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DIMENSIONS OF JAPANESE SOCIETY Also by Kenneth G. Henshall and from the same publishers A HISTORY OF JAPAN: From Stone Age to Superpower Dimensions of Japanese Society Gender, Margins and Mainstream Kenneth G. Henshall Professor of Japanese Studies Department of East Asian Studies University of Waikato New Zealand First published in Great Britain 1999 by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978-0-333-77239-3 ISBN 978-0-333-98109-2 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780333981092 First published in the United States of America 1999 by ST. MARTIN’S PRESS, INC., Scholarly and Reference Division, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 ISBN978- 0–312–22192–4 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Henshall, Kenneth G. Dimensions of Japanese society : gender, margins and mainstream / Kenneth G. Henshall. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Social values—Japan. 2. Marginality, Social—Japan. 3. Sex role—Japan. 4. Minorities—Japan. 5. Japan—Social conditions—1945– I. Title. HN723.5.H48 1999 306'.0952—dc21 98–43697 CIP © Kenneth G. Henshall 1999 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1999 978-0-333-778-9 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. 1098765432 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00 To the memory of Alex French (1960–94), whose achievements in Japan were inspiring, and whose courage and determination in the face of adver- sity were humbling Contents List of Tables ix Preface x Acknowledgements xiii Glossary of Key Japanese Terms xiv Introduction: Japan as Other, and the Other Japan xvii Part One The Essentials of Society: Men and Women 1 1.1 Hard men, soft men, ideal men, real men: the constructing of maleness 1 1.2 From reigning empress to silly servant: the historical downgrading of the female 8 1.3 Tradition meets the modern world: the hesitant emergence of the new woman 22 1.4 Boys and madonnas, father-figures and virgins: relations between the sexes 32 1.5 The blurrings of gender: homosexuality, bisexuality, and androgyny 43 Part Two On the Fringes of Society: Minorities and Other Marginals 48 2.1 Impure outcasts: the Burakumin 48 2.2 Primitives: the Ainu 53 2.3 Not quite us: Koreans in Japan 61 2.4 Heroic villains: the Yakuza 65 2.5 Off-centre: Okinawans and other outer regional groups 72 2.6 The dreaded outside threat: foreigners and ‘foreign-tainted’ groups 78 2.7 Failures: day-labourers and vagrants 88 2.8 Unwholesome: the diseased 94 2.9 Imperfect and neglected: the physically disabled 99 2.10 Selfish and ungrateful: the mentally impaired 104 vii viii Contents Part Three The Mainstream of Society: Being a Normal Japanese 108 3.1 Being young: socialisation, education, and muted rebellion 108 3.2 Being adult: social responsibility, work, and families 121 3.3 Being old: Confucian ideals and the reality of decrepitude 139 3.4 Being oneself: the individual in a ‘groupist’ society 147 3.5 Being Japanese: a race apart? 168 Conclusion: Japan as Itself, and the Aesthetics of Purity 177 Notes 183 References 224 Index 237 List of Tables 1.1 Female View of Ideal Male 6 1.2 Simple Yes/No Attitudes Towards Traditional Female Role 26 3.1 Trends in Downsizing of the Family 135 3.2 Population Percentages of Young and Old 140 3.3 Broad Situation-Based Behavioural Permutations 163 3.4 Japan vs West according to Nihonjinron 173 ix Preface AIMS, STRUCTURE, SOURCES Dimensions aims to present a fair and balanced account of Japanese society. Early western works on the topic were coloured by prevailing images of Japan as a quaint and exotic land. Postwar works continued a focus on differences between Japan and the west. This was particu- larly the case during the 1970s and 1980s, when they often reflected Japanese attempts to explain their economic success by ascribing to themselves immutable attributes of Japaneseness such as harmony and homogeneity. Japan was portrayed as something special, unique, monolithic, and unchanging. By contrast, recent works during the late 1980s and 1990s have over-reacted against this holistic simplification and exaggeration by an excessive focus on diversity and conflict. They have also tended to water down the particularity of Japan by overly stressing elements of universality, in their cause of proving that Japan is really nothing special. There is truth on both sides, but it has been obscured by all the exaggeration. What is needed—certainly for the reader approaching Japanese society for the first time—is a balanced account that recog- nises both diversity and uniformity, both harmony and conflict, both the particular and the universal. This is what Dimensions tries to achieve. The book’s three-part structure reflects this attempt to achieve balance. One of the most universal matters in human society is that of relationships between men and women. It is self-evident—yet often overlooked—that these are essential not only to the survival of any particular society, but also to the survival of humankind as a whole. Since male–female relationships are so fundamental, yet seem to form such a distinctive pattern in Japan, the first part of the book focuses on gender issues. This discussion of the essential basis of society ‘sets the scene’, as it were, for further discussion. The fact that gender is treated as a part of the book in its own right, and not incorp- orated into a more general discussion, also reflects the growing recognition of Gender Studies as a discipline. The second part discusses marginals, who largely represent key elements of the diversity in Japanese society that has been made so x Preface xi much of in recent years. However, discussion is broadened beyond the minority groups typically found in studies of Japanese diversity, such as the indigenous Ainu of Hokkaido¯ or ethnic Koreans. Because marginalisation is an important means of understanding mainstream values, discussion includes non-minority marginalised groups such as the sick and the mentally disabled. There is a particular focus on how and why such people are marginalised. The third part discusses the mainstream, who are overwhelmingly the substantial part of the very normative society of Japan. They are discussed after marginals, and not before them, for a number of reasons. It makes sense to approach the centre from the periphery. Among other things this permits a better appreciation of that centre and its values. Moreover, however much on the fringe, marginals are nevertheless a part of society and need to be taken into account. To discuss them after the mainstream would seem somehow to perpetu- ate their ‘tag on’ status, and I believe they are worth more than that—though not to the extent of dominating the book. Discussion of mainstream society follows the life-cycle of youth, adulthood, and old age. It then proceeds to consider how the individual self relates to the group and to society as a whole, and finishes with a consideration of how Japanese derive and perceive a national identity. The Introduction briefly discusses western perceptions of Japan, particularly the view of Japan as an opposite of the west, and consid- ers how we might best approach the study of it. The Conclusion draws together the various parts, and tries to identify what we might genuinely consider to be distinguishing characteristics of Japanese society. It draws particular attention to the ideal of purity. Again in the interests of balance, I have tried to use a wide variety of both primary and secondary sources, ranging from often esoteric scholarly works to reference books to popular commentaries to news- papers and magazines, as well as novels, videos, comic books, and song lyrics. Where possible I have tried to confine my sources to English, for a further aim of Dimensions is to make Japanese society accessible. Realistically, few readers will be willing or able to read material in Japanese. This can still be something of a problem when it comes to primary material, such as manga (comics), but so much secondary material—and, thanks to numerous translations, not a little primary material—is now available in English that a command of Japanese is nowhere near as important as it was thirty years ago, when I first started my own study of Japan. I have used plentiful refer- ences for those readers wishing to follow up particular points—which xii Preface I hope they will—and in the vast majority of cases they will not have to read Japanese to do so. The References likewise include English- language works only. Acknowledgements I am indebted to a number of colleagues around the globe for assist- ance in one form or another. Some have commented on parts of the manuscript, others have given overall guidance, still others have provided specific information.