In Japan, honne and tatemae are Japanese terms relating to a person's feelings and outward behaviors. refers to a person's , and refers contrastingly to . This distinction began to be made in the post-war era.
A person's may be contrary to what is expected by society or what is required according to one's position and circumstances, and they are often kept hidden, except with one's closest friends. is what is expected by society and required according to one's position and circumstances, and these may or may not match one's . In many cases, leads to outright telling of lies in order to avoid exposing the true inward feelings. In English speaking countries they are telling "white lies".
Causes
In Japanese culture, public failure and the disapproval of others are seen as particular sources of shame and reduced social standing, so it is common to avoid direct confrontation or disagreement in most social contexts.
The conflict between and (social obligations) is one of the main topics of Japanese drama throughout the ages. Despite this, there remain criticisms regarding the concept's uniqueness to Japan, as many argue that the concept is widespread rather than distinct to Japan.
Research has shown that many Japanese view the concept as unique and culturally significant. One study found that while foreign students' perceptions regarding examples of honne–tatemae were rather nuanced, Japanese students would often limit perspectives and reinforce stereotypes according to more rigid cultural prescriptions of the concept.
Some researchers suggest that the need for explicit words for tatemae and honne in Japanese culture is evidence that the concept is relatively new to Japan, whereas the unspoken understanding in many other cultures indicates a deeper internalization of the concepts. In any case, all cultures have conventions that help to determine appropriate communication and behavior in various social contexts which are implicitly understood without an explicit name for the social mores on which the conventions are based.
Hence other researchers have argued that this kind of dualism, separation of one's true feelings and what they present outwardly, is not culturally specific, one scholar even suggests that the concepts honne and tatemae may have originally stemmed from Chinese concepts of "Yang" and "Yin".