(no subject)
For the people not in Japan: Uchi means inside and soto mean outside. These words are used in Japan to describe the difference between the groups that you inside and the groups to which you are excluded or outside of. This parallels another important aspect of Japanese society: tatemae and honne. Tatemae is the facade and honne is the true inner self. In Japan you show tatemae to people who are soto to you or to whom you are soto. Honne is shown only to those who are privileged enough to be uchi. The boundary between uchi and soto is stricter in Japan that in most places and so there are many social rules that maintain this boundary. People act very very differently in soto situations than in uchi situations. It also gets very very very complicated when ranking (based on seniority) comes into play because even within uchi there are different rules. Japanese society requires constantly thinking of whoever you are relating to, your relationship to that person, who you are supposed to act to not offend them, and so on. Only within the deepest of uchi, close friends and home, can you really relax from these complexities. It may sound awful in some ways, but in others, maintaining good tatemae helps navigating the complex structure of Japanese society much easier and the formulated responses for soto situations bring a sense of relief. Everyone knows when you are showing tatemae. It is not a bad thing and does not mean you are not genuine. It gets more complicated but I need to go now.