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Joy Hendry. Understanding Japanese Society, 4th Edition. New York: Routledge, 2013.

2013; Lindenwood University; Volume: 5; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.62608/2158-0669.1172

2158-0669

Ilana Maymind,

Japanese History and Culture

Joy Hendry's expertise as an anthropologist in Japanese culture (having conducted several field projects in Japan) has resulted in a book that attracts by its in-depth analysis.Readers are invited not only to learn about this country but also to reflect on their own views of societies other than their own.Hendry aptly states in her introduction that with the devastating earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011, "for a while, everyone became an expert on Japanese society" (page), and yet, she adds, this did not reduce the difficulty of understanding the Japanese people.Throughout the book, Hendry explores specific categories of thought that contrast Japanese and Western standards and in so doing exposes the non-specialist to the anthropology of Japan by breaking through these often unexamined classifications.Importantly, Hendry expects the reader to suspend any assumptions about Japanese society and how Japanese people function.The book begins with an analysis of smaller units (family, school, and neighborhood) and moves toward larger ones (work, entertainment, and governmental and legal systems).In addition, each chapter concludes with an extensive listing of references and suggestions for further reading as well as the titles of related novels and films.This latest edition of the work (first published in 1987) includes the discussion of some new topics, including the current recession in Japan, the rise of the new millennial cult, the Aum Shinrikyo, and the cultural success of the media franchise Pokémon as well as the immensely popular manga comic strips and anime cartoons.Despite the fact that each chapter addresses a different topic, Hendry skillfully integrates into her discussion the major principles that underlie Japanese life.As the reader navigates through the maze of Japanese cultural specifics, it is important to keep in mind that the world Japanese people know is based on an epistemology unfamiliar to Western people.Keeping in mind the common Western perception of Japanese society as innovative yet conformist, Hendry aims to expose such perceptions and simplistic and misguided; she draws a picture of a complex culture without simplifying it or reducing it to a one-sided description.She highlights one of the best known features of Japanese society-an ability to adopt foreign ideas and adapt them wholly into an existing Japanese framework, thus giving them a specifically Japanese slant.She discusses how this process of adoption and innovation of foreign ideas leads Japanese identity to be formed by a consolidation of both X and Y.In her discussion of the influence of foreign imports on Japanese culture, Hendry recalls the influence of the Chinese in the 7 th century, which brought written script, Buddhism, and some practices of Confucianism along with technology, art, and philosophy.Political affairs were also administered according to the model of Chinese bureaucracy, based on absolute rule.This emphasis on Chinese influences helps the reader gain a better sense of the amalgamation of ideas, concepts, and practices that form Japanese national identity.Despite Japan's history of adapting and incorporating foreign ideas or practices into Japanese frameworks, there has long been a resistance to the incorporation of Western influences.During the 16 th century, the first Western explorers and missionaries arrived in Japan, but the efforts of missionaries eventually became unwelcome, as Christianity came to be perceived as a threat to the Japanese social order.As such, while Chinese influences were undoubtedly significant, the efforts of Christian missionaries left a marginal impact, suggesting a significant distinction between East and West worldviews.Hendry skillfully demonstrates the intricacies of Japan's attempts to assert its national identity independent especially of Western