解讀日本式居眠的文化緣由

I first encountered these intriguing attitudes to sleep during my first stay in Japan in the late 1980s. At that time Japan was at the peak of what became known as the Bubble Economy, a phase of extraordinary speculative boom. Daily life was correspondingly hectic. People filled their schedules with work and leisure appointments, and had hardly any time to sleep. The lifestyle of this era is aptly summed up by a wildly popular advertising slogan of the time, extolling the benefits of an energy drink. “Can you battle through 24 hours? / Businessman! Businessman! Japanese businessman!”

我第一次見識到日本人對於睡眠的這種有趣態度是在上世紀80年代末首次去日本時。當時，日本正處於泡沫經濟的巔峯時期，整個社會的投機氛圍氾濫，日常生活也處於高度忙碌狀態。人們整天忙於工作和休閒約會，幾乎連睡覺的時間都擠不出來。當時最為流行的一條能量飲料廣告語恰如其分地反映了這段時期人們的生活方式：“誰能24小時戰鬥不停？商人！商人！日本商人！”

Many voiced the complaint: “We Japanese are crazy to work so much!” But in these complaints one detected a sense of pride at being more diligent and therefore morally superior to the rest of humanity. Yet, at the same time, I observed countless people dozing on underground trains during my daily commute. Some even slept while standing up, and no one appeared to be at all surprised by this.

許多人抱怨説：“我們日本人工作太辛苦，簡直太瘋狂！”但是在這種抱怨聲中也不乏一絲自豪：勤勉苦幹的日本人由此擁有了對其他民族的某種道德優越感。然而，與此同時，我每天在地鐵車廂裏都會發現有無數的日本人在打盹，有些人甚至站着就呼呼大睡，沒人會對此大驚小怪。

I found this attitude contradictory. The positive image of the worker bee, who cuts back on sleep at night and frowns on sleeping late in the morning, seemed to be accompanied by an extensive tolerance of so-called ‘inemuri’ – napping on public transportation and during work meetings, classes and lectures. Women, men and children apparently had little inhibition about falling asleep when and wherever they felt like doing so.

我發現這種態度自相矛盾。這些晚上很晚才睡，卻在早晨因為缺乏睡眠而哈欠連天的“工蜂”在日本屬於正面形象，而社會對於“小憩”（inemuri，日本漢字為“居眠”）——指在公共交通工具上、在工作會議、課堂和講座期間打盹的行為卻普遍持寬容態度。無論是婦女、男人還是兒童，都能很自然地隨時隨地酣然入睡。

If sleeping in a bed or a futon was considered a sign of laziness, then why wasn’t sleeping during an event or even at work considered an even greater expression of indolence? What sense did it make to allow children to stay up late at night to study if it meant that they would fall asleep during class the next day? These impressions and apparent contradictions led to my more intensive involvement with the theme of sleep for my PhD project several years later.

如果人們認為在牀上或榻榻米上睡覺屬於懶惰行為的話，那麼為什麼不認為在會議上甚至工作時打瞌睡是更嚴重的懶散行為？為什麼要讓兒童學習到深夜，卻在第二天的課堂上補覺？帶着對這種矛盾意識的疑惑，在幾年後攻讀博士學位時，我選擇了睡眠的文化含義作為課題做了深入研究。

Initially, I had to fight against prejudice as people were reluctant to consider sleep a serious topic for academic enquiry. Of course, it was precisely such attitudes that had originally caught my attention. Sleep can be loaded with a variety of meanings and ideologies; analysing sleep arrangements and the discourse on it reveals attitudes and values embedded in the contexts in which sleep is organised and discussed. In my experience, it is the everyday and seemingly natural events upon which people generally do not reflect that reveal essential structures and values of a society.

研究剛開始的時候，人們認為睡眠本身不是一個嚴肅的學術研究課題，對此我做了很大努力才打消他們的這種偏見。當然，當初吸引我的正是這種消極態度。睡眠本身承載着多種含義和意識形態要素，對睡眠和與之有關的話語進行分析可以揭示出深植在睡眠組織和討論語境下的價值觀。我發現，大多數人不認為睡眠這種日常而自然的現象會反映出一個社會的核心結構和價值觀。

We often assume that our ancestors went to bed ‘naturally’ when darkness fell and rose with the Sun. However, sleep times have never been such a simple matter, whether in Japan or elsewhere. Even before the invention of electric light, the documentary evidence shows that people were scolded for staying up late at night for chatting, drinking and other forms of pleasure. However, scholars – particularly young samurai – were considered highly virtuous if they interrupted their sleep to study, even though this practice may not have been very efficient as it required oil for their lamps and often resulted in them falling asleep during lectures.

我們往往認為人類的祖先遵循日出而作、日落而息的規律生活。但實際上，不管在日本還是在其他地區，人們的睡眠習慣從來就沒有如此簡單過。即便在電燈發明前，當時的文獻記錄就曾記載了很多人因為深夜沉湎於聊天、喝酒和其他享樂，遲遲不睡而遭到責備的故事。但人們普遍認為有文化的人——尤其是年輕的武士——挑燈夜讀是一種好的品德，即使這種學習習慣可能效率並不高，因為這不僅會耗費更多的油來點燃油燈，而且還會在第二天上課時打盹。

Napping is hardly ever discussed in historical sources and seems to have been widely taken for granted. Falling asleep in public tends to be only mentioned when the nap is the source for a funny anecdote, such as when someone joins in with the wrong song at a ceremony, unaware that they have slept through most of it. People also seem to have enjoyed playing tricks on friends who had involuntarily dozed off.

歷史文獻裏幾乎從未提起過打瞌睡，好像當時的人們對此都習以為常。唯一的例外是在公共場所打瞌睡引起某些趣聞軼事的情形，比如，某人在一場典禮上加入合唱時唱錯了歌曲，因為他們在典禮的大部分時間內都在睡覺。另外，人們還喜歡拿不知不覺打瞌睡的朋友開玩笑。

Early rising, on the other hand, has clearly been promoted as a virtue, at least since the introduction of Confucianism and Buddhism. In antiquity, sources show a special concern for the work schedule of civil servants, but from the Middle Ages onwards, early rising was applied to all strata of society, with “going to bed late and rising early” used as a metaphor to describe a virtuous person.

另一方面，清晨早起被譽為是一種美德，至少從儒家和佛家被引入日本後是如此。古代文獻中有人們對於公務員工作時間表感到擔憂的記載，但從中世紀以來，早起就已經成為社會各階層的共同喜好，“晚睡早起”成為有文化品德的人的象徵。

Another interesting issue is co-sleeping. In Britain, parents are often told they should provide even babies with a separate room so that they can learn to be independent sleepers, thus establishing a regular sleep schedule. In Japan, by contrast, parents and doctors are adamant that co-sleeping with children until they are at least at school age will reassure them and help them develop into independent and socially stable adults.

另一個有趣的問題是父母是否與子女共寢。英國的習慣是，父母讓兒童在單獨卧室裏獨睡，即便在嬰兒時期也是如此。這樣做的目的是讓兒童學會獨立入睡，並建立起有規律的入睡習慣。然而，日本父母和醫生卻堅決主張父母與子女共寢直到學齡。他們的理由是：這樣做不僅會消除兒童的緊張情緒，還有助於塑造獨立和適應社會的成人人格。

Maybe this cultural norm helps Japanese people to sleep in the presence of others, even when they are adults – many Japanese say they often sleep better in company than alone. Such an effect could be observed in spring 2011 after the huge tsunami disaster destroyed several coastal towns. Survivors had to stay in evacuation shelters, where dozens or even hundreds of people shared the same living and sleeping space. Notwithstanding various conflicts and problems, survivors described how sharing a communal sleeping space provided some comfort and helped them to relax and regain their sleep rhythm.

可能正是這種文化習慣才讓日本成年人在他人面前毫無心理負擔地酣然入睡。許多日本人説，他們在有人陪伴時睡眠質量比獨處時更好。2011年春天，威力巨大的海嘯襲擊了日本幾座沿海城市。災難發生後，倖存者們擠住在避難所裏，數十甚至數百人共處同一片屋檐下。雖然人和人之間也發生了某些衝突和問題，但倖存者們卻説，和這麼多人一起睡覺讓他們更為放鬆，更易入眠，並且重新找回了健康的睡眠節律。

However, this experience of sleeping in the presence of others as children is not sufficient on its own to explain the widespread tolerance of inemuri, especially at school and in the workplace. After some years of investigating this subject, I finally realised that on a certain level, inemuri is not considered sleep at all. Not only is it seen as being different from night-time sleep in bed, it is also viewed differently from taking an afternoon nap or power nap.

然而，嬰兒時期與他人共寢的經驗無法解釋日本人對於小憩，尤其是對學校和工作場所小憩的的廣泛寬容態度。經過為期數年的調查，我終於意識到：在某種程度上，日本人根本不把小憩和睡眠同等對待。在日本人心目中，小憩不僅和夜間牀上睡眠毫不相干，與睡午覺也有所區別。

How can we make sense of this? The clue lies in the term itself, which is composed of two Chinese characters. ‘I’ which means ‘to be present’ in a situation that is not sleep and ‘nemuri’ which means ‘sleep’. Erving Goffman’s concept of “involvement within social situations” is useful I think in helping us grasp the social significance of inemuri and the rules surrounding it. Through our body language and verbal expressions we are involved to some extent in every situation in which we are present. We do, however, have the capacity to divide our attention into dominant and subordinate involvement.

原因何在？首先要從它的文字組成來分析。“小憩”的日語漢字寫法是由兩個漢字組成：“居”和“眠”。“居”指“在場”，“眠”指“睡眠”。我認為，埃文•古夫曼（Erving Goffman）提出的“融入社會環境”概念能夠幫助我們瞭解小憩的社會意義以及與其有關的規則。通過身體語言和口頭表達，我們在某種程度上介入到所處的環境之中。然而，我們可以把自己的注意力分割為數個可支配的底層介入活動。

In this context, inemuri can be seen as a subordinate involvement which can be indulged in as long as it does not disturb the social situation at hand – similar to daydreaming. Even though the sleeper might be mentally ‘away’, they have to be able to return to the social situation at hand when active contribution is required. They also have to maintain the impression of fitting in with the dominant involvement by means of body posture, body language, dress code and the like.

在這種情況下，小憩可看做是一種底層介入，在沒有打擾所處的社會環境的情況下，不必對此大驚小怪——這點和白日夢很類似。儘管小憩者此時可能已經精神溜號，但在需要主動參與時，他們就會立刻返回到所處的社會環境中來。他們還可以通過身體姿態、身體語言、衣着符號等方式保持符合可支配介入活動的印象。

Inemuri in the workplace is a case in point. In principle, attentiveness and active participation are expected at work, and falling asleep creates the impression of lethargy and that a person is shirking their duties. However, it is also viewed as the result of work-related exhaustion. It may be excused by the fact that meetings are usually long and often involve simply listening to the chair’s reports. The effort made to attend is often valued more than what is actually achieved. As one informant told me: “We Japanese have the Olympic spirit – participating is what counts.”

工作場所中的小憩就是一個很好的例證。原則上，工作場所要求員工態度專注、主動參與，在工作場所睡覺則會給人留下性情倦怠、逃避責任的印象。然而，打瞌睡也會是勤奮工作的產物。在要求聽眾被動聆聽主席台上宂長報告的會議上，聽眾非常容易入睡。來參加會議本身比會議能取得什麼成果更加重要。一位消息人士告訴我：“我們日本人都有奧林匹克精神——重在參與。”

Diligence, which is expressed by working long hours and giving one’s all, is highly valued as a positive moral trait in Japan. Someone who makes the effort to participate in a meeting despite being exhausted or ill demonstrates diligence, a sense of responsibility and their willingness to make a sacrifice. By overcoming physical weaknesses and needs, a person becomes morally and mentally fortified and is filled with positive energy. Such a person is considered reliable and will be promoted. If, in the end, they succumb to sleep due to exhaustion or a cold or another health problem, they can be excused and an “attack of the sleep demon” can be held responsible.

日本人認為，勤奮是指長時間盡全力工作，這是一種得到高度推崇的美德。在筋疲力盡或者疾病纏身的情況下仍然參加會議的人表現出的是勤奮態度、責任感和自我犧牲精神。通過克服身體不適和需求，一個人就能在道德和精神意義上變得更加強大，並且充滿正能量。人們會覺得這類人忠誠可靠，應當晉升。如果他們因為過度勞累、患上感冒或其他疾病而酣然入睡，人們會原諒他們，並且打趣地説，這是因為“睡魔”襲來的緣故。

Moreover, modesty is also a highly valued virtue. Therefore, it is not possible to boast about one’s own diligence – and this creates the need for subtle methods to achieve social recognition. Since tiredness and illness are often viewed as the result of previous work efforts and diligence, inemuri – or even feigning inemuri by closing one’s eyes – can be employed as a sign that a person has been working hard but still has the strength and moral virtue necessary to keep themselves and their feelings under control.

另外，日本社會也高度崇尚謙虛這項美德。因此，沒人會四處吹噓他工作勤奮–此時就需要採取某種巧妙的方法獲得社會認可。由於勞累和疾病往往是由於過去的努力工作所致，這時可以小憩一番–甚至閉上眼睛假裝小憩–從而表明該人一直在努力工作，雖然他現在正在打瞌睡，但卻仍然具有控制自身及情緒的力量和道德。

Thus, the Japanese habit of inemuri does not necessarily reveal a tendency towards laziness. Instead, it is an informal feature of Japanese social life intended to ensure the performance of regular duties by offering a way of being temporarily ‘away’ within these duties. And so it is clear: the Japanese don’t sleep. They don’t nap. They do inemuri. It could not be more different.

因此，日本人的小憩習慣不能和懶惰劃等號。恰恰相反，它是日本社會生活中的一種非正式行動，目的在於通過暫時“離開”職責而確保日常職責得以履行。很明顯：日本人不是在睡覺，也不是在打瞌睡，他們正在小憩。這三者之間的區別可大了去了。