Business Men in Japanese Culture  
An essay by Colin Paterson
'Shall We Dansu?' - Shall We Dance?
Written and Directed By: Musayuki Suo 1997

Shall We Dance? by Masayuki Suo struck me as interesting in few ways, firstly that the business men decided to dance, when being close, touching in public and thusly Ballroom Dance is considered to be somewhat perverted or taboo sport. The other thing is that the dance classes, and the studio itself are run by women, this is also interesting as these men\students have placed themselves in a world run by women. This must be hard for the men to have females in such dominant and controlling roles, when most women are subservient. As Sugiyams wife, would not even ask him where he was or  what he was doing, as it would be un-Japanese, rather she hired a detective. She had to trust him and her happiness was tied to his, but only when they were both true to themselves and each other did they and their daughter find real happiness. Another interesting thing is how the men not only want to keep their dancing a secret from coworkers, their wives and the public, they also don't want to explain to the teachers why they are there, as if they have come under a false pretext. As Sugiyama had, he was more interested in Mai than actually dancing in the beginning. To have dance as Sugiyama's outlet and what he comes to enjoy seems to push the boundaries of what would be considered correct within Japanese society, at least considering his social and company commitment and rank. His love of dance is in direct opposition of the lifetime of conformity portrayed at the start and repeated with the train, bike, home sequence latter in the film.  

Shall We Dance? had many different themes running through it and because of our cultural differences we may see ideas that were not intended or miss ones that were. The films theme is not limited to the Japanese culture. However due to the way Ballroom Dance is seen in Japan the films main theme may be be interpreted differently by western culture who sees ballroom dancing as normal or even old fashioned. This could explain why western reviews tended towards a theme of midlife crises rather than being honest\true to yourself and finding enjoyment and fulfillment in a culture where the individual and there needs are secondary to the companies and although it provides for the workers, they are a group, not a group of individuals. Viewing the film with some understanding of how the Japanese business system operates, a better understanding of how Ballroom Dance is regarded, and a general idea of the Japanese culture in general has allowed me to see the film from a slightly different perspective and see other, more likely themes.  

The overlying message that I found was; to be true to yourself(and others), there are many other ideas explored like, finding what makes you happy or do things because you want to, not because it is expected from you. Other ideas in the film could even be as simple as enjoy life, or family and friends, maybe even grow and reach beyond your position. I think all these themes are part of a greater more complicated idea and feed feed into being true to yourself.

If we start at the end, we find that Mai has overcome her own issues with blaming others for her failure, and not competing or dancing although she loved to dance.   Sugiyama dances with his wife after his daughter uses some gentle persuasion and shows she doesn't disapprove of them dancing, being close. He also, after seeing the sign in the window, and wandering through the city, pondering, playing games and eating, goes to the party for Mai, and dances. Allowing himself to once again enjoy dancing and be true to himself. At the start and near the end, when Sugiyama was not dancing, he was not happy, so he must have enjoyed dancing as he was happier when he was taking lessons and most of the characters thought he was a natural. He also overcame a perceived loss of respect, due to the accident at the competition. It was similar to what Mai had to overcome and may have been what forced her to come to grips with her true self and failure at Blackpool. During the dance competition Aoki shed his wig and accepted himself. Although after the completion he is still ridiculed at work, probably more so, he has in many ways come the furthest in finding his true self. Partially because he was forced to since his picture was published. But also because he knew he was not alone. Even though Sugiyama didn't come out and say he danced, he defended Aoki's right to dance, when at the start he did nothing about the jokes at Aoki's expense. Toyoko in a small way became less verbally abusive as she realized, she didn't mean everything she said, and couldn't get a dance partner. She did not become silent or subservient, she did realize that it wasn't Sugiyama's fault and made a point to go and visit him with the invitation, revealing a much more compassionate woman. Toyoko's daughter was looking out for her, and talked of how she was overworked, but dance made her happy.  Sugiyama's family was also concerned about him in the beginning that he had no enjoyment in his life, then that he was hiding something, and being selfish, near the end they were again wanting him to be happy, but he had forsaken his enjoyment, that of dance, for his family so as not to cause any disrespect to come to him or his family. He may also have blamed himself for the incident at the dance, as he was the one that stepped on the dress. By the end of Shall we Dance? each characters was honest\true to themselves they began to enjoy life again, and were happy. Mai, Sugiyama, his wife, Aoki, Toyoka, all the characters overcome their inhibitions and guilt and  enjoy themselves and dancing. Allowing themselves some freedom in what seemed to be a routine and conformist world.  

Shall We Dance portrays the Japanese business man as having a reasonably good life, but at the same time personally unfulfilled. Near the start of the film you see  Sugiyama, drinking with his coworkers, taking a train ride, biking home, going to bed, getting up, seeing his daughter, going to work. This pattern is repeated, and suggests the monotony of the business mans life, even scenes of him in the office, he was dressed the same as the other men, and didn't seem to have any real motivation, or enjoyment of his work.

Even the socializing seemed to be done with other members of the same company. This company\friends relationship was even further suggested at after Aoki and  Sugiyama who worked together went out for noodles together after a dance class. The company was something that had to be protected, or at least the men at the dance school didn't want to be know for dancing. When Aoki and Sugiyama were dancing in the bathroom, and another man entered, Aoki faked fainting so as not to let out that they dance. I have to assume that 2 men dancing that close would probably be considered even worse and more embarrassing or perverted than with a woman. The 3rd man simply reacted and wanted to get help, I think a common reaction within any culture. We have no idea what this man does as he is dressed like the others. All the office girls were also dressed the same, but kept within there group. They did not talk to Sugiyama, who would have been of a higher position within the company. Having a dress code within a company is a universal idea, although many western companies have very relaxed codes. Many require suites and ties, they still permit personal expression as you do not need to have the exact shirt, tie, coat, etc.  

Sugiyama is a character that many people of different cultures can relate to, he is a kind of every man, a man who goes to work to pay for the mortgage on the house in suburbs with a wife and child to support. He is financially trapped to his job\employer. He is not poor and can provide what is needed and more, he is unfulfilled though and has few, if any outside interests. Being an accountant he holds up to a western stereotype of the overworked, time-serving almost robotic worker. This is also the man that can provide for his family, although he has little time for them. It is a good thing for the company, as it will do better if the workers are more productive. This in the western view is not as much about the companies success, but the more you work, generally the more money you make or more likely you are to move up in the company .Where as Sugiyama's ties to his employer may be due to the Japanese system of life time employment. This would allow him to know that he can pay for all he needs, and will be taken care of in the future. This concept is not completely foreign to North American culture, as this sort of  job security was something of an ideal for previous generations. It may not have been a reality in many ways, as it is not the norm now.  

This ideal of Job Security is not so different from the Japanese system, the level at which your job becomes secure is different. North American job security is more the realm of the common worker and has been fought for by the unions to protect the worker. Where accountants, managers, executives and many specialist move around and ply their trade in different companies, or for whoever is going to pay the most. Some do rise up through the company, but you are by no way guaranteed to move up. Where as the Japanese keep there higher level employees and the specialist, treating them better than how most western workers are treated, or so it seems. The film shows how this way of working has its problems as does any other system. In both western Job security and Japanese lifetime employment there is a level at which you are judged, and may never surpass that position, although you will be secure in it.

Sugiyama and Aoki would have had lifetime employment and this helps to explain why  when Aoki, the system analyst, had made a mistake on the figures, it was wrong. The office girls made fun of him, but this seemed almost like a routine for them. Aoki was portrayed as different from the beginning and treated as an outsider, he was in some way, he did not share the office where Sugiyama, and the office girls were and was in a different department within the company. He was secure in the company unlike the office girls who were probably part time and were expected to get married and leave. Aoki had a secret as we found out later, but was hinted at by his odd way of turning corners. This was his way of adding a little enjoyment into his job.

Where as the Japanese system gives all the employees the freedom to comment and provide ideas to the employer. This has allowed for a much more trusting work place, as there is no reward for having a good idea and everyone in the company benefits. Since as an employee, you are know by your company, so if the company functions well, and is respected you will be too. Where as the western culture does not honour our company or employer the same way. We do relate people to there jobs, it is the job not the company that is important though.