In addition to the physical environment, the influence of great people has played an important role. Although people like Shotoku Taishi (圣德太子) have had a great influence on Japanese culture, perhaps the person who has had the most impact is Confucius, who lived in China 2500 years ago. One of his most important ideas was that everyone should know their place in society. 4 In this vertical society, older people were above younger people, teachers above students, men above women, and so on. Higher ranking people were responsible for those lower than them, but lower ranking people had to show respect and be loyal to those above them. Other Confucian ideas that remain strong in modem Japan are harmony, loyalty and perseverance.
Europeans who first settled in North America came from societies that already had ideas about individual freedoms, which began with the ancient Greeks. 5 During the Renaissance, people such as Martin Luther further encouraged individualism by saying that an individual"s ideas about the Bible were more important than the church"s teaching. Thus, feudalism disappeared from Europe 500 years ago, while in Japan it disappeared only in the last century. Leaders like Thomas Jefferson, who supported the idea that all people are created equal, helped to shape America into a more horizontal society. 6 Such ideas about equality are completely opposite to the teachings of Confucius, who said a social hierarchy is necessary to keep order in society. Although there is still discrimination in North America, the people strongly dislike the idea of a vertical society.