Meiji Gakuin Lecture Course No. 3507/3508 Contemporary Japanese Culture and Society
Instructor: Tom Gill Lecture #2 Notes: Nihonjinron
LECTURE #2: NIHONJINRON 日本人論
“Theories of Japaneseness” – Attempts to define the unique, essential nature of Japan
Also known as Nihon Bunkaron (Theories of Japanese culture) 日本文化論, or simply
Nihonron (Japan Theory)日本論. Also ‘Japanology’ ジャパノロジー.
Other key terms:
日本的
Nihonteki – Japanese-ish
日本らしい Nihonrashii – (Same)
日本の心 Nihon no kokoro – the Heart (Mind, Soul) of Japan
大和魂 Yamato-damashii – The Spirit of Japan （from 大和 Yamato, old word for
Japan, literally meaning ‘great harmony’…）
3 kinds of Nihonjinron:
1. Psychological 心理学的
2. Sociological 社会学的
3. Aesthetic 美学的
4. Intellectual 思想的
Psychological Nihonjinron
E.g. Ganbari (To fight, never give up), gaman (endurance), amae (expecting to be
indulged)
Texts: Takeo Doi: Amae no Kôzô 甘えの構造 (Translated by John Bester as The
Anatomy of Dependence), Kodansha 1973. Japan presented as a society which is less
strict, less judgmental, less black-and-white than ‘the West’ (usually meaning America).
Implicit understanding rather than explicit explanation… etc.
Kaoru Amanuma: ‘Ganbari’ no Kôzô – Nihonjin no Kodo Genri (The Structure of
‘Ganbari’ – the Motive Principle of the Japanese) Pub. Yoshikawa Kobunkan, 1987
天沼 香 あまぬま・かおる(著)「頑張り」の構造―日本人の行動原理吉川弘文館
１９８７年
Ruth Benedict, The Chrysanthemum and the Sword (1946) – probably the most famous
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Meiji Gakuin Lecture Course No. 3507/3508 Contemporary Japanese Culture and Society
Instructor: Tom Gill Lecture #2 Notes: Nihonjinron
book ever written on Japanese society and culture. Famous line on the contradictory
character of Japanese people:
… The Japanese are, to the highest degree, both aggressive and unaggressive, both
militaristic and aesthetic, both insolent and polite, rigid and adaptable, submissive and
resentful of being pushed around, loyal and treacherous, brave and timid, conservative
and hospitable to new ways.
-- Ruth Benedict, The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, (1946) p. 2
Another famous Benedict point: Japan as ‘shame culture,’ contrasted with the
West as ‘guilt culture.’ (Translated into Japanese, slightly questionably, as haji no bunka
恥じの文化 and tsumi no bunka 罪の文化… ‘tsumi’ really means ‘sin’ rather than
‘guilt’…). The idea (roughly): guilt comes from an inner conscience (psychological
explanation), and/or from the sense of having wronged a powerful, morally supreme
deity (religious explanation). Japanese religions (Shinto, Buddhism etc.) have no
supreme god comparable to Christianity or Islam; instead, wrongdoing is defined in
social terms – loss of reputation to one’s self or family when wrongdoing is discovered.
Key terms in Benedict’s shame culture theory: On and Giri 恩と義理 (Words
expressing obligations to return favors, pay off debts You do someone a favour [on] and
they incur an obligation [giri] to return the favor). Strongly emphasized by Benedict in
The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Japanese are seen as shackled by a web of
obligations that ultimately cost them a lot of their personal freedom. Ninjô 人情 is the
opposite of on/giri: a feeling of close personal warmth which makes you give without
expectation of a return. We’re overlapping with the world of amae here.
Sociological Nihonjinron
1. Hierarchy based on exchanges of responsibility and loyalty in unequal partnerships.
Chie Nakane: Japanese Society, 1970. Originally published in Japanese as Tate Shakai
no Ningen Kankei (Human Relations in a Vertical Society) 1967 縦社会の人間関係、１
９６７年. [No English version].
Ba 場 (lit. ‘place’, but translated in Japanese Society as ‘frame’) vs. Shikaku 資格 (lit.
‘qualification’, but translated as ‘attribute’).
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Meiji Gakuin Lecture Course No. 3507/3508 Contemporary Japanese Culture and Society
Instructor: Tom Gill Lecture #2 Notes: Nihonjinron
Nakane’s argument: All societies have inequalities, but it some societies the key
relationships are between people of the same attribute/qualification/shikaku), e.g. the
stereotypical British class society: solidarity between workers of different companies
because they have the same attribute – they are workers. But in Japan, those workers
will feel solidarity NOT with workers of other companies, but with management of their
own company – people who share the same place/frame/ba (the company) although
their attribute is different (workers vs. managers). This is what Nakane means when she
says Japan is a VERTICAL SOCIETY (tate shakai), based on FRAME (ba)
relationships… and does not have a strong class system or caste system. In contrast, the
British class system and (more strongly) the Indian caste system are examples of
HORIZONTAL SOCIETIES (yoko shakai) based on ATTRIBUTE (sikaku).
The British class system: a
horizontal society
Solidarity
Boss
Company A
Mid-management
Workers
Workers
Workers
Company B
Company Ａ
Solid
Solidarity
Mid-management
Solid
Workers
Boss
Solid
MidMidSolidarity
management
management
Boss
Solid
Boss
In Japan, corporate loyalty rules
Company B
2. Japan as a society built on relationships rather than individuals. Eg Eshun
Hamaguchi: Nihon-rashisa no Saihakken (Rediscovering ‘Japanese-like’ Qualities). Pub
Kodansha 1988 『「日本らしさ」の再発見』、浜口 恵俊 (著)
3. Relatively small gaps between rich and poor, no big wealth inequalities as in the US,
and no strict class system as in Britain. 90% of Japanese say they are middle-class in
government surveys. Communism that works? Unique mix of capitalism and
communism? Text: Douglas Moore Kenrick, The Success of Competitive Communism in
Japan (1988)
Other key terms of sociological Nihonjinron:
Senpai/Kôhai 先輩後輩 (senior/junior)
Wa 和 (harmony)
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Meiji Gakuin Lecture Course No. 3507/3508 Contemporary Japanese Culture and Society
Instructor: Tom Gill Lecture #2 Notes: Nihonjinron
Uchi and Soto 内と外 (Inside and Outside; the idea of different modes of behavior
inside and outside the group. Uchi = House = ‘We’
Omote and Ura 表と裏 (The surface appearance and what lies behind)
Tatemae and Honne 建前と本音 (What you say for appearances and what you really
think)
Aesthetic Nihonjinron
Wabi 侘び & Sabi 寂び
Wabi: “the beauty to be found in poverty and simplicity”
Wabishii（侘しい）: Lonely, solitary, miserable, cheerless, wretched
Sabi: “elegant simplicity”
Sabishii（寂しい）: Lonely, lonesome, desolate, dreary…
Related term: Mono no Aware 物の哀れ Pathos – an awareness of the transience of
beauty and life.
Miniaturization 小型化
Bonsai, haiku, netsuke, mini-cars, computer chips…
Smaller is Better: Japan’s Mastery of the Miniature, by Lee O-young (Kodansha, 1984)
4. Intellectual Nihonjinron
A form of argument based on intuition (chokkan) rather than logic (ronri). Associated
with Nishida Kitaro (1870-1945), Japan’s most famous 20th century philosopher. Cf.
haragei [lit. ‘belly art’], the ability to communicate without words. Irony: If you try to
criticize this way of thinking as illogical, you are likely to stand accused of not properly
understanding this non-logical, intuitive mode of thought.
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Meiji Gakuin Lecture Course No. 3507/3508 Contemporary Japanese Culture and Society
Instructor: Tom Gill Lecture #2 Notes: Nihonjinron
EXPLANATIONS FOR NIHONJINRON
1. Ecological – Combination of monsoons climate + cold winters produces traditional
Japanese housing and lifestyle. Text: Tetsuro Watsuji, Fûdo 風土 1935 (Translated
as Climate and Culture: A Philosophical Study, 1988)
2. Historical – Closed Country (Sakoku) 鎖国 Theory. A closed society during the
Tokugawa era… even today will respond only to outside pressure (gai’atsu) to
accomplish ‘opening of the country’ (kaikoku). Text: Mayumi Itoh, Globalization of
Japan: Japanese Sakoku Mentality and U.S. Efforts to Open Japan. New York: St. Martin’s
Press, 2000,
3. Biological – In-born unique Japanese traits. Text: 日本人の脳―脳の働きと東西の文化 角田
忠信 (著) 1978 年 Tsunoda, Tadanobu. The Japanese Brain, Uniqueness and Universality,
Translated by Yoshinori Oiwa, Tokyo, Japan: Taishukan Publishing Company, 1985.
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