Images of Japan in America : How The Chrysanthemum and the Sword Deals with these Images

2005 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 16530356
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Sociology
• Research Institution: Ryukoku University
• Principal Investigator: PAULINE Kent Ryukoku University, Faculty of Intercultural Communication, Associate Professor, 国際文化学部, 助教授 (00288648)
• Project Period (FY): 2004 – 2005
• Keywords: Japan / Ruth Benedict / Media / Images / New York Times / But-also

Research Abstract

The present research attempts to gain a deeper understanding of Benedict's study of Japan by looking at some of the reasons for her strategy of beginning with dichotomous images in order to explore the cohesive nature of Japanese culture and its ethics system. Obviously, Benedict considered the "but-also" stereotype as a hindrance to understanding the Japanese in a humane manner. She addresses the long-ingrained stereotypes that lurked in most American minds first and then proceeds to discuss the basic tenets of the Japanese system of ethics with the intention of illustrating that the Japanese do have a sense of responsibility and a conscience. Her final chapters return to the "but-also" theme but this time she displays these characteristics as part of a cohesive whole, minus the "inherent tension" and uncertainty that had surrounded their character.
In this report, I will conduct a preliminary survey of articles that appeared well before Benedict wrote her book but contributed to the dichotomous image of the Japanese in America. Materials include : articles that appeared in American periodicals from the Bakumatsu and Meiji periods collated by the British Library ; articles from the New York Times ; and readings from Peter O'Connor's Japanese Propaganda : Selected Readings on (series 1 & 2).