"Japan Theory" is the name of a vast and complex study that covers all the treatises on Japan. Although seemingly disorganized, these treatises share two common characteristics: one is to talk about Japan's cultural characteristics, and the other is to evaluate Japan's strengths and weaknesses. Moreover, both aspects will evolve with social changes and changing times.
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The periodization and internal structure of the "Japan Theory"
In the two centuries since the dawn of the modern era, the research motivation, focus, observation methods, and evaluation system of the "Japan Theory" have undergone great changes in the international environment and changes in Japan's national policy, national fortune, national economy, and people's livelihood. These changes can be summed up in two major aspects: first, the content of attention to Japanese cultural characteristics has changed in each period, and second, the evaluation system of Japanese cultural characteristics has changed in each period.
Divided into historical periods, the evolution of "Japan Theory" has gone through two major periods, modern times and after World War II, and each period has undergone several phased changes, and its general trend is the spiral evolution trajectory of affirmation-negation-reaffirmation-renegation.
In the middle of the 19th century, two events occurred that had a huge psychological impact on Japan, which was implementing a policy of "locking down the country" at that time. First, China lost the Sino-British Opium War in 1840. Second, in 1853, U.S. Navy Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry (1794-1858) led four warships of the East India Fleet (known in Japan as "Black Ships") into the port of Uraga in Edo Bay to force it to open its port. Regarding the former incident, Japan hearsay through the "wind story" (Japan called the rumors of the Opium War from China the "wind theory") thousands of years of "heavenly kingdom" China lost to the old Western power Britain's strong ships. Through the latter incident, Japan witnessed first-hand the powerful force of the emerging Western power, the United States.
(American Black Ship Sailing)
Taking this as an opportunity, Japan's coordinate frame of reference for itself and the outside world has undergone a fundamental shift, from a mindset modeled on the Chinese canonical system since ancient times to a mindset that uses Western culture as the criterion. In the process, Japan has undergone a process of reshaping its self-consciousness, which is manifested in several changes in its self-evaluation system for its own cultural identity.
During this period, modern Japanese studies in various countries, mainly Western countries, began to take off and develop, and gradually formed their own evaluation system for Japanese culture. The two lines of "self-evaluation" in Japan and "evaluation by others" in foreign countries are sometimes intertwined, sometimes colliding, and sometimes diverging, forming an overall evaluation system for Japan.
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"Japan Theory" at the Dawn of the Modern Era: 18th to Mid-19th Centuries
The key word of "Japan Theory" in this period was "Wazu Yosai."
When Japan's intellectual elite began to come into contact with the gradual introduction of Western culture, their initial reaction was to admit that the West was superior to Japan in science and technology, but at the same time to believe that Japan was far superior to the West in spiritual and cultural terms.
Before the arrival of the American "Black Ship", Japan in the 18th century had already begun to be exposed to Western culture. The Tokugawa shogunate at the time adopted a very cautious attitude and strict restrictions on Western culture, which was different from the Chinese culture that had been a teacher since ancient times. First, only Dutch culture was allowed to be introduced (the Netherlands only engaged in trade with Japan and did not spread Catholicism, and also helped the shogunate suppress the rebels, so it won the trust of the shogunate), thus forming "orchid studies" in Japan as a synonym for "foreign studies". Second, only Western science and technology are allowed to be introduced, while despising or even rejecting Western spiritual culture and humanities.
Japan's self-evaluation during this period was reflected in a series of doctrines of the representative intellectual elite of the time.
Arai Shiraishi (1657-1725), who was educated in Confucianism in his early years and was known for his vast knowledge, served as an attendant to the sixth and seventh shoguns of the Tokugawa shogunate. In 1709, Arai was ordered to hold several talks with the interned Italian missionary G.B. Sidotti, and after that, he wrote five volumes of "Reading Different Words" and three volumes of "Western Observations" based on the content of the talks. According to Arai's observation, Western learning is unparalleled in "metaphysical" science and technology, but far inferior to Japan in "metaphysical" "Tao". The "Tao" that Arai refers to here refers to traditional Japanese thought with Confucianism at its core.
(Arai Shiraishi)
Later, Sakuma Shozan (1811-1864) used Arai Shiraishi's mode of thinking as a model for formulating the famous formula of "Eastern morality and Western art (i.e., technology)." Hashimoto Zouchi (1834-1859) further concretized it as a symmetrical concept of "instrumental art takes from the other, benevolence, righteousness, loyalty and filial piety exist in me".
All of the above theories reflect the ideas of the transition period before Japan's transition from traditional Confucianism as the core to "Westernization" since the 18th century, and their core content is to affirm the advanced nature of the West in science and technology, and the superiority of Japan in spiritual culture. The formulaic expression of this mode of thinking is "harmony with soul and foreign talent".
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Towards "Leaving Asia and Joining Europe": Mid-to-Late 19th Century
At this stage, the key word of "Japan Theory" became "leaving Asia and joining Europe."
The keynote of its evaluation system is to completely deny traditional Japanese culture in comparison with Western culture, and advocate that Japan should comprehensively learn from the West, completely abandon traditional culture and strive to become a Westernized country.
With the development of "Westernization" at the end of the shogunate and the development of the ideological enlightenment in the early Meiji period, the formula of "Wazun Yosai" was overwhelmed by the wave of "Westernization". One of the reform measures promoted by the Meiji government was "civilization." Encouraged by this policy, the Meijukusha Enlightenment academic society "Meirokusha" was established in the sixth year of Meiji (1873), and its initial members were ten major figures in the intellectual world of the time, including Nishishu, Hiroyuki Kato, Yukichi Fukuzawa, Shindo Tsuda, Shigeki Nishimura, Akihei Minsaku, Masanao Nakamura, Hiroshi Hiroshi, Rinsho Minsaku, and Mori Yuri. They all had similar experiences, almost all of them were from lower-ranking clans, who first studied Confucianism, later switched to Western studies, and were both educated in Eastern and Western cultures, and both worked as intellectual bureaucrats in the academic institution of the Tokugawa shogunate, the Kaiseisho. In the second year of its establishment, the "Meiju Society" had 30 members, published the journal "Meiju Magazine", published various articles focusing on the political and philosophical ideas of Britain and France in the 18th and 19th centuries, and fiercely attacked the Japanese feudal system and the decay of its ideas. Under their ideological enlightenment, the liberal civil rights movement advocating the establishment of an "elected house" sprang up.
Against this background, the tone of evaluation of Japanese culture by Japanese intellectuals has changed from "harmony with foreign talents" to "leaving Asia and entering Europe" and "completely westernizing". For example, Mori Yuri (1847-1889) believed that "the Japanese are an inferior people" and advocated that the Japanese abandon the Japanese language and adopt English as a Chinese. Fukuzawa Yukichi (1834-1901) published a series of treatises advocating a comprehensive study of the West. On March 16, 1885, Fukuzawa published an article entitled "On De-Asianization" in the Jiji Shinpao. Among them: "Whether it is the government or the opposite, everything in China adopts Western modern civilization, not only to get rid of the old Japanese habits, but also to create a new axis in Asia Minor. "As a policy of the present day, the mainland should not hesitate, rather than wait for the enlightenment of its neighbors to jointly revitalize Asia, it is better to break away from its ranks and advance and retreat together with Western civilizations";" Those who are close to evil friends will inevitably become evil friends. We are to reject from our hearts the evil friends of the East of Asia. Fukuzawa's idea of "leaving Asia and joining Europe" actually dominated Japan's development strategy for the next century and a half. Known as "Japan's Voltaire," Fukuzawa became the largest denomination of 10,000 yen in Japanese currency since 1984.
(Yukichi Fukuzawa)
In the second half of the 19th century, Japan was at a fork in the road in history. The first is to choose a fork in the road between "traditionalism" and "Europeanization". Through polemics, Fukuzawa's ideas of "Europeanization" prevailed. Secondly, there are several forks in the road differentiated by "Europeanization", which are embodied in the struggle between "big Japanism" and "small Japanism", peaceful development and foreign aggression. In the early 80s of the 19th century, two representative views emerged: one was the "East Asian Alliance Theory", that is, it was argued that Japan, as a "civilized country", should assist and unite with China and Korea to prevent Western invasion; The other is the "theory of leaving Asia and joining Europe," that is, advocating that Japan should break away from backward Asia and join the ranks of Western powers alone.
In 1887, two years after the publication of Fukuzawa's "On De-Asianism," Nakae Zhaomin (1847-1901) published the article "Three Drunken People and Questions and Answers", which virtualized the drinking and discussion of "Mr. Nankai", "Western Gentleman", and "Haojiejun", representing gradualism, idealism, and expansionism, respectively, in order to analyze and predict three options for Japan's future alternative paths. In fact, Japan has chosen the expansionist path advocated by Nakae Zhaomin's "Haojiejun".
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The Rise of the "Japanese Superiority Theory": Late 19th Century to 10s of the 20th Century
The key word for "Japan Theory" at this stage is "Japanese Superiority Theory."
Its ideological resources are a mixture of "Europeanization" and "Asianism" (Asianism), and the tone of its self-evaluation is to affirm Japan after choosing the path of "leaving Asia and joining Europe", believing that Japan is the best Asian country that has successfully learned from the West and can compete with Westerners on an equal footing, and should therefore become an ally of Asian countries.
In the second half of the 19th century, when Fukuzawa's "theory of leaving Asia and joining Europe" became mainstream, various non-mainstream ideas that raised objections to this also emerged. After Japan won the Sino-Japanese War in 1894 and the Russo-Japanese War in 1904-05, the tone of the "Japan Theory" shifted from the inferiority complex of the previous period relative to the West to inflated self-confidence. Since then, the discussion and exploration of Japan and the "superiority" of the Japanese has become the mainstream tendency of "Japan theory".
As a critique of Japan's radical westernization, Shintodo Inazuko (1862-1933) wrote the Bushido in English. As a politician and educator with experience in the United States and Germany, Inazu Nitodo believes, "In order to become a truly international person, you must first grasp the historical and cultural traditions of your own people and learn the Japanese language well." Otherwise, no matter how fluent you are in foreign languages, if you lose your own subjectivity, you will not be able to play a good role in the international community." He made it his mission to introduce Japanese culture to Western society, and introduced bushido from the perspectives of righteousness, courage, benevolence, propriety, honesty and sincerity, and honor. He became the face of the 5,000 yen Japanese currency in circulation from 1984 to 2004.
(Bushido English Edition)
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The period of the proliferation of "imperial nationalism": from the 20s to the mid-40s of the 20th century
The key word in the "Japan Theory" at this stage was "imperial nationalization."
With the rise of Japanese fascism, "Japan theory" has gradually been brought into the track of serving militarism, and naked "imperial nationalism" has completely occupied the intellectual field and public opinion position, including "Japan theory", and all works that deviate from this have been unconditionally stifled.
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Left-Wing Movements and Foreigners' Perspectives: Other Types of Modern "Japan"
(1) The "Japan Theory" of Modern Left-Wing Movements
Since the second half of the 19th century, the Japanese socialist movement, including various left-wing forces and the Japanese Communist Party, has always made it its duty to criticize Japanese feudalism and capitalism. In the 30s and mid-40s of the 20th century, when militarism was raging, all kinds of left-wing "Japanese theory" that questioned "imperial nationalism" were brutally suppressed and completely banned.
(2) A treatise on Japan written by foreigners in modern times
From the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century, the "Japanese theory" of other countries also gradually developed. Scholars, tourists, businessmen, diplomats, and others from some countries have successively written some "Japan Theory" through their own experiences in visiting Japan. Based on the "Japan Theory" written by the Japanese themselves, they gradually developed their own evaluation system for the cultural characteristics of Japan, and this system evolved with changes in Japan and changes in their country's relations with Japan. The Japanese evaluation of the "Japan Theory" written by these foreigners is not the same as the self-evaluation of the Japanese.
An example of a famous work on "Japan Treatise" written by a foreigner:
Joseph Clark Grew (1880-1965), who served as U.S. ambassador to Japan from 1932 to 1942, published the book "Ten Years of Japan," a collection of personal diaries and documents, which became a famous work of "Japan Theory" during this period. After returning to the United States in 1942, Gru served as deputy secretary of state, which directly influenced the United States' occupation policy towards Japan, such as actively recommending the preservation of the emperor system.
(Joseph Gru, Ten Years of Ambassadorship, Chinese edition)
As Japan launched and expanded its foreign wars of aggression, foreigners cannot but turn their attention to the discussion of the cultural characteristics behind Japan's aggression, and most of the evaluations of Japan in his "Japan Theory" treatises have become negative and critical. The two lines of Japan's self-evaluation and foreign Japan's evaluation have entered a stage of divergence from each other.