2.b The value of a gift and repayability

The economic value of gifts is one of the meanings that concerns most Japanese, because for them the economic value of a gift reflects the status of giver and recipient. Usually givers do not want to ‘surprise’ the recipient by giving unexpected things or things that would be hard to return. Things that have no immediate utility or cannot be consumed are not good as gifts. A gift has to have a value upon which the recipient can measure a return. Despite the fact that gifts are always given with the words, ‘this is a humble thing’, the value of the gift is not usually ‘humble’.

Gifts are expensive. There are two reasons why gifts are expensive. First, the giver has to manifest the intention that he or she is generous; that she or he wants to take care of the welfare of the recipient’s family by giving gifts to them. Second, in giving a gift, the giver must show that he or she is able to calculate what the recipient will return. Givers tend to calculate what the recipient might return as a return gift (usually a 10% of the original gift), so they add ‘a bit more’ to ‘compensate’. Givers buy a more expensive thing that they would have done so their gift covers what the recipient might return. Givers opt for two strategies. One strategy is to give a quite expensive gift, wrapped in expensive wrapping papers, giving more than the 10% that it is expected in return. Another strategy, the most common, is to give a wrapped gift along with several smaller (unwrapped) prestations (i.e. fruits). The first strategy is very common in funeral and wedding gifts. At these occasions (specially funerals) the gift given (Y 10,000 - £ 53) will turn to be a gift a final gift of (Y 15,000 - £ 79) because the giver wants to cover the return gift (Y 5,000 - £27) that will take place.

The problem with gifts and repayability is exemplified above. There is always a hypertrophy of the value of the gift. Y 15,000 is more than 10% of the original gift. The hypertrophy of return values happens because most givers feel it would be mean if they only gave 10% (Y 11,000) in anticipation of the return. Most Japanese say that gifts must ‘help’ (see Chapter Three). A gift is only helpful if it gives much more than what is expected in return. A gift must always compensate the gift expenses that the recipient will incur in having to return her or his gift. The hypertrophy also happens because pair numbers are considered inauspicious and givers round numbers up, for example, from 12 to 15. (Chapter Four and Six).

In conclusion, to give is not only to anticipate a return but to compensate the recipient in advance for her or his return. A given gift is a gift that contains part of the future return gift. It compensates the recipient’s gift expenses in advance. When accepting ‘humble’ gifts, people accept the implicit responsibility to return the gift, which the prestation might carry along. Although this could appear similar to what Mauss (1924) described as the ‘spirit’ of the gift (see Chapter Two), which enforces the obligation to return a gift, we must be cautious. These ‘parts’ and ‘compensation’ are always spoken in terms of the market value of the gift, and the economic percentage that one adds or expects. The language of gifts is a language of social expectations of return. For most Japanese, however, it is foremost a language of economic transformations of the market value of commodities. I examine this theme in Chapter Two.

For most Japanese, gifts must be either good or useful (Chapter Three). Thus, money and commodities for domestic consumption are preferred. These notions are culturally constructed ones. The quality of a gift is measured against the usefulness, goodness, and value of the commodity given as a gift. Expensive brands of coffee or oil, for example, are given to recipients one wants to show appreciation to, usually recipients that have a ‘higher’ economic or social status than the giver. This makes gift giving a complicated business, where givers and recipients must be aware of the market value of things as much as the social status of others.

The expenditure on gifts varies for each household. According to the 1986 Sawa Bank research, there was an average of 15.9 gifts of money a year (Y 128,462)[6] (£ 676) and twice as much of other commodities (Ueda 1996[7]). How much must be given to whom is a preoccupation that many informants thought embarrassing but unavoidable. Ideally, the value of a return should be equal to the value of the gift received. In practice, the value of a return is measured at 10-15% higher than the value of the original gift. It is assumed that the giver will give more as status increases. Since status is not given but achieved, givers and recipients compete in giving to indicate status and prestige. In short, returning escalates as people fight to perform and demonstrate status to others.

In cases where a gift is repaid with a counter-gift, the repayment can be either immediate or symmetric (see also Lebra 1976: 99). Immediate repayment takes place mostly at weddings and funerals, with gifts and a feast. As Lebra noted, if the feasting and the counter-gift are not enough to balance the original gift, the host delivers an orei (appreciation) gift. However, as Lebra rightly argued, ‘keeping reciprocal book in perfect balance means cancellation of social ties’, thus exact repayability is not a desired quality of exchange (Lebra 1976: 100). In fact, cases of matched repayment were rare, and orei tended to increase the differential in the repayability, increasing the sense of debt and gratitude.

The problem of calculability, and the growing concern with redundancy, are the two factors that impinge on symmetric repayment of gifts. Although symmetric repayment has been present in Japan for the last forty decades, the idea that people should reciprocate on similar occasions with similar gifts is gaining ground. The increase of counter-giving in contemporary Japan appears to be related to the increase of individual men’s and women’s (as opposed to household’s) acquisitive power, which is also reflected in the adoption of new gift giving seasons (such as Christmas, Valentine’s Day, White Day).

[6] For weddings, kekkon iwai, gifts of money were preferred in a 75.4%, spending between Y 20,000 and Y 30,920 (£105 to £162). Those not going to a wedding reception, friends, co-workers, 31.5% sent Y5.000 (£26) and those going to the reception 30.7% gave around Y 10.000 (£52). Bosses, ranked recipients and kin assisting to a reception gave over Y 30,000 (£157). Very similar amounts were given at funerals with an average of Y 8,770 (£46). Superiors at work and co-workers sent Y 5,000 (£26), with distant co-workers and acquaintances sending Y 3000 and Y 5000 (£15 and £26). Maternal and paternal kin gives an average of Y 50,000 (£263), brothers and sisters Y 30,000 (£157) with an average of Y 39,450 (£207).To celebrate the birth of a child (shussan iwai), the majority gave Y 5.000 (31.4%), followed by Y 10.000 (21,7%) and Y 8.000 (16,3%), with a total average of Y 7460 (£39). Although grandparents might spent over Y 100,000 (£526) with toys for the children. For students entering a new course (nuyygaku iwai) they were offered Y 5,000-10,000 from their parents and kin. Children in primary and secondary level received around Y 9850 (£51) increasing through university up to Y 15,130 (£79).
[7] Ueda, Emiko ‘Japao Interessante’. JTB 13.07.1996 (News supplement)