I also like how the Japanese are so polite. Some may argue that as a tourist visiting the country for spurts of time, I do not experience the bleaker side of life that is inevitable in every society. Perhaps so, but I still rate the courtesy extended to me more constant than say, in Singapore or France.

My cousin F tells me that the courteous aspect of the Japanese is part of their restrained nature. It is this very facet which he hopes to dispel in his kids. F, married to a Japanese and has two extremely adorable daughters, aged 5 and 3 years, has lived in Tokyo for about seven years.

He dislikes how the Japanese ‘quietly merge into one big crowd and go with the flow’, without the individual desire some may say, courage - to be outstanding.

This taxi-stand talk took place during Chinese New Year this year. I never did have the chance to respond as his cab chose that moment to rumble in.

Now, a month later, Japan is once again on my mind, as I, together with the rest of the world, reel at the devastation wreaked upon Japan by its worst ever earthquake. Hundreds of people are dead  and the figure is likely to rise, towns have been decimated and the main island of Japan has shifted by 2.4m.

You see, because Japan is located along the Pacific 'Ring of Fire' (an area of high seismic and volcanic activity that stretches from New Zealand, through Japan, across to Alaska and down the west coasts of North and South America), Japanese people live with a prevalent expectation of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis.

According to the Rekihaku Special Exhibition documenting natural disasters in Japanese history from 1703 to 2003, the number of tsunamis hitting Japan totals 195 over a 1,313-year period. This means the country experiences one tsunami every 6.7 years - the highest rate of occurrence in the world. (Yes, it’s no coincidence that tsunami is a Japanese word.)

In 1923, the great Kanto earthquake unleashed its aggression on Tokyo. Fires swept across a city of wooden houses. An estimated 140,000 people were killed.

A few decades later, in March 1945, American B29s bombed the city of Tokyo. In a single night, 100,000 people died in the resulting firestorm.

Obviously, the Japanese are no strangers to the force of Nature. I wonder: Is it possible that such events serve to remind the country of the transience of life, and hence are one reason why the Japanese are as restrained and go-with-the-flow as they appear? Can such traits, then, translate into building blocks of resilience?

Ultimately, do such disasters inure a people to the prowess of Mother Earth, resulting in an admirable unified resilience?

I liken Japanese people to bamboo. Zen teaching extols the plant’s flexibility... how it imparts extraordinary strength and endurance. See, the bamboo never snaps when subjected to force. Rather, it sways and bends. And goes with the flow - and springs back, unafraid of adversity.

And if going with the flow helps one to better deal with external circumstances and events beyond his control, how can it be a negative trait?

So, to F, I would like to say, going with the flow may not necessarily be a bad thing; it speaks of an inner strength that is often only brought to the fore during times that count - and these are the only times that count.