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Concept
Nihonjinron
Summary
is a genre of texts that focus on issues of Japanese national and cultural identity.
The concept became popular after World War II, with books and articles aiming to analyze, explain, or explore peculiarities of Japanese culture and mentality, usually by comparison with those of Europe and North America. The literature is vast, ranging over such varied fields as sociology, psychology, anthropology, history, linguistics, philosophy, biology, chemistry and physics so 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: "new theories on climate" (implying the influence of climate on peoples)
nihonbunkaron: "theories on Japanese culture"
nihonshakairon: "theories on Japanese society"
nihonron: "theories on Japan"
nihonkeizairon: "theories on the Japanese economy"
Books written by non-Japanese authors may also be classed as nihonjinron, if they share, contribute to, or reflect the vision, premises, and perspectives characteristic of the Japanese genre.
Hiroshi Minami, one of the foremost scholars of the genre, states in his survey:
It is also possible to trace back and locate works worthy of the name "nihonjinron" to the Edo period and even before that.
The roots of the nihonjinron be traced back at least to the kokugaku ("national studies") movement of the 18th century, with themes that are not dissimilar to those in the post-war nihonjinron.
The problem of Japanese identity in much of the early period is in terms of the local traditions and the powerful influence of Chinese culture, for example the revolt of the anti-Buddhist Mononobe and Nakatomi clans against the pro-Buddhist Soga clan, which had sponsored the introduction of not only Buddhist metaphysics but also Chinese statecraft into Japan in the 6th century.
Later, Kitabatake Chikafusa (1293–1354) wrote his Jinnō Shōtōki ("Chronicles of the Authentic Lineages of the Divine Emperors") which defines Japan's superiority in terms of the divinity of its imperial line and the divinity of the nation itself (Shinkoku).
Official source
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