欲求不満
(yokkyūfuman/frustration)
Japanese culture has a long-standing relationship with the concept of frustration. It is a byproduct of a highly structured society where one's behaviour is strictly regulated with expectations of obligation, responsibility and duty. The Japanese have as many words for frustration as the Inuit people have for snow. One word however, stands alone as being uniquely Japanese. That is the term 'yokkyūfuman'.
The core of yokkyūfuman is an underlying sense of envy. The premise is that fundamentally, envy is a self-destructive emotion. When we are envious we become our own worst enemies. In striving to keep up with the Jones’s, we produce our own frustration. Recognition of yokkyūfuman is deeply rooted in the basic precepts of Zen Buddhism, the traditional Japanese belief system that promotes a policy of non-attachment. A practitioner of Zen strives to reduce superficial desires. The elimination of desire reduces dissatisfaction. Yokkyūfuman generally translates as 'frustration' but a more literal interpretation would be something along the lines of 'unfulfilled wants' or 'dissatisfaction from desires'.
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Night clouds, pure sky stars
longingly I demand more —
not content with black
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Analysis of the four independent kanji (characters) comprising the word yokkyūfuman reinforces this interpretation:
欲 yoku: desire, want, longing
求 kyū: request, seek, demand
不 fu: not (i.e. 'in the negative')
満 man: full, satisfied, fulfilled
The inference of the combined kanji is 'One who demands desire is unfulfilled.'
The Japanese language employs numerous terms for the concept of frustration. As in English, various synonyms describe a range of emotions, from mild irritation to extreme anger. In Japanese there are similar terms for helplessness, impatience, aggravation, exasperation etc.
None however, carries the gravitas or the existential overtones of yokkyūfuman.
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The cool calm breeze ends
desire is forgotten —
a chore realized
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Yokkyūfuman expresses a feeling that something is just beyond our grasp. It implies a sense of injustice. It creates an emotional backdrop that makes us feel resentful or victimized. Yokkyūfuman screams "why me?"
In western culture frustration is less nuanced. Mild frustration is considered benign. Intense frustration appears as unleashed fury, ranting and rage. In the popular culture such acting-out is often celebrated and captured on bystander's cell phones. Chronic frustration raises mental health concerns. Extreme frustration can have tragic consequences — "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore."
Rarely however, in western culture, is frustration associated with envy. Why is that? Perhaps because envy is so mercurial? Any attempt to quantify envy feels like an attempt to nail Jell-O to the wall? Besides, it's self-incriminating to trace the source of one's frustration back to emotional immaturity. Alas, do we dare take responsibility for our own actions? No, better to consign blame to the scapegoat of cruel injustice.
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My dream reaches out
to seize the peace I don't have —
exasperation
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In Japan, yokkyūfuman spans both serious discussion and trivial playfulness. A sub-culture exists that holds a different analysis of yokkyūfuman — that of sexual frustration. This interpretation appears in Japanese pop music, manga, sitcoms, stand-up comedy and water cooler banter. When the tone of a conversation turns to innuendo as a form of teasing, sexual frustration may be implied in the use of the term yokkyūfuman.
In this alternate use of yokkyūfuman, shock value reigns supreme. References are generally played for laughs. Jokes may take the form of titillating Monty Python-like references to a person's 'frustration' (nudge-nudge, wink-wink... say no more, say no more). Nevertheless, in Japanese culture, serious conversations regarding yokkyūfuman still maintain a more clinical tone. Within the context of human behaviour, yokkyūfuman is always regarded as a complex existential condition.
A popular axiom in the advertising industry is that 'people want what they can't have.' Normal desire however crosses a line, when we feel unfairly denied, personally slighted or unjustly targeted. It is that feeling of injustice that causes us to react viscerally. At this point, envy is calling the shots.
Yokkyūfuman stems not from things that are unattainable. Yokkyūfuman arises from things that we feel should be attainable. When we compare ourselves to others and perceive an unfair discrepancy on our emotional balance sheet, envy is pulling the strings. When we're convinced we deserve better, it's yokkyūfuman. When something feels just of reach, that's yokkyūfuman. When, we feel sorry for ourselves... yokkyūfuman. When that four year old child inside our gut is kicking and screaming — that's yokkyūfuman.
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Dissatisfaction
spirals from desire duped —
Mother Nature smiles
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