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receives from parents ‘Only after a person becomes a parent, he knows how indebted he is to his own parents.’ Generally, this type of on is related to the daily
care and trouble to which fathers and mothers are put in raising the children. Third, nushi no on is on that are received from one’s lord and teacher. In Japan,
one has particular on to one’s lord and teacher. It is because they have helped bring one along the way to have some experiences and get knowledge that will be
useful for their future. All those people from whom one receives on become one’s on jin or on man.
Japanese people regard ‘the power of on’ as the greatest power in tying one’s life. Based on that statement, Japanese people are always cautious in dealing
with on. It is because they do not want to be regarded as people who take advantage from others by doing benevolence. Hence, it can be said that an on to
anyone is a serious matter for Japanese people.
b. Concept of Gimu
In the previous chapter, it is mentioned that Reischauer 152-153 stated gimu, which is called giri in pre-modern times, as a sense of duty that is caused by
the existence of on and has to be done by doing unlimited devotion. Benedict also stated the same idea like Reischauer. In her book, The Chrysanthemum and the
Sword, Benedict 115 stated that gimu is the limitless repayments of on, both in amount and in duration of repayments.
According to Benedict 116-127, there are three types of gimu. Those gimu are chu, ko and nimmu. First, chu is the repayment of one’s on to Emperor.
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This type of gimu becomes every man’s repayment to the Sacred Chief – high priest and the symbol of the unity and the eternity of Japan. Japanese people
believe that the Emperor is the reincarnation of the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu, who has to be honored and obeyed. As the reincarnation of the Sun Goddess, the
Emperor has blessed Japanese people with so many things. In order to show their gratitude, Japanese people do chu to the Emperor to repay all of the on that they
have received. Second, ko is the repayment of one’s on to parents, which is also known as filial piety. This type of gimu forces someone to obey the parents
without questioning all of his or her parents’ decisions. Even after he or she is married, the repayment continues and they must obey all of the parents’ decision
as best as they could. However, Japanese people do not do ko to achieve compassion in the family, but to avoid losing face in the society because of the
failure of doing the gimu to their parents. Third, nimmu is the repayment to one’s profession. This type of gimu is related to somebody’s commitment to his or her
profession and people who are involved in succeeding his or her carrier in the future, such as: the lord and the teacher. For Japanese people, the lord and teacher
hold important roles in succeeding their profession. A lord has helped them not only in giving an opportunity to work and earn money, but also in succeeding
their carrier by promoting them to the higher level. Just like a lord, a teacher has also helped them in succeeding their profession by giving knowledge to do their
work well. Both have helped them in doing their profession and next, the on that they have received should be repaid by doing gimu.
The repayment of on or gimu takes the highest place over human feelings or ninjo and ethical considerations. As stated by Perkins that in doing gimu, a
person is expected to ignore the personal feeling or ninjo and to remain loyal to the person to whom one is indebted. If somebody failed to show his or her loyalty
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in paying the on, his or her reputation will be threatened. Japanese people are very concerned about keeping up a good image in front of other people. They would
like to avoid doing anything that would bring shame to themselves and their families 86.
In doing gimu, one is limited to certain people to whom they have contacts and close relationships. The implementation of gimu itself is unconditional and
limitless in amount and in duration of repayments. Those who are not able to do his or her gimu will lose his or her face and others’ supports in the society.
2. Review of Geisha
