Ganbaru

Over the past week I have been watching TV and searching the news on the web for all the latest updates on the disaster and nuclear crises in Japan, and today a little article on News really caught my attention. A nine-year-old Toshihito Aisawa pictured at an evacuation centre in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, with two handwritten signs as he continues his search for his father, mother, grandmother, and two cousins lost in the quake and tsunami. One is written their names, on the other 'I will come again tomorrow'.

This 'I-won't-give-up' kid reminds me of one word that Japanese people used everyday, Ganbaru, which could be loosely translated as ' doing one's best and hanging on to the bitter end' or 'please keep up your hard work until your goal is achieved.'

Ganbaru is, for one thing, a process-oriented concept that emphasizes the moral significance of an effort, or doryoku. What is important is that one makes the sincerest effort possible, and the outcome of that effort is secondary at best. In other words, in the value system of ganbaru, the process of making an effort is intentionally dissociated from the outcome that the effort brings, so that the effort can be evaluated and admired on its own merit.

The imperative form 'Ganbate' or 'Ganbare' is also a very popular term to encourage someone undertaking a very difficult tasks. The term also means work hard and patiently, Do your best, Don't give up , Hang in there!


Ganbare Nippon!



頑張って!

(from some sources)