Japanese Society Midterm 1 Lecture 1 9 9 13 Japan and the Japanese Stereotypes History in a Nutshell o From 1603 the country was isolated from the outside world for 250 years Tokugawa Period o 1854 Commodore Perry s black ships open Japan s ports o Rapid industrialization and from 1933 Japanese imperialism Korea Taiwan o Quick recovery from defeat in WWII o Three decades of spectacular economic growth o Major economic slowdown in the 1990s 1986 1991 Due to arrogance recession about a decade long Geography Economy Religion China 12 o Area 380 000 square km around the size of California but arable land is only o Natural Disasters volcanoes earthquakes tsunami and typhoon o GDP Composition by Sections Agriculture 1 3 Industry 24 6 Services 74 1 o Religion both Shinto and Buddhist 84 other 16 including Christian 0 7 People o Population 125 million half of the US population o Ethnic Composition Japanese 99 other 1 from Korea China Brazil Peru Philippines etc years o Life Expectancy the highest in the word male 77 86 years female 84 61 o Aging Society very low birthrate shrinking working population and decreasing number of children 1 39 children per woman Respect for Hierarchy Itami Juzo Tampopo Chapter 5 Ordering eating Etiquette Preoccupation with Tradition Tradtional vs Futuristic Sterotype Sexualized Women o Memoirs of a Geisha Violent Men o Last Samurai o Japanese Gangsters Isolated Society o Idolized English Wrong English like China Japanese Society Midterm 1 Definition of Culture noodle soup or spaghetti 1 We are all unique individuals but we share certain assumptions nose blowing slurping 2 Learned behaviors beliefs attitudes values and ideals that unit a particular population 3 Culture is a means of adaption this definition is commonly used in Western studies of Japan a Ex Japanese cities are overcrowded this makes the Japanese status conscious The Politics of Representation Euro American portrayals of Japan enact power relations between Japan and the West In the context of economic competition or war Western portrayals of Japan construct Japanese society as understandable therefore manageable Culture and Personality School Through the examination of dominant patterns of behavior broader generalizations can be made about specific cultures From dominant personality types we can understand national character o Ex there IS a relationship between culture and personality Psychological Approach o Draws on Gestalt psychology that believed in integrated behavior o Considers culture as an integrated whole o Analyzes cultures as if they were persons with coherent and stable personalities o Identifies the characteristic patterns of culture and describes its dominant personality types What sources of data did Benedict work with She did not do extensive fieldwork in Japan She interviewed Japanese war hostages in the United States She conducted extensive textual analysis She used the following sources of data propaganda historical and contemporary movies military intelligence reports folktales novels Japanese mythology proverbs anthropological literature and Japanese history Lecture 2 9 16 13 Japan and the Japanese Ethnographic Representations The Politics of Representation Review o Representations are changing o They are not objective descriptions o They reflect the specific concerns of specific eras Preoccupations with Tradition Is Japan Trapped in the Past o Traditional origami tree trimming sword fighting o Future transformers robotics Japan as Threat o 1987 Predator blurring the line between the past and the future o The Vapors I m Turning Japanese 1980 Japanese Society Midterm 1 o The Styx Mr Roboto alienation o Pet Shop Boys Flamboyant o The Black Eyed Peas Just Can t Get Enough very different world future inaccessible to the public Cute the most lucrative export item of the 1990s Japan s Gross National Cool GNC o Japanese policymakers tried to coin the ideology of the gross culture of cute o Cool Cute Orientalism Edward Said Geography is a human construction The Orient is a European invention The Orient has helped define Europe Definition of Orientalism 1 2 Is based on a distinction made between the Orient and the Occident Is a discipline by which the West controls the Orient Stereotypes in Orientalism Stereotypes create otherness that is knowable Stereotypes constitute a form of knowledge Stereotypes create difference where difference isn t so obvious A Work Is Orientalist if 1 2 3 4 It exoticizes a culture It offers a homogeneous portrayal It does not explain how a condition has evolved It describes a society as isolated The Chrysanthemum and the Sword by Ruth Benedict Culture and Personality School Review o Cultures are persons with coherent and stable personalities o Dominant personality types reveal national character o Identifies patterns of culture and dominant personality types What sourced of data did Benedict work with o No extensive fieldwork in Japan o Interviewed Japanese war hostages in the US o Extensive textual analysis Patterns of Japanese Culture o Hierarchical Social Structure Accepting his her position within social hierarchy o Traditional Society Indebted to the past Righteousness in Japan depends upon recognition of one s place in the great network of mutual indebtedness that embraces both one s forebears and one s contemporaries o The Principle of Reciprocity On obligations and sense of indebtedness Japanese Society Midterm 1 Gimu the partial repayment of on Giri repayment of the exact amount of on Japanese are obligation centered bound by obligations and duties rather than motivated by rights and choice o Such acute sensitivity about trifles such painful vulnerability occurs in American records of adolescent gangs in case histories of neurotics o Giri Ninjo Obligation Feelings Desire o Sincerity Makoto o Self Respect Jicho o Self Discipline Jiko Jiritsu Japanese are more disciplined than westerners o Shame Culture vs Guilt Culture Critique Treats Japanese culture as homogenous Treats Japan as the exact opposite of the West Problematic use of Japanese literature Ahistorical Use of proverbs is problematic Orientalist representation of Japan o Different bizarre phenomenally strange Pathologizing Japan Structural Functionalism Structuralism Functionalism Structural Functionalism Societies are like organisms Nakane Chie Japanese Society Underlying Cultural Logic o Japan frame ba o Other Cultures attribute o The Japanese identify with institutions Characteristics