The difference between tradition and bureaucracy

[JasPR]

The difference between tradition and bureaucracy - or - WHY ZNA is so quirky and poorly organized
I find it both frustrating and comical when organized koi club members want to grill ZNA members about their bylaws. I DO get the ‘need to know’ and the desire to ‘ read it in print so I know it is true’ mentality, I really do. But it shows a remarkable ignorance of what ZNA is about. ZNA is an international koi organization, but it’s roots are firmly planted in Japan. And so it grows from there. That is fertile soil and it provides the essence of koi husbandry and koi appreciation. This is often interpreted as meaning that ZNA is about Japanese gardens and funny Japanese names for tri-colored and spotted koi varieties. This is part of it of course, but unfortunately only a thing gleamed on the surface that is often taken as the whole.
ZNA, Like Japanese culture and other Asian cultures, is based in Tradition. I have often explained this as an ‘apprenticeship approach to koi teaching’. But in truth there is a greater context. Koi appreciation, indeed the cult of the koi, is based on handed down information. The old breeders shared information with the young breeders. And fathers shared insight with sons. Breeders shared tips with dealers who in turn shared this information with good customers. And eventually advanced koi keepers became judges and traveled from Japan to share insight and the tradition of nishikigoi with foreign kindred spirits. And this tradition is more than just ‘quaint’. This is the enriching part of the hobby. I learn, I teach you, you teach others. And others eventually teach me. It’s a chain and it’s a circle. And unlike the written word alone, it forges ongoing bonds of communication. And the quality of the information is deep and all encompassing. It has been vetted, refined and improved for some 90 years now.
America is not an Asian culture, however. This idea of traditional learning can be very frustrating for a people who are conditioned to see things in writing with rules and tests and precedence to point to for re-enforcement. And respect for those that have come before us, is nil in our me society. So it is hard sell trying to convince the larger garden pond community that traditional ways are preferable to modern western ways.
I think it pays to remember that when it comes to really understanding koi, it is not about efficiency or instant consumer gratification as much as it is about detail, depth and experience. This is a richness of education that can only be had in a one-on-one exchange or within small groups. This is why I refer to it as an apprenticeship approach.
Now no one can argue that the Japanese are NOT bureaucratic in their own right!! Their committee systems are legendary! But the art of koi or the art of anything in Japan is tradition based. So we see ZNA in Japan as bureaucratic on the organizational level but traditional on the teaching/learning level. And in America those who truly ‘get it’ value traditional based experience far more than ‘Robert’s rules’ or the ability to use bylaws as blunt instruments. This is all badly misunderstood by the greater ponding community. Often these things are instead viewed as ‘un-American’ and techniques for manipulation. In truth, they are not as important as the essence of the hobby.
In short, the real ‘leaders’ in ZNA may not be the elected chiefs. They may simply be the most experienced volunteers. And the real rules may not be found in the bylaws. They may be in the traditions of the organization. Weird but true.
I like weird, JR

[aquitori]

Quote: Originally Posted by JasPR In short, the real ‘leaders’ in ZNA may not be the elected chiefs. They may simply be the most experienced volunteers. And the real rules may not be found in the bylaws. They may be in the traditions of the organization. Weird but true. I like weird, JR

For me that sums it all up!!!

[MysticKoi]

JR,
Well stated. I think I know where this is coming from, and agree that it appears that some quickly suggest legislation as a cure all for indiscretions (real or imagined). Kind of sad really… I suspect that there are a few out there that would like nothing better than to abandon tradition and “Americanize” the hobby. To what end though, I’m not sure?

Kind Regards,
Bill

[KoiCop]

Quote: Originally Posted by MysticKoi I think I know where this is coming from, . . .

Bill . . .

Me, too. And that's why I don't care what 'they' (all one of them) have to say.

JR . . .

Keep the faith.

[saratogatan]

JR, my understanding:

tradition : weakly equal to culture
bureaucracy : modernization.

ZNA or koi : a sect in Japanese culture, not Janpanese tradition.

Marry a Japnese woman and you will learn.

stan

[JasPR]

Stan, your logic is challenging?

Tradition according to you is 'weakly' = to culture

ZNA is a sect in Japanese culture

Therefore ZNA is not based on Tradition

I don't know how much a Japanese wife is going to do for me but I'm sure a Jesuit education with help you out with your logic.

JR

[aquitori]

Too bad ZNA doenst have a manual on how to start a club. It seems alot of clubs out there are based on how some think a ZNA club should be.

[KoiCop]

Quote: Originally Posted by JasPR I don't know how much a Japanese wife is going to do for me but I'm sure a Jesuit education with help you out with your logic.

Too funny!

My Marianist brothers and sisters were no slouches in that regard, either.

[MikeM]

There is a great deal about the koi hobby that seems strange and 'weird' to western minds, but is so ordinary to the Japanese sense of things that the only strange aspect is that Westerners would find it surprizing. For example, the practice of a hobbyist relying on a particular dealer to locate, acquire and advise on the keeping of the hobbyist's koi. To the western mind, this seems strange. The hobbyist is 'separated' from the fish, from the 'doing' that makes it a hobby. The western mind perceives this as elitist. Such practices have deep roots in Japanese society. Centuries ago, long before even the Tokugawa shogunate, Japan's society was truly based on rice. It was the main food and it was the basis for money and wealth. Trading rice, sending rice in payment of taxes, distributing rice to retainers... economic life was about rice. But roads were few and poor in the mountainous country. The daimyos (feudal lords) located away from the coastal sea lanes of commerce relied upon rice dealers for their economic survival. The rice dealer would receive and store the rice shipped by the daimyo. The dealer would market it, transmit credits in payment of taxes, and otherwise deal in the rice. The daimyo was dependent on the dealer, and the dealer was dependent on the daimyo. There was competition, but it was a competition based more on loyalty and service than on price. The relationship of the daimyo and his dealer created duties for each. It was simply expected that the dealer would serve loyally in the role of a rice merchant, whether he served only one or many daimyos. Likewise, it was expected that the daimyo would be loyal to his dealer. In the West, we would think of it as a team effort, but that would be superficial. The relationship defined a person's role in life and position in society. A breach of loyalty went to the core of what life was about. Much would be delegated to the rice dealer, but the rice dealer would also advise and make decisions directly affecting the well-being of the daimyo and the people of his domain. These relationships would endure for generations. That is not to say there were not difficulties with side dealing and such. Much of Japan's domestic history concerns conflict between the economic interests of the daimyos and the rice merchants, particularly in the cancellation of debts when the feudal system suffered economic pressures.

The feudal approach is long gone, but not really. Throughout Japanese society there remains a sense of mutual duties and loyalties among commercial interests. The relationship of the koi dealer and the hobbyist, seen against the cultural and historic backdrop is not unusual or strange. It is a continuation of the very ordinary Japanese sense of one's role, function and specialization. It is elitist only in the Western notion of egalitarianism presuming only an elite would enlist the services of a dealer in koi. In the West we are more likely to be economically fickle, ditching a business relationship when a newcomer offers a lower price. This does not do much for maintaining loyalty. For the Japanese, there is value in the relationship itself.

JR shares very important insights when he refers to rules and bylaws. It is very American (and western) to focus on rules. The 'rule' is what is important; we 'play by the rules'. We dissect sentences to discern the meaning of the rule. That's what I do as a lawyer, and Americans are very good at parsing verbiage in that fashion. We make the code of rules paramount... even when the words do not accomplish the goal. So, we see a person we would deem a criminal go free because the words of the rule do not clearly encompass the particular act involved. We then change the rule so in the future that act is prohibited. This is quite strange to the mind that views rules as a convenience for preserving basic values of proper conduct. The conduct and propriety are the issues, not the words in a rule. But if the words do not tell us what is proper, how are we to know? ... If you understand what your culture has taught you is 'right' and what is 'wrong', you begin to see that the rules are conveniences, not the source of what is true and good.

To the egalitarian western mind, the rule gains precedence to protect 'the people' from the over-reaching elite (government). Greatly over-simplifying, for the Japanese view there is less need for toying with the words of a rule. The meaning is to be understood by reference to the cultural context, not a dictionary. So, for example we debate what it means to be "a professional" and dissect the sentences, searching for brightlines. That approach altogether misses the cultural context of the ZNA rule barring professionals from showing koi. We may learn the language, and they ours; but it will be some time before we actually understand one another.