The
term Japanizing (nihonka 日本化) connotes assimilation and correlates with
the word Westernization. In contrast with Japanization, it refers to
the ongoing incorporation and modification of exogenous elements, the
mental and physical reactions being at the same time products of a
certain attitude. More particularly, the term expresses the process of
Westernization in regressive or progressive forms which may blur the
relationship between exogenous [i.e., foreign] and endogenous [i.e.,
indigenous] structures or else make it more radical. Therefore, the
word Japanizing has dynamic, not static, connotations. (Japanizing, 4)
What's the difference between Westernizing and Japanizing?
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| The
ideologically motivated term wakon-yosai calls for the fusion of the
Japanese spirit (wakon 和魂) with Western technology as a strategy of
national self-assertion. ... This kind of fusion is regressive, given
that the aim is to revitalize the national spirit (wakon), and
therefore the cultural difference between exogenous and endogenous ways
of thinking becomes more radical. The strategy of wedding the substance
of Japanese spirit (wakon) with forms of Western knowledge (yosai 洋才)
and using the result as an arsenal for cultural self-assertion is meant
to overcome the West by drawing on the latter’s own political and
economic resources. (Japanizing, 7-9) |
Kokugagu (National Learning)
Motoori Norinaga
(1730-1801)
| “Strictly speaking, the modern history of Japanese culture has generally been in line with the concept of wayo-setchu.” (Japanizing, 11-12) |
Wayo-setchu entails mimesis.
Under this progressive form of learning, imitation is seen as a way to
create a new self from exogenous and endogenous elements. The basic
mental attitude which enables such progressive synthesis or symbiotic
coexistence is a hybrid consciousness: Disparate features are blended
into a new unity (setchu) of products, thought patterns or modern
life-styles, and this duality of Japanese and Western (wayo) is the
foundation of innovation in Japan. (Japanizing, 14)
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