True "Kandou"

Some people are moved, to a surprising degree, by what seems the slightest thing. Someone I work with, Ms. S, is one of those people. On the other hand, there are those who cannot be moved, even if they want to be moved. That would be me. What makes us react so differently? They say atsui or hot people (namely enthusiastic people) or those society regards as "innocents" tend to be easily moved, while those seen as "cold" or sophisticated are not, but there must be more to it than that.

The dictionary defines kandou (emotion, impression) thusly: the emotions or heart are moved. Certainly on a day-to-day basis my emotions are moved, but it seems to be a mostly negative way, like anger or dissatisfaction, or envy. However I certainly have plenty to feel light-hearted and happy about.

Einstein said, "He to whom emotion is a stranger is as good as dead." So does that mean people who are difficult to be moved emotionally are already dead? Maybe because there are so many of us, but there are more and more businesses that try to sell kandou as a product, like Kandou Moving Center, Kandou Gift, Kandou House. Same with TV programs. Every episode the announcer is somehow moved to tears. This over-exposure leaves me more unmoved than ever. At the least, being moved is an extremely personal emotion, so it should remain an intransitive verb, and not be used as a transitive verb, as if you could give such an emotion to anyone but yourself. But out in the world, the expression "kandou-ryoku" or "power to be moved" seems to be becoming a necessary business skill, and even a competency.

It's said that all who crossed paths with the venerable Konosuke Matsushita were moved. Once when Matsushita was on the bullet train, a man seated nearby wanted to speak with the great man, and as a way to break the ice, gave Matsushita a tangerine as a snack. When Matsushita got off the train at his station, he bowed deeply from outside the train in thanks to the man still inside, and stayed bowing until the train was out of sight. The man was so deeply impressed by this behavior that as soon as he got home he had every appliance in his home and business replaced with a Panasonic model. Konosuke Matsushita did not try to "move" this man purposely, but just connected with him in a completely natural way. Isn't the idea of "kandou" more something like this?

First off, so as not to forget how it feels to be moved, let's watch a mushy movie and make sure we can still cry, even if we have to fake the tears.


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