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Cultural Nationalism in Contemporary Japan
A Sociological Enquiry
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Book Description
The debate about Japan's 'uniqueness' is central to Japanese studies. This book aims to illuminate that debate from a comparative and theoretical perspective. It also tests theories of ethnicity and cultural nationalism through the use of Japan as a case study.
Yoshino examines how ideas of national distinctiveness are `produced' and `consumed' in Japanese society through a study of intellectuals, teachers and businessmen. He finds that ideas of Japanese uniqueness, the nihonjinron, have been embraced more by those in business than in education. He looks at the Japanese perception of their own 'uniqueness' and at the ways in which ideas of cultural distinctiveness are formulated in different national and historical contexts.
This extremely readable book combines anthropology and sociology to present both a historical analysis of the roots of the Japanese sense of national identity and a discussion of the ways in which that sense is changing.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction; Chapter 2 The nihonjinron: thinking elites’ ideas of Japanese uniqueness; Chapter 3 Ideas of national distinctiveness: comparative perspectives; Chapter 4 Theories of ethnicity and nationalism: a critical review; Chapter 5 Modern Japanese society as Gemeinschaft: the holistic tradition in theories of modern Japan; Chapter 6 Perceptions of Japanese uniqueness among educators and businessmen; Chapter 7 The diffusion of ideas of Japanese uniqueness: the response of educators and businessmen to the nihonjinron; Chapter 8 Leading business elites, nationalism and cultural nationalism; Chapter 9 Explanations of the nihonjinron; Chapter 10 ‘Resurgent cultural nationalism’ and ‘prudent revivalist nationalism’;
Author(s)
Biography
Kosaku Yoshino
Reviews
`Dr Yoshino has made a careful sociological study of the Nihonjinron. This book is a useful complement to Peter Dale's The Myth of Japanese Uniqueness, also available from Routledge.' - Asian Affairs
`Yoshino Kosaku's [book] distinguishes itself as a model of scholarly dispassion... an excellent introduction to the subject, far superior to its predecessors in its objectivity and its theory-orientatedness.' - Monumenta Nipponica