Cultural Struggles

1
Cultural Struggles
Defining Modern Japan

• Pervasive sense of profound change
• Excitement, and fear
• The invention of tradition, as response
• A global process
• NOT peculiar to Japan,
• Taking place in global dialogue

2
Dramatic Cultural Change
Religion Shukyo ?? Rights Kenri
?? Society/social Shakai ?? Philosophy
Tetsugaku ?? Literature Bungaku ?? Company
Kaisha ?? Science Kagaku ?? Nation,PeopleKokumin
?? Asia Ajia ??? or ???
The age of neo- logism
3
Fukuzawa Yukichi

• Advocate of change, of
• civilization and enlightenment

• His critique Japan has
• a government but no
• nation (kokumin).

• Advocates individual
• independence, but for
• sake of the nation

4
New Roles For Women

• Seeking freedom
• and rights

• Kishida Toshiko and Fukuda Hideko

5
New Roles For Women

• New Robes
• Related new roles?

6
New Robes For Women
7
New Robes For Women
8
Fear of Political Disorder
9
The fear of gender anarchy
10
Fear of Westernization
Society for political education The Japanese,
1888
What is todays Japan? The old Japan has
already collapsed, but the new Japan has not yet
risen. What religion do we believe in? What
moral and political principles do we favor? It
is as if we are wandering in confusion through a
deep fog, unable to find our way
11
Response Re-inventing the Monarch

• The Imperial institution enshrined at the heart
  of the
• the constitution (on website)

• Defining the Imperial image

12
Response Re-inventing the Monarch

• In ritual as well as in word

13
Response Re-inventing the Monarch

• In ritual as well as in word

• Promulgating the
• constitution)

14
Response Re-inventing the Monarch

• In ritual as well as in word

15
Alternative response
16
Response Inventing the Good Wife and Wise
Mother
17
Good wife and wise mother as a global tradition
of modern times
18
Response Inventing Japanese-ness

• Articulating Japanese,
• and Asian, aesthetics