日本研究演習 ( 英語 ) Ａ Chris Burgess (1 号館 1308 研究室、内線 164) ・

Last Week: Thinking about Identity Getting beyond “nation”: understanding the importance of diverse identities: –gender, sexual –regional, rural/urban –age –race/ethnicity –education/social class

Nation as the dominant distinguishing category in modern life… "The idea of a man without nation seems to impose a strain on the modern imagination. A man must have a nationality as he must have a nose and two ears. All this seems obvious, though, alas, it is not true. But that it has come to appear so very obviously true is indeed an aspect, perhaps the very core, of the problem of nationalism. Having a nation is not an inherent attribute of humanity, but it has now come to appear as such." Ernest Gellner (1983: 6)

Nationality: A Recent Invention ‘Invented’ in Europe at the end of C. 18 th –Developed mid C. 19 th thanks to the emergence of ‘print-capitalism’ ( 出版資本主義 ) Idea of nation emerged later in Japan –“The modern Japanese state…is an artificial construct whose boundaries were drawn in the 2 nd half of the 19 th century” TMS 明治３２（１８９９）年に国籍法が制定される まで、国籍という概念が存在していなかった

This Week: Who are the Japanese?

Who are they? Are they Japanese? ① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ① Yu Darvish ② Ariana Miyamoto ③ Hakuho ④ Koji Murofushi ⑤ Chris Burgess

Miss Universe Japan Ariana Miyamoto faces criticism for being ‘not Japanese enough‘ （宮本エリアナさん「日本人ではない」との批判 に「悔しい」 ミス・ユニバース日本代表） 外国メディアが批判

Also: Article in today’s Japan Times (check out the online “comments” too)Japan Times

Understanding Categories Crisp ( 固定 ) categories –Clear-cut, black or white Fuzzy ( ぼやけた ) categories –Stereotypes, images –Often no SINGLE feature defines whole category

What is a bird…? Feathers? Can Fly?

In other words, ‘bird’, like most categories, is a fuzzy category Very few features define birds AND ONLY birds –e.g. all birds lay eggs but so do reptiles –e.g. many birds can fly but not all can There are good and bad examples of birds –i.e. some birds are more ‘bird-like’ than others So, what about the category “Japanese”…?

Defining‘Japanese’? Group Activity 1)First, add some more attributes ( 特徴 ) –(in)abilities, appearance, knowledge, personality, habits, possessions, experience, values, rights etc

She’s Japanese – she eats umeboshi (dried plums)! She’s very humble ( 腰が低い ) – like Japanese people!

Defining‘Japanese’? Group Activity 1)First, add some more attributes ( 特徴 ) –(in)abilities, appearance, knowledge, personality, habits, possessions, experience, values, rights etc 2)Next, add some names –names of groups (Ainu, Nikkeijin, returnees etc) –names of individuals (Hikaru Utada, Tsuda Umeko etc) 3)Finally, fill in the grid using (O) or (X)

Summing Up: Fukuoka’s “Who are the Japanese?” 1)Many people do not fit neatly into 日本 人・外国人 categories 2)People place different weight on criteria such as blood, culture, and nationality

Source: Burgess, Chris (2012), '‘It’s Better if they Speak Broken Japanese’: Language as a Pathway or an Obstacle to Citizenship in Japan?', in Language and Citizenship in Japan. edited by Nanette Gottlieb. London and New York: Routledge, pp (IN THE LIBRARY!).

Summing Up: Fukuoka’s “Who are the Japanese?” 1)Many people do not fit neatly into 日本 人・外国人 categories 2)People place different weight on criteria such as blood, culture, and nationality 3)Japanese do not constitute the homogeneous race commonly portrayed

日本研究演習 ( 英語 ) Ａ Chris Burgess (1 号館 1308 研究室、内線 164) ・

What kind of qualities are companies looking for in job seekers? 1.Communic- ation skills 2.Independence 3.Cooperative- ness 4.Fighting Spirit

Q: Why has the male ‘salaryman’ come to represent all Japanese? A: POWER brings access to mass media and publicity: visibility (the ‘face’ of Japan)

Q: Why has the male ‘salaryman’ come to represent all Japanese? A: Viewers, visitors, tourists tend to interact mostly with these ‘gatekeepers’