A Person isn't a Dividual, But an Individual 個人、分人どっちでもいいと思いますが

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Have you ever heard of the term of "dividual (bunjin)"? This is a term coined and used by Keiichiro Hirano in his book, What am I? - From individual to dividual (Watashi towa nanika - kojin kara bunjin e), to propose a new concept that a person isn't an "in-dividual," but consists of multiple "dividuals," interacting with other people through each of these dividuals. Hirano is an awardee of the Akutagawa Prize, i.e., Japan's most  prestigious literary prize.

I'm not against this idea, finding it useful, as he said, to use this dividual mechanism, i.e., interacting with others through not the entirety, but any single dividual of us, to overcome social, racial, economic or other divisions.

But I wondered at the same time what was so important about the idea because it's inward. By reading this book, we can understand how our mind works or how we make one dividual come to terms with another when they confront each other, but can't find any tips on how to come to terms with, or make ourselves understood by, other people. Should't we Japanese learn not inter-divisional, but interpersonal communication skills, i.e., how to assert ourselves or confront others, should we?

We are very good at inter-divisional communication. As Mr. Hirano said, we have multiple dividuals, communicating and arguing with each other, but such communication never goes beyond outside of self. Think about a very unique attitude among Japanese people, sontaku (i.e., performing pre-emptive acts to ingratiate themselves to their superiors), done by MOF officials to ingratiate Prime Minister Abe. Sontaku occurs when you aren't sure about what you are expected to do because the other is unclear about it. The best and easiest solution is to just ask. However, instead, if you don't ask because you are afraid of making them uncomfortable, sontaku starts, i.e., your "dividuals" begin inter-divisional discussion to decide what to do, but being unable to do so because of insufficient information, keep debating between themselves without asking the other party for the necessary information and this goes on and on. The problem is once sontaku starts, there is no end. Your dividuals keep endlessly arguing about what is right or wrong to no end...

Hirano's dividual theory may help us understand why sontaku occurs, but not how to prevent it because after all, there is only one "indivisible you." Whether you have multiple dividuals or how to integrate them doesn't matter. What matters is to learn interpersonal, i.e., outward, skills, such as how to assert yourself, accept the responsibility for what your (or your dividuals') words and actions and, if necessary, make adjustments to you (or them) to build real you. You don't "find," but "build" real you as you change through such interpersonal interactions. So, to me, Mr. Hirano's concept of dividuals, a solution to overcome divisions without interpersonal interactions, sounds bogus, like trying to be a sex guru by masturbating without having real sex.

Being inward isn't bad, but for Japanese people, who tend to be introverted, looking at things from only an inward perspective doesn't work in particular when it comes to people. It only shows clean, beautiful and easy answers, but they aren't real or don't work and sometimes dangerous because people believing such dream-like solutions to be workable would be disillusioned to see "real" world, inefficient and disorganized, and may turn around and reject those who make them realize such an ugly "reality."

平野啓一郎氏の「私とは何か　個人から分人へ」を読み終えた。人は分けられないもの（individual）ではなく、分けられるもの（dividual）の集合体であり、現代の分断を克服するために役立つ概念だと説いている。その考察に何ら反対するわけではないのだけど、あまり意味がないというか、何かが欠けているというか、個人が分けられる、分けられない、なんてどうでもよく、問題はどうやって他人とぶつかり合いながら、自分のことを分かってもらうようにすることではないだろうか、と思ってしまった。

日本人は心の中で葛藤するのがとっても得意。平野氏風に言うと、「分人同士」が交流しているとでもいうのだろうか。例えば「忖度」。あなたの中の分人たちが相手の考えていることをいろいろ推測するからこんなことになってしまう。さくっと聞けばいいのにね。

平野氏の分人説だと、分人同士が対立して個人の中で葛藤が始まるところまでは分かるのだが、最後は結局分人ではなく、分人の集合体である「あなた」なのだから、分人が何人いようがそれを統合できようができまいが、どうでもいいように思えるのだ。それより、相手にどう主張し、ぶつかり、しかし言葉と行動に責任を持ち、調整しながら「自分を作っていく」ことの方がもっと大切なのではないか。「自分」は「見つける」ものではなく、人との交流の中で「作る」ものなのだから、人との交流や衝突なしに悩みや分断を克服するなんてできないのではなかろうか。

日本人はよく内向きだと言われる。でも内向きで得られるのはきれいごとで受け入れやすい空想の現実だけ。こんなに人がいっぱいいるのに相手とのやり取りなしの現実なんてありえない。それにきれいごとしか見てないひとってやばいかも。だって現実の醜さに幻滅した人って、一転して他人を拒否して、敵意むき出しになるでしょ。すみません、平野さん。面白かったのですが、同じエネルギーを「分人間」ではなく「個人間」の問題解決に使ってほしかったです。