뉴스레터

Recently, there are signs of attempts observed around Japan to step out of the 'non-military nation' or 'democratic nation' track laid out by the allies after World War II. Earlier, Ozawa Ichiro called for making Japan an ordinary nation. And recently, the 'Osaka Restoration Club' led by Osaka Mayor Hashimoto Toru (橋本徹) is also dreaming of a national revolution. In addition, schools for aspiring politicians are mushrooming in Tokyo and other regions across the country. The 'Eight Point Plan (船中八策), the booklet of pledges for the House of Representatives election campaigns presented by the Osaka Restoration Club, as suggested by its title taken from the 'Eight Point Plan' by Sakamoto Ryoma from the late shogunate period, may have been so named to project the image of building a new country. The Eight Point Plan consists of noteworthy points, including 1) improvement of the ruling body, 4) reform of education, 7) reform of diplomacy/defence, and 8) 'revision of the constitution.'
In fact, this move somehow reminds us of the similar situation back in the late shogunate period of Japan. If Japan then was forced to open by the western powers, specifically by the tsunami called the U.S, Japan today seems to pursue another 'Restoration' in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the full-scale rise of China.
In any movement of Japan, there is some kind of pattern: 'Japanism,' which has been and will emerge again in different forms. The archetype of Japanism may be national studies by Moto'ori Norinaga (本居宣長). And the NAHF has recently published a translation ('The Archetype of Japanese Nationalism-National Studies by Moto'ori Norinaga') and a research book ('National Studies and Japanism-The Origins of Japanese Conservatism') on this subject.

일본The Archetype of Japanese Nationalism

Moto'ori Norinaga (本居宣長, 1730-1801) was a medical doctor from Ise (伊勢) Matzuzaka (松阪) who lived during the mid-Edo period. While practicing medicine, he also conducted extensive research in classics, laying a foundation for Japanese national studies. How can we make sense of the understanding of the ordinary people of Japan before the War who thought of Japan ruled by the emperor who as a living god (現人神) 'had reigned since time immemorial (萬世一系)' as the best country in the world and pledged their allegiance as his subjects even in the face of death in the wars of colonization and conquest and of the claim still heard today from time to time that Japan is the 'nation of god (神國)'? Clues to the answer to the question are found in 'The Archetype of Japanese Nationalism.' This book presents four pieces of work by Norinaga, including his famous 'Tamakusige (玉くしげ).' While discussing the 'Way (道, mitchi)' as the foundation of politics and economy, Norinaga argues that the 'Way' is the 'way of god' handed down for generations in Japan, the 'true way' that should not be associated with the 'byways (枝道)' taught in Confucianism or Buddhism introduced from China (outside). This Theory of Old Way (古道論) by Norinaga also signifies the birth of 'Japanism.'

National Studies and Japanism - The Origins of Japanese Conservatism

Japan's right-wing demonstration

National Studies is one of the teachings that had great influence in shaping the Japanese thinking patterns, and it can be said that its influence still lingers today. Therefore, National Studies is a discipline that we must study in order to know Japan's past, understand its present, and predict its future. 'National Studies and Japanism-The Origins of Japanese Conservatism' is a collection of papers designed to further an overall understanding of Japanese national studies. It features papers that explore the thinking of Norinaga credited with compiling national studies during the early Edo period in the making and how it was inherited by future generations, explaining how Japan's self-centered thinking was formed and how it would influence Korea-Japan relations later. "The Conditions and the Process of the Birth of 'Japanism'" analyzes the conditions and the process of the birth of Japanism by Norinaga. It stresses that the driving forces behind Japanism were the following conditions: the geopolitical condition in which Japan was isolated in the international order of East Asia and adopted post-China policy; the social and political situation in which the neo-Confucianism introduced from Joseon and China would soon fail after some transformation; wide spread of secular hedonism. with the development of market economy. as a universal value that approves of the individual's pursuit and enjoyment of private desires; and the trend of the times in which the recognition that 'peace' had persisted for a long time even without Confucian rules and institutions was combined with the rise of the emperor. The other papers are: 'The Archetype of Japanese Nationalism: The Light and Shadow of National Studies by Moto'ori Norinaga,' an analysis of the structure and characteristics of national studies by Moto'ori Norinaga; 'The Cosmology and Japanism of National Studies by Atsutane,' an analysis of Japanism implied in the cosmology of Hirata Atsutane (平田篤胤, 1776-1843) who had a big influence on the Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians movement by commoners and the National Shinto policy of the Meiji government; 'A Thought on the Japanism of National Studies during the Edo Period,' an analysis of the Japanism of those who are not experts of national studies and of how it is implicitly different from the Japanism of national studies; and 'The Establishment of Japanese Folklore Studies as 'New National Studies' and the Development of Japanism,' an analysis of the vestige and influence of national studies in Japan with focus on the theory of 'New National Studies' by Yanagita Kunio. Even though history uses the past as the subject of analysis, history is not for the past but for life in the future. In this regard, I believe that this book might be worth a read for those who consider the future of Korea-Japan relations.
In just 30 years after the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the U.S. and Japan in 1858 came the fall of the shogunate and the birth of Japan as a modern nation. In my opinion, the birth of 'Japan as an ordinary nation' is only a matter of time in the inevitable course of history, although exactly how many years it will take this time is uncertain. With quite a few historical issues at hand between Korea and Japan, including the Dokdo issue, how should we cope with the emergence of 'Japan as an ordinary nation'?