The Japanese View of life is just what their formulas of chu and ko and giri and jin and human feelings say it is. They see the 'whole duty of man' as if it were parceled out into separate provinces on a map. In their phrase, one's life consists of 'the circle of chu' and 'the circle of ko' and 'the circle of giri' and 'the circle of jin' and 'the circle of human feelings' and many more. Each circle has its special detailed code and a man judges his fellows, not by ascribing to them integrated personalities, but by saying of them that 'they do not know ko' or 'they do not know giri.' Instead of accusing a man of being unjust, as an American would, they specify the circle of behavior he has not lived up to. Instead of accusing a man of being selfish or unkind, the Japanese specify the particular province within which he violated the code. They do not invoke a categorical imperative or a golden rule. Approved behavior is relative to the circle within which it appears. When a man acts 'for ko,' he is acting in one way; when he acts 'merely for giri' or 'in the circle of jin,' he is acting -- so Westerners would judge -- in quite different character. The codes, even for each 'circle,' are set up in such a way that, when conditions change within it, the most different behavior may be properly called for. Giri to one's lord demanded utmost loyalty until the lord insulted his retainer; afterward no treachery was too great. Until August, 1945, chu demanded of the Japanese people that they fight to the last man against the enemy. When the Emperor changed the requirements of chu by broadcasting Japan's capitulation, the Japanese outdid themselves in expressing their co-operation with the visitors.

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