Book Description

This fascinating study penetrates the metaphorical sudare or traditional reed screen that has long masked the inner world of the Japanese to reveal in rich detail the complete combination of cultural particularity and modern universality that underlies the reality of contemporary Japan. The work is remarkable for its content and its method, using such sources as popular works of art, songs, best-selling books and the advice columns of newspapers to draw a striking portrait of the public at large. Focusing on the four main phases of modernizing and modernized Japan starting in the nineteenth century and continuing to today's postmodern society, this groundbreaking work uses quantitative and qualitative data to show that the processes of modernization brought a coexistence of generational variations imbued with tensions, conflicts and synergies that, taken together, provide the key to understanding the structure and dynamism of contemporary Japan. Part I, The History of Feelings in Modern Japan analyzes popular song during the century after 1868. Popular songs are the data which most sensitively reflect the period fluctuations of the social psychology of the people. The patterns they reveal of anger, sadness, joy, love, loneliness, nostalgia and feelings of transience give a vivid sense of the shifts in the hearts and minds of the common people, which underlie the cultural expressions, political decisions and economic motivations that are more often discussed. Part II, The Social Psychology of Modernizing Japan, deals with the social structure which evolved from 1868 and continued to 1945. Professor Mita analyzes responses to the momentous events of the Meiji Restoration, concentrating on the reactions of the common people, which before now have not been investigated in a systematic and comprehensive manner. Part III, The Social Psychology of Modernized Japan, examines postwar social, psychological and cultural ferment. It traces transition in mass thought from 1945 to the early 1960s through the themes of bestselling books and deals with such consequences of the rapid growth economic experience as revolution in the sense of 'home', patterns of dissatisfaction and anxiety in daily life, the changing nature of white collar work and status and alienation in the city. Part. IV, The Changing Mentality of Contemporary Japan, surveys generational changes in value orientation and in attitudes to work and leisure, sex and the family, and the attitudes of young Japanese towards wives, work and home. Professor Mita concludes that since 1945, the mentality of the Japanese can be divided into three fifteen year periods, characterized by different aspirations. From 1945-1960 they tried to live out ideals, from 1960-1975 they tried to live out dreams, and from 1975 to 1990 they have tried to live out fictions. This rewarding work provides many signposts to the Japan of the future.