Cultural Nationalism in Contemporary Japan: A Sociological Enquiry

The debate about Japan's 'uniqueness' is central to Japanese studies. This book examines the content and role of ideas of Japanese uniqueness, generally referred to as the nihonjinron, from comparative and theoretical perspectives. It also illuminates sociological theories of ethnicity and cultural nationalism through the use of Japan as a case study. Kosaku Yoshino, a Japanese scholar with a grounding in Western academic approaches to nationalism and Japanese sociology, brings these fields together. In this book he examines perceptions of Japanese uniqueness among intellectuals, educators and businessmen and provides a stimulating analysis of the ways in which ideas of Japanese uniqueness are 'produced' and 'consumed' in contemporary Japan. He finds that the ideas of the nihonjinron have been received more favourably by those in business than in education. He analyses the ways in which ideas of cultural distinctiveness are formulated in different national and historical contexts and uses the Japanese case to examine theories and assumptions about national identity and cultural nationalism. This extremely perceptive book combines sociology and Japanese studies within a broad comparative perspective to present an analysis of both the historical development of the Japanese sense of national identity and the ways in which it is changing. The book will appeal to students of Japanese studies, sociology, anthropology, politics and racial and ethnic studies.