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| Published 2007 |
In
anticipation of an upcoming trip to Japan with C and the Glamorous Nomad, I read
Cambridge anthropologist Alan Macfarlane's Japan
Through the Looking Glass. Macfarlane is a relatively a relative latecomer
to Japan, having arrived there for the first time only in 1990, although he’s
been back several times, in addition to reflecting upon what he saw and learned
there. Macfarlane completed his anthropological fieldwork in Nepal and he’s
written a great deal about early modern England. He's a keen student of the
transition to modernity and the early theorists who dealt with that change from
Montesquieu to Maitland, including Adam Smith, Tocqueville, Malthus, Marx, and
others who have attempted to explain the advent of modernity. It was with this
background that Macfarlane approached Japan, and he found that Japan confounded
many of the characteristic dichotomies that classical theorists had developed
about modern versus traditional societies.
The main theme
of Japan Through the Looking Glass is
that nothing seems quite as it first appears in Japanese culture; indeed, even
upon closer examination, paradoxes and uncertainties abound. As Macfarlane
notes, many outward similarities exist with Great Britain. Both are island
nations, both have a feudal history, both have a long history of a strong work
ethic, and both were the first to industrialize in their regions. But as Macfarlane
points out, despite the similarities, westerners have a continuing challenge in
understanding how Japan works.
For instance,
Japan has a mix of individualism and status relationships. It is a modern
(often hyper-modern) capitalist society, yet the profit motive is not
glorified. Individuals in the sense of Western individualism don’t exist.
Instead, people are defined by relationships. People think in terms of
relationships and emotions rather than in terms of logic whenever dealing with other people.
Thus, while the Japanese can be quite reticent in speech and seemingly cold, in
their observation of the subtlest behaviors and assessments of responses they’re
finely nuanced and responsive. As to religion, in a land filled with temples
and shrines, the Japanese are, according to Macfarlane, some of the least
religious people in the world. If we measure religiosity by belief in a soul,
the afterlife, or belief in God, we find few Japanese adhere to these beliefs.
The Japanese perceive little difference between nature and culture, and none
between the natural and the supernatural. This does not mean that the native Shinto
religion, Confucianism, and Buddhism have not had an effect, but rather than
suffer a transformation by any one religion, Japanese culture has transformed
the religions to fit Japan. Thus, Zen Buddhism lies a far distance from the
more traditional Buddhism of South Asia. This lack of distinction between
nature and culture also helps us appreciate Japanese attitudes towards nature
and the beauty of ephemeral things like cherry blossoms and the phases of the
moon. Macfarlane even ventures into the difficult question of why, when
Japanese became a conquering military power in the 1930s, there were so many
instances of the Japanese atrocities. How did such an otherwise docile people,
who have an extremely low crime rate and few incidents of criminal violence,
turn into war criminals? Macfarlane, adopting the opinions of some others who
have considered this paradox, suggests that the perception of extreme
differences between native Japanese and others accounts for this stark dichotomy.
But it remains in some sense another one of the enigmas of Japan.
Macfarlane
has an open, inquisitive mind that is well trained in attempting to understand
how societies work. He readily admits that Japan has confounded his
preconceived notions about the transformation to modernity and the role of the
Axial religions in modern cultures. In this way, he serves as an outstanding
guide him for a venture into understanding Japan and the Japanese. If you're
looking for us a sink, a well constructed and broad ranging work on the enigma
of Japan, I highly recommend this book to you.
