The Game of Faces...

I am a Game of Thrones fan, and a few nights ago I was watching Season 6 over again. And, there was this scene where ine of the Characters, Arya Stark, was being trained by the Faceless Men. The Faceless Men are all Uber Elite Assassins, who use magic masks made from other people's faces. They also have a game, a game that teaches them to lie called the Game of Faces.

The Japanese have a similar concept, the concept of Face. Of projecting an outward and Public image of acting Morally or Honorably. This concept is called Mentsu or, Face. The term Saving Face comes from American interaction with Chinese and Japanese cultures in the 1800s. There is losing face, mentsu wo ushinau, which describes both acting dishonorably or, dishonoring another with your actions. And there is Kao O' Tataru which means to Give Face and this is more than acting honorably but, to also show Respect for your Superiors by not correcting them publicly, not embarrassing them or speaking about their failings.

In Omoto Ryu we also have a concept of Face or simply Faces. The Art of Faces or Mentsu no Jutsu is part of the skill of Mind Reading though this isn't some supernatural power but, a conscious act of knowing how an individual functions in Society. There are three faces that we all have.

The Face of Who we Pretend to be, Public image and such... Who we want to be is the second Face, these are two different faces, though sometimes they are the same. Sometimes moments in our life force use to be Someone we don't want to be & show the world a Face that is cold and heartless, underneath a Mask of Honor & Righteousness... However, these faces are not truth... The truth is our last face, The Face of who we are... These are not uniquely, Ninja Concepts... They exist in Japanese culture as the concept of Honne & Tatemae.

Honne is translated to meaning "True Sound" it refers to a person's true thoughts & feelings. What Carl Jung refereed to both the Shadow Self which is instinctive, made of what we consider negative traits; our greed, lust, fear & secret desires, & the Shadow is Wholly Unconscious. Thus our conscious mind often rejects the Shadow.

Tatemae, references the Public Image and is translated to mean "to Built in Front." This is the Public Image one builds and maintains. It often seeks out the flaws in others, projecting them if they cannot find them on to the target to conceal and hide the same flaws within themselves. It is by nature a public image & not entirely true... The opposite of Shadow is the Light Side & again we see the Daoist influence with the concepts Yin & Yang or In & Yo, opposing forces that make up the whole of the Tao or -Do, in Asian culture...

Only the Omoto Family had taken this concept deeper... They have assigned three stages to the simple Japanese concept of Honne & Tatemae. You have the Honne Mentsu, the true self with all its negative traits and positive traits. All its flaws and weaknesses & its strengths and merits. Only the Honne Mentsu, is were we try to assign our negative traits and in doing  so we often spend our lives, living a lie, hiding our Honne Mentsu by telling other what we are but, showing no signs of it aside from our words.

Tatemae Mentsu is our Public Face, our Built in Front Face, so that we often hide from ourselves for fear of facing that Innerself and our own lies about our righteousness or ego enforced self-importance. The public face is a Mask, Halloween is all year round where we hide from Ourselves and expect others to believe the mask. But under this Tatemae Mentsu, is another Face an inner Mask we wear for our friends & family. Kagami Mentsu, the Mirror Face, which we need to reflect what the outside world demands of us as people... It reflects a motivation for the Tatemae Mentsu.

Allow me to explain this concept with a illustrative example;
1. A Businessman in Japan, a mid-level manager is told by superior to do one thing. He knows it cannot and will not work. However, his Tatemae Mentsu, requires him not to lose face by confronting his Superior about the flawed idea & to give face to his Senior by supporting an idea he does not agree with publicly. However, he also shows Kagami Mentsu, as someone who looks out for what is best for the company by speaking with the Senior Manager in private, about his concerns... His Honne Mentsu is selfish and wants to prove himself to be promoted and get higher. He wears two masks for his greed, one of a loyal employee and another as a someone who is looking out for the over all good of the company. Both these masks project loyalty but, neither are true. The true face is one of Greed & Envy seeking a Higher Position & Higher Pay & wears these two masks to hide the truth. The Tatemae Mentsu is what is required of him before other employees & the Kagami Mentsu is what he shows his boss privately, pretending to reveal a greater truth about his motives... In truth, he is greedy and he wants to more in terms of respect, in terms of position and in terms of pay.

2. An American Business Man wants to be seen as a creditable source of knowledge for Martial Arts. So he is always calling out frauds in the martial arts, always flaunting his language skills & always writing blogs to slander others. His Tatemae Mentsu is to appear to a knowledgeable and authoritative source of knowledge... His Kagami Mentsu is to claim to want to expose the truth & promote legitimate sources of tradition in the martial arts... But what is his Honne Mentsu? How would we find his Honne Mentsu?

Well first we must examine the extent of this truth find?
If the Business Man doesn't use anything but his own "approved sources" & makes excuses about information which conflicts with his claims... His research isn't about the truth, it is about something else.

If he cares about what supports his claims for his own art and is not able to address evidence that his own art is fraudulent & that his master has made Fraudulent claims?
This shows a desire to force or imprint his beliefs on others & not to examine the truth...

If he claims his Art's claims are legitimate and cannot be questioned? 
Anyone who claims Trademark on the truth, had better have 200% proof. I say 200% because, what many claim is 100% just isn't. Anything can be questioned and one's claims can just as easily be questioned as they could be lies. Tell me I am to believe your Master because you believe your master, isn't proof... Its like saying I should believe your religion because you believe but, I believe my religion and don't need to believe what you believe to associate or treat you well. There is nothing which should not be questioned and, nothing which cannot be questioned. If you can't be questioned then your position cannot be as solid as you want to claim.

If he has a history of personal attacks against, individuals who disagree with his claims or his master's claims?
Once you abandon your argument for personal attacks, you lose the argument. You fail to show the complete merit of your argument. Your argument doesn't hold water &, you are obviously acting to protect your own self-interest.

If he has to be Challenged so that he can set outlandish rules of engagement & refuses to step into a cage like a man...
One thing I have seen dealing just this type of person online... They refuse ANY TYPE of confrontation that doesn't allow them to make up the rules. They use personal attacks to try to prompt someone to challenge them &, then invent outlandish rules or conditions that don't allow them to claim some sort of advantage...

Well here is everything you need to understand the Individuals 3-faces...
Tatemae Mentsu: To Appear to be Knowledgable and Creditable Source of info from a Legitimate Source.
If you dig deeper you will see his Kagami Mentsu: To spread legitimate sources of information and legitimate Martial Arts.
But his Honne Mentsu: Is greed, and desire to be respected and wanted. This person becoming Verbally Abusive and Attacking Others Personally doesn't show a Creditable Source of Information or Knowledgeable Author or Researcher. These actions reveal the Honne Mentsu, the hidden & true face... Those negative traits that this individual is trying to hide, their desire to be seen as a great source of knowledge, there desire for more money (greed) and perhaps even their own laziness and anger that comes from not getting what they want. The Fear of never getting the fame and recognition they demand (demand because they desire it). All this leak through in their every action and regardless of what motives they claim & they what they say...

This is merely an example of the age old saying "Trust nothing you hear and only half of what you see..." or "Seeing is believing."