THE IDEA OF KOKUTAI AND NIHONJINRON AND NATIONAL IDENTITY IN JAPAN (Kokutai i Nihonjinron. Polityka i kultura jako filary wspólczesnej japonskiej tozsamosci narodowej)

• Authors: Lisiecki Marcin
• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

This paper is an attempt at a political and cultural interpretation of national identity in pre- and postwar Japan. For clarity of analysis the essay is divided into two parts. The first deals with the category of kokutai which can be translated as national character or national polity. The kokutai was the most important idea in prewar Japan and one which was exploited for creating a political sense of Japanese nationality. The concept of ethnic nationalism (minzokushugi) as well as the document Kokutai-no hongi (Cardinal Principles of the kokutai) published in 1937 were the most expressive examples of the political sense of national identity. The second part discusses the concept of 'nihonjinron' (theories about the Japanese) which is connected with cultural background of nationalism in contemporary Japan. The significance of this idea can be seen in a continuity of ethnical sense of national identity earlier expressed by kokutai (but without support of governments). In the other sense the nihonjinron is understood as a rank-and-file initiative of the contemporary Japanese society. It can be seen in the activity of Japanese writers, philosophers and artists who thus create a unique vision of Japan.

Keywords

EN

' 'THEORIES ABOUT THE JAPANESE; ' CIVIC NATIONALISM; 'NATIONAL CHARACTER; ETHNIC NATIONALISM; JAPAN; KOKUTAI; NIHONJINRON

Discipline

• POLITICAL_SCIENCES: POLITICAL SCIENCES

• Publisher: Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Slawistyki PAN
• Journal: Sprawy Narodowościowe
• Year: 2011
• Issue: 38
• Pages: 163-173
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Lisiecki Marcin

• Marcin Lisiecki, Wydzial Politologii i Studiów Miedzynarodowych Uniwersytetu Mikolaja Kopernika, ul. Stefana Batorego 39 L, 87-100 Torun, Poland

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

11PLAAAA095912