The term maemuki is a commonly used and straightforward expression in Japanese. However, our research reveals that it carries unexpectedly profound philosophical implications. This paper first presents the fundamental hypothesis that maemuki is closely related to adversity. Second, we empirically examine this hypothesis through a corpus-based analysis of Japanese texts. Third, we undertake a philosophical investigation of the relationship between adversity and maemuki across various contexts. To illustrate this relationship, we analyze the maemuki attitudes of athletes, adventurers, and terminal cancer patients as significant examples. Athletes and adventurers, by deliberately immersing themselves in adversity, attain a higher-order form of maemuki. Terminal cancer patients, despite their limited life expectancy, can still embody maemuki. These cases suggest that adversity and maemuki are not merely opposing forces that negate each other. Instead, adversity acts as a driving force for maemuki, while maemuki integrates adversity into one’s life through a dynamic process of mutual mediation. Furthermore, drawing on Han-Pile’s study of the medio-passive nature of hope and linguistic analyses of the middle voice, we characterize maemuki as a mental attitude that is neither purely active nor purely passive but possesses a middle-voice-like structure. Through this analysis, we contend that maemuki is a complex and multilayered concept of positivity—one that does not reject adversity but is mediated and conditioned by it, revealing a depth beyond simple optimism.
