^"U.S. donations not rushing to Japan".11Alive News (US).March 17, 2011. Archived fromthe originalon July 20, 2012.RetrievedJanuary 12,2020.Devin Stewart, a senior director at the Japan Society in New York City, said, "Suffering and persevering is a type of virtue in Japan... the ability to persevere and remain calm under difficult situations. Among the most commonly heard expressions there, are gaman, to persevere or tough it out; gambaru, to do your best, to be strong; and shoganai, it cannot be helped, which expresses a sense of fatalism....
^
- Matsumura, Akira (September 2019).Daijirin.ISBN 978-4-385-13906-7.OCLC 1121612643.
- Matsumura, Akira (1997).Daijisen.Shōgakkan.ISBN 4-09-906862-5.OCLC 42956600.
^Haghirian, Parissa (2011-02-15)."Mastering The Basics".American Chamber of Commerce in Japan Journal.Archived fromthe originalon 2011-07-09.Whereganbaruis an active process and requires people to do something to achieve their goals,gamanis passive and focuses more on enduring and not complaining.

Ganbaru

Etymology

Analysis

See also

References

Further reading