In the film The Yakuza ( 1975), the concept of giri is a major in the story."Giri books", or village registers that included all the unpaid obligations of one family or individual to another, were a cultural phenomenon that could exist only in a static agricultural culture, as opposed to a migrant or hunter/gatherer tradition. Some social historians believe the pervasiveness of the concept in Japanese culture is a reflection of the static feudal order that defined Japanese society for centuries. While some modern Westerners might prize individuality and the right of a serviceperson to be an assertive social equal with opinions, Japanese generally value carrying out one's work obligations ( giri) to the best of one's ability, including what might seem to those from less formal social environments like excessive, mawkish, or even hypocritical or contrived formality and servility. Japanese abroad often complain about the poor service to be found in non-Japanese countries. Part time workers, however, are not so particular. Employees' sense of obligation may be so strong that they consume only the beer and other products produced by their conglomerate's affiliates. Whereas in the West, engineers from different companies might be friends, this is far rarer in Japan. There is also the case of Japanese corporations, which has one of the lowest rates of laying off or firing employees of any industrialized nation, and employees reciprocate that loyalty through their personal habits. " Giri choco" is a specific term referring to the obligation of close colleagues or associates to provide Valentine's Day or White Day chocolates to each other even if they feel no romantic feelings (although Valentine's Day is a Western tradition that was imported to Japan only relatively recently, and White Day is a holiday invented in 1978 by the National Confectionery Industry Association to sell twice as many confections each year). It is marked by an unwritten but no less real perceived balance of "giri" in which unusually large gifts must be reciprocated. Giri may be seen in many different aspects of modern Japanese behavior. This is seen in the perpetual nature of giri relationships. Fulfilling one's obligation does not merely entail the consideration of interest or profit anticipated since giri is also based on feelings of affection. Giri relationship also have an emotive quality. Scholars refer to the dynamics of the giri- ninjō relationship as a dichotomy that reflects the human dilemma of needing to belong to the realm of the outside ( soto) and of the inside ( uchi). According to Doi Takeo, giri can be classified with those forms and actions that locates the self in relation to society whereas ninjō falls within the category of the inner and intimate realm of the self. Giri is defined as social obligation and is best explained in the way it goes in direct conflict with ninjō. This value is so integral to Japanese culture that the conflict between giri and ninjō, or "human feeling", is said to have been the primary topic of Japanese drama since earlier periods in history. It is also associated with the complex Japanese values that involve loyalty, gratitude, and moral debt. It is defined as "to serve one's superiors with a self-sacrificing devotion" by Namiko Abe. Giri ( 義理) is a Japanese value roughly corresponding to " duty", " obligation", or even "burden of obligation" in English. JSTOR ( July 2010) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message).Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. This article needs additional citations for verification.
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