|
(literally "theories/discussions about the Japanese") is a genre of texts that focus on issues of Japanese national and cultural identity and how Japan and the Japanese should be understood. The literature is vast, ranging over such varied fields as sociology, psychology, anthropology, history, linguistics, philosophy, biology, chemistry and physics. Though published predominantly in Japan by Japanese, noted examples of the genre have also been penned by foreign scholars, journalists, and residents, and works from this genre have appeared in non-Japanese texts without the context of the trend of which it is a part in Japan. The concept became popular after World War II, initially including books and articles aiming to analyze, explain, or explore peculiarities of Japanese culture and mentality, usually by comparison with those of Europe and the United States (though other Asian countries increasingly figure in recent works). Such texts share a general vision of what constitutes the uniqueness of Japan, and the term ''nihonjinron'' can be employed to refer to this outlook. One may also speak of books written by non-Japanese authors as ''nihonjinron,'' insofar as they share, contribute to, or reflect the vision, premises, and perspectives characteristic of the Japanese genre. In addition to the common generic word ''nihonjinron'', a variety of topical subgenres exist, divided up by specific theme or subject-matter. For example: * ''shinfūdoron'' (新風土論): "new theories on climate" (implying the influence of climate on peoples) * ''nihonbunkaron'' (日本文化論): "theories on Japanese culture" * ''nihonshakairon'' (日本社会論): "theories on Japanese society" * ''nihonron'' (日本論): "theories on Japan" * ''nihonkeizairon'' (日本経済論) "theories on the Japanese economy" ==Types of Nihonjinron== According to a survey conducted by Nomura Research Institute (), 698 books on nihonjinron were published in Japan between 1946 and 1978. A breakdown of the major themes of nihonjinron is as follows: *General books: * *Nihonjinron written by philosophers—5.5% * *Nihonjinron written by literary/dramatic authors—4.5% * *Nihonjinron written by social/cultural anthropologists—4.5% * *Nihonjinron written by historians and minzokugaku (folklore, ) scholars—4.5% * *Nihonjinron written by economists, political scientists, and legal scholars—4.5% * *Nihonjinron written by natural scientists—4.0% * *Nihonjinron written by linguists and literary scholars—3.5% * *Nihonjinron written by diplomats, social critics, and journalists—3.5% * *Nihonjinron written by psychologists—3.5% * *Nihonjinron written by foreign scholars—4.0% * *Nihonjinron written by foreign journalists—5.5% * *Nihonjinron written by other foreigners—7.0% * *Others—5.5% *Investigative reports: * *General theories on national characters—7.0% * *Surveys on desire and satisfaction—3.5% * *Attitude surveys on work ethics—4.0% * *Attitude surveys on saving—4.0% * *Other generic attitude surveys—6.5% * *Time-budget surveys—3.5% * *Survey on foreigners' view on Japanese economic activities—6.5% * *Overseas opinion researches on Japan—4.5% Often cited, but rarely read, this work is now outdated. It is "merely a sample" not a definitive list.〔(Mouer & Sugimoto, ''Images of Japanese Society'' 1986 p.87〕 It omits many works that otherwise qualify as nihonjinron (the works of Kiyoyuki Higuchi (樋口清之), for example). It states that 16.5% of postwar nihonjinron were written by foreigners. Yet production of books by Japanese people on Japanese identity assumed an industrial scale in Japan, and Dale writes of the "unflagging productivity of the genre".〔Peter Dale,''The Myth of Japanese Uniqueness'', 1986 p.16〕 Just one writer, the doyen of the genre, Shōichi Watanabe (渡部昇一), has hundreds of articles and volumes on Japanese culture, society, politics, history, and identity to his credit, all replete with judgments about "the Japanese". Foreign writing, with its stereotypes, is an important subgenre of nihonjinron, and was particularly strong in Meiji Japan, where, as Basil Hall Chamberlain observed, "not to have written a book about Japan is fast becoming a title to distinction". 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Nihonjinron」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|