Nationalisms of Japan: Managing and Mystifying Identity

by Brian J. McVeigh

Overview

In this fresh and original analysis, Brian J. McVeigh confronts both the demonizers and apologists of Japan. He argues persuasively that far from being unique, Japanese nationalism becomes demystified once 'management' and 'mysticism'-the same processes and practices that operate in other national states-are taken into account. Stripping away Orientalist-inspired misconceptions, the author stresses the variety and relative intensity of nationalisms, ranging from economic, ethnic, and educational to cultural, gendered, and religious. He moves beyond state-centered ideologies to explore the linkages between official and popular nationalisms and the complex interplay of ethnocultural, ethnopolitical, and ethnoracial forms of identity. The ambiguity and everydayness of nationalism, McVeigh contends, explain its enduring power. He concludes that modern Japan is imbued with a deeply rooted legacy of 'renovationism' or 'reform nationalism' that accounts for its streamlined state structures, guarded economic nationalism, and highly scrutinized relationship with the rest of the world. Highlighting the pluralism of identity among Japanese, this book will be an invaluable corrective to recent works that glibly proclaim the emergence of 'globalization,' 'internationalization,' and 'convergence.'

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781417503513
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	10/26/2004
Series:	Asia/Pacific/Perspectives
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Brian J. McVeigh teaches Japanese anthropology in the Department of East Asian Studies at the University of Arizona.

Table of Contents

Part 1 Purposes and Perspectives
Chapter 2 Introduction
Chapter 3 The Ambiguity, Domains, and Degrees of Nationalism
Chapter 4 Historical Background of Japan's Nationalisms
Chapter 5 Renovationist Nationalism: The Self-Reinforcing Logic of Modernity and Japaneseness
Chapter 6 Nationalizing the State and Statizing the Nation
Part 7 State and Official Nationalisms
Chapter 8 Economic Nationalism: Developmentalism and Capitalist Nationalism
Chapter 9 Educational Nationalism: Reproducing Educational Dualism
Chapter 10 Ethnos Nationalism: State, Nation, and "Race" in a House of Mirrors
Chapter 11 State Cultural Nationalism: Cultural Policy-Aestheticizing the Nation and Nationalizing Aesthetics
Part 12 Popular and Nonofficial Nationalisms
Chapter 13 Popular Cultural Nationalism: Linking Ethnos, Aesthetics, Citizenship, and Progress
Chapter 14 Postimperial Ethnos Nationalism: Homogeneity, Uniqueness, and Peace
Chapter 15 Gendered Nationalism: Producing "Good Wives-Wise Mothers"
Chapter 16 Mainstream and Marginal Nationalism: The Paradox of "Japaneseness" in the Mahikari Religious Movement
Part 17 Final Thoughts
Chapter 18 Japan's Legacy of Modernity and Issues of Citizenship
Chapter 19 Internationalism, Extra-Nationalism and Renovationism
Part 20 Appendix A Types of Corporations and Their Relevant Laws
Part 21 Appendix B Procedure for Establishing a Public-Service Corporation
Part 22 Appendix C Organization of Corporations

Editorial Reviews

McVeigh's ingenious study contributes to our understanding of both Japan and nationalism. A very important book.

Chalmers Johnson

McVeigh's important contribution is his demonstration that Japan is not unique in the way that its myths of identity have been managed and mystified at both official and nonofficial levels.

Journal of Asian Studies

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From the Publisher

[A]n ambitious attempt to synthesize and critique this large body of scholarship [on Japanese diversity], to reveal the workings of the ideological fields that continue to sustain myths of Japanese exceptionalism. This is a theoretically rich book that crosses the boundaries of discipline and area studies.

The Journal of Japanese Studies

McVeigh. .. explicitly debunks the myths of Japanese uniqueness advanced both by romantics and by those who want to demonize Japan.

Foreign Affairs - Lucien Pye

A masterful, comprehensive analysis of nationalism in Japan, whose methodology should be an example for the study of nationalism anywhere.

Journal Of The Royal Anthropological Institute - Harumi Befu

A timely study that deserves to be read by anyone interested in contemporary Japanese culture or politics.

Kevin M. Doak

[A] fascinating study of nationalism in Japan.. .. By the end [of the book], readers have a much more complex and nuanced sense of what it means to be Japanese, as well as what it might mean for a non-Japanese outsider to study Japan. Highly recommended.

Choice Reviews

[A] fascinating study of nationalism in Japan.. .. By the end [of the book], readers have a much more complex and nuanced sense of what it means to be Japanese, as well as what it might mean for a non-Japanese outsider to study Japan. Highly recommended.

Choice

[A] fascinating study of nationalism in Japan.. .. By the end [of the book], readers have a much more complex and nuanced sense of what it means to be Japanese, as well as what it might mean for a non-Japanese outsider to study Japan. Highly recommended.

CHOICE

[A]n ambitious attempt to synthesize and critique this large body of scholarship [on Japanese diversity], to reveal the workings of the ideological fields that continue to sustain myths of Japanese exceptionalism. This is a theoretically rich book that crosses the boundaries of discipline and area studies.

The Journal Of Japanese Studies

[A]n ambitious attempt to synthesize and critique this large body of scholarship [on Japanese diversity], to reveal the workings of the ideological fields that continue to sustain myths of Japanese exceptionalism. This is a theoretically rich book that crosses the boundaries of discipline and area studies.

Journal of Japanese Studies