Altruism as Omoiyari is Giving without Expressing

Altruism is a selfless care for others; it is acting only out of a desire to assist others, rather than feeling compelled to do so due to a sense of duty, loyalty, or religious conviction. It is one form of karma that, when carried out without expectations, can help one let go their identity and bring joy into one’s life. In Japanese, Omoiyari is a beautiful word, understood as altruism, sympathy, empathy, and prosocial behaviour. Paropakar, daya, maitri, and anukampa are the equivalent Sanskrit words. You receive what you give; you gain what you share. This saying reflects the philosophy of Omoiyari.

When you imagine someone’s warm-hearted feelings and personal affairs, including his or her circumstances, thoughts, and behaviour, you are in a state of Omoiyari. It is an essential concept that the Japanese regard highly. This humane concept is more emphasised in moral education at schools in Japan as the guiding principle for communicating with others than in any other tradition in the world.

Omoiyari is not simply an altruistic sensitivity. Even words such as compassion, consideration, thoughtfulness, mercy, and benevolence cover only one aspect of Japanese Omoiyari. It involves intuitive listening and understanding. Omoi in Omoiyari means considerate caring for others, while yari is the noun form of the verb yaru, which means sending something to others. Therefore, “Omoiyari” literally means sending one’s altruistic feelings to others. It implies intuitive understanding and includes behaving in that way. It is a voluntary behaviour for others’ benefit. It is to guess others’ feelings and pay careful attention to their feelings, accepting what has happened (or will happen) to others as what has happened (or will happen) to one’s self.

Altruism involves three components: (a) giving, or the desire to do so; (b) empathy; and (c) the absence of any motives of reward from doing the altruistic behaviour. It does not include the concept of “otherness”. This means that omoiyari means to understand the other’s feelings, not taking one’s self-concept into consideration. The motivation of omoiyari is voluntary, and does not expect gratitude from others. If any reward is expected, it is not Omoiyari but business-like helping behaviour. It puts high value on oneness with others. Omiyari is neither based on pity from superiority nor on mechanistic give-and-take relations. The value of omoiyari is evaluated based on purity of consideration of others.

It comprises both sympathy and empathy. Sympathy refers to a concern for another person, agreement with and consideration for the feelings of others, or compassion. It is generally conceived as a reaction to particular contexts such as the sadness or disappointment of others. Sympathy simply refers to a feeling for another person, while empathy refers to actually feeling as that person does. Empathy implies understanding of others through imagining the situation of others. Both sympathy and empathy are the obverse and inverse of the same coin.

These twin aspects of altruism, empathy, and sympathy, are reflected in prosocial behaviour that can be described as sympathetic, altruistic, charitable, and so on. Furthermore, prosocial behaviour benefits others without anticipating external rewards, and is done under the condition that it is done either for its own end, or as an act of restitution. Altruism, empathy, sympathy, and prosocial behaviour are vital in human communication.

Omoiyari in behaviour is studied as prosocial behaviour in social psychology. Four common characteristics of Omoiyari are: the first is that Omoiyari as prosocial behaviour includes the idea of an action which is helpful for others. However, this does not necessarily mean that the prosocial behaviour will be willingly accepted by others. The second is that Omoiyari as true prosocial behaviour is not done with the expectation of a reward from others. This is not a matter of whether a person receives or rejects a reward, but rather the premise that the person has no desire to receive a reward in the first place. The third is that Omoiyari-based prosocial behaviour is accompanied by a kind of cost or risk of self-sacrifice. The final condition is that Omoiyari as prosocial behaviour should be voluntary. This means that a person is not bound by any sense of duty to others, but is willing to behave prosocially as a choice.

Japanese folks are highly focused on maintaining harmony within the group. In public spaces, they speak softly to avoid making much noise. On buses and trains, many also turn their phones to silence and avoid taking calls. In a similar vein, Japanese pupils clean their classrooms. Before departing a restaurant, customers typically stack their used cutlery and wash the table. The cashiers in retail shops or any other type of store will give a customer a large bag if they notice that the customer has already purchased a few bags from another store. If the bag is heavy, the cashiers will apply a soft foam wrap, so carrying it won’t injure your hand. They will supply a plastic cover if it begins to rain. A woman employee’s work schedule may be changed by the firm without her consent if she is expecting a child. Omoiyari is the act of taking one’s feelings and turning them into deeds. These deeds are selfless and directed towards others. Omoiyari is distinctive to Japanese collectivist society because of this.