(Untitled)

[bafooz]

Irokawa Daikichi, The Culture of the Meiji Period, translation ed. Marius B. Jansen (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1985).A rich book, but probably more telling about Japanese intellectuals of the post-war period (originally published in Japanese in '69) than Meiji history 'proper,' as Irokawa is unabashedly coming from an exceptionalist

Comments

Found you some 日本人論 didja!

[averagesmartguy]

I think the most ironic thing is that Japan is actually a very peculiar country - just in none of the ways its countrymen seem to think it is.

Re: Found you some 日本人論 didja!

[bafooz]

I actually don't know if he falls into 日本人論 (I'm not doubting you, but I'm a little fuzzy on all these different historical schools)) - the book isn't really ABOUT Japanese exceptionalism. He's considered to fall into the minshūshi school, which I guess was all the rage in the '60s. Well, not just in Japan - the idea, at least. Actually, they hit on to 'grass roots history' kinda before US scholars did.

[averagesmartguy]

Anything that starts off with a statement that Japan is "special" or whathaveyou, and especially starts listing off ways in which it isn't ("homesickness is particularly Japanese" - wtf) is most certainly 日本人論. It isn't a "school" so much (though I suppose it could be argued it's a mode of thinking - one which throws logic out the window, heh) as it's just anything among the vast body of literature named suchly. By and large there's a lot of "We're special and here's why..." type of collective navel-gazing, though more "legitimate", if you will, stuff also falls into the very broad category.

[bafooz]

OK, makes sense. :) I guess I just associate the term with more historical stuff - the unabashedly jingoistic/xenophobic stuff.

It wasn't a bad book, just really ... I don't even know. He sounded very excitable and passionate about everything, and apparently the original Japanese reads that way.