How Historians, Japanese People, and Western Society View the Westernization of Japan - Essay Example

Student Name> History Major Topic The product: Synopsis: Japan has taken a sudden turn and has been swapped by the surge of westernization. Japan took some major steps in the direction of being westernized and left no choice for Historians since they the country was giving the impression of a self sufficient country gradually being sucked into westernization and they themselves were the culprits and so were they the victims. Historians have viewed Japan’s change in society critically and positively as well. Sukehiro Hirakawa - Return to Japan or Return to the West in one of the journals has mentioned how he was taught to live his life according to western norms and values and he despises it now because Japanese traditions and way of life should have been his norm of life.1 According to him after he came back from USA to Japan he couldn’t decide whether it was a return to Japan or a return to the west. Historians have different views regarding the issues. Some have Positive and some negative. USA’s reaction towards Japan’s development and adaptation of the west has also been covered. A number of historians and their critical views show what historians and people think of Japan’s new face. How Historians, Japanese people and western society view the Westernization of Japan: Japan took major steps to becoming what they are today! They introduced a constitution which was influenced by the west, they made other legal and political institutions that were again influenced by the west, they modified the major essence of their culture by eliminating the system of a public bath for men and women, instead they began to adapt to western customs since the elite class invited all for a dance on Sunday evenings and moreover some attempted to get married to people from the west and the reason being to change the way Japanese people looked like.2 The country had strong cultural roots and still could not break away but they did to a great extent and felt as if they are part of the world. Historians viewed this critically because this wiping of a culture by the people themselves. The importance of education had increased eventually and Hollywood was the ‘in’ thing now.3 Historians viewed this cultural shift in a way that Japan was a country that was isolated for years so when they finally got out in the world they were overwhelmed with the experience and they decided to focus on being like the super powers in the world. It was not about westernization, it was about self actualization of a country and if for instance the super power belonged to eastern culture the Japanese would still be imitators running after ‘easternization’. So it was about being thrown out to the world but some historians had a different view and that is that Japan realized the importance of westernization and came up to the level in order to be a success in the world.4 The Japanese took the surge of westernization as a new thing and adapted to it as a result since their dressing, lifestyles, architecture etc all depict their eagerness to move towards westernization but the non-Japanese viewed it in two ways. First being that Japan is on its way to development and turning into a super power eventually because westernization seems to be the only route to success in the world so this lot of non Japanese viewed it positively. Since today Japan is one of the most tech savvy countries in the world and Japanese technology is considered to be one of the best. But the other lot viewed it negatively in the sense that Japan has left its roots and is moving towards being something else that it is not and it is leaving its traditions of healthy food, hard work and simple lifestyle all behind itself. But overall if a country does not move on with time there is no chance it can compete on the world’s front. Similarly, Japanese people like the change since life is more comfortable, better and exciting but there is a lot of Japanese people who have chosen not to give up their original roots and traditions so they despise the change since its leading to an unhealthy lifestyle and lesser predicted age of the living. Japanese people living in other countries either miss the original Japan but the country has preserved its original roots in some form or the other but majority believe that its good the country is progressing and living in Japan is no different than living in any other developed part of the world. Today Japan is one of the most powerful countries in the world and their foreign policy includes USA. America believes a westernized Japan is good for all but does America actually want a successful and westernized Japan or a strong ally? America takes Japan to be a competitor now and it certainly is with its technology industry growing so fast. Japan has been dependant on USA and its major trade surplus comes from investments in USA but if Japan reduces its trade surplus and become independent of USA then it will turn into a more responsible country and also powerful in Asia. Japan has been leaning lesser and lesser on USA since some time now and the country has been depending on Asian countries for trade. But if Japan wants to give strong competition to the super powers then the country needs to be independent, individualistic, innovative and more efficient. Japan needs to strengthen its identity further in the world. This has started to happen since Japanese Kimono has been in fashion lately and Japanese food is the latest fad in the western world. Japan is going for de regulation of their economy and that will change the scenario of the country that was growing but is now stagnant. Japan would be a good competitor for USA since their industry will take leaps and bounds just like in the case of the US auto industry.5 Japan is trying to move away from USA and not be dependant on it anymore on different fronts and historians view this as a strategic step since Japan will be able to compete with USA in some time if it follows this path and people believe that its on the path to become a super power so Japan’s breaking away from USA is viewed positively. According to historian Kumar there are certain areas where Japan has completely forgotten its roots and those are the dress (Kimono) but women and even men in Japan are more comfortable in wearing western clothes like trousers and tops etc. Kumar having a conservative outlook like Sukehiro Hirakawa has talked about how Japan has forgotten its basic roots. Unlike McDougall Kumar is against this westernization of Japan. The way historians and people view this change in the country has changed from how they viewed it previously that is when it was traditional Japan. Traditional Japan was isolated but unique so Historians often mentioned about the potential the country had and also how unique it is and the people took Japan as a very different part of the world that was not developed and was backward and not a good place to live in. But today Historians do have different views to the changes but they accept the development of the country has been outstanding and the people take it as one of the most fastest developing country and they take it as a good place to visit or live in since its still unique in their eyes in terms of food and lifestyles. Japan is a different and unique experience for people now. Japan had the samurai and the shoguns and they were considered to be dangerous and ruthless people and as Sir Ernest Satow has mentioned in his book “A diplomat in Japan” under the Richardson’s murder that Japanese had a way of killing a person by cutting the person into pieces and this scared the Europeans a lot since they considered every Japanese with a sword an assassin so if we consider the change Japanese people are now more civilized and less dangerous and due to this only it is now an attractive place for tourists from all over the world.6 Japanese houses were always small with floor sitting and they were very simple but now Japanese want apartments like in the west which are elegantly decorated and furnished and also bigger in size. But food is one area where Japanese have stuck to traditional ways and also language. They could never let go of their language and their food. Although the Japanese have made considerable efforts to learn English and its more than evident on their TV channels where they constantly air programs that teach English but the Japanese can not let go of their language. The Japanese could still be at the last position when it comes to being westernized because the country could not let go of Confucianism and its values are still intact. ‘Social harmony’ is present with their ideals like employment till death and the importance of negotiation when coming to a decision. Japan has the credit to a lot of theories in management and also when it comes to being efficient in production their theories were a breakthrough in management. Japanese society is about ‘kaisha’ or the company which is that it’s not the individual performance of a person that counts because it’s actually the organization the person belongs to. The performance of the organization counts more comparatively7. The westernization of Japan is viewed in different perspectives in negative as by Saigo Takamori and positive as by McDougall. Japan is moving towards westernization at a faster rate now because of the influence of the media and also constant visits of tourists. Japan has opened up to international programs as well which has exposed it to western culture even further. According to historian McDougall Japan had to westernize in order to avoid being westernized. McDougall has a more open outlook towards the change in Japan and has defended the country in being westernized. Ken Tanaka had simply talked about these changes and supported them unlike McDougall who has given a defensive account of this change. This statement makes a lot of sense because if Japan did not westernize it would have been the victim to another’s westernization and the surviving remains of their culture would no more be surviving. During the mid nineteenth century the historians put it in a way that the white people had all the technology and that left Japan, China and Mexico immobile. The North American cost which includes Hawaii was on America, Britain and Russia’s hands and there had to be a counterattack from Japan, China and Mexico. Although the west encouraged the flow of Asian and Hispanic workers but the white people somehow knew their control of the Pacific region was not real and will not stay for long.8 But Japan has been swept by western culture to a great extent with the introduction of fast food and Coke the nation was bound to be swept away. McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut and Coca Cola; they are all pure American culture and the Japanese are into it now since it’s unavoidable and inevitable. According to Ken Tanaka Japan is now into American music and it’s the ipod or mp3 player craze which is part of modern day Japan. Hollywood is popular there with Japanese and actors, musicians and other artistes from America are all popular in Japan. These changes have been viewed positively by some historians and by others they have been viewed differently. But Tanaka has not only mentioned these changes but also considered them as a significant base to build up a critical base of viewing this change in Japan. He basically supports it! Compared to the small houses there used to be now mansions are most popular in the country. The modern day lifestyle that includes a furnished apartment and preferably a mansion with a TV, microwave oven, washing machines and all the other techy stuff. Japanese are into cell phones and all the other gadgets. According to Tanaka every country is influenced by some country and Japan has not only been influenced by America since Chinese, Italian and French food is equally popular in the country and so is yoga and belly dancing now. Sitcoms from Korea are also popular in Japan nowadays. But Tanaka has pointed out a very valid point that Japan itself is also influencing the world and America in many ways through sushi, karaoke, sumo wrestling, geishas, manga, samurai culture, noodles, and phones with camera, Pokemon and also ‘Hello Kitty.’ The list goes on!9 According to Proven Japanese bands and musicians are now being influenced by American musicians and bands. Teenagers are now more into western stuff since girls are using beauty products to look like American blondes. They use hair colors, cosmetics, skin bleaching and tanning products that are known to cause skin cancer and also eyelid glues which sticks to the eyelid and can be dangerous. Proven has commented on the issue similar to Tanaka by mentioning the changes and then giving it an abrupt meaning that whether the landing of black ships was favorable for the country or not! Leaving the decision on the reader! According to Proven Japan has been completely been swept away by Western culture and whether the “Black ships” that landed in Japan were a blessing or a curse for the Land of the rising sun!10 According to Miyoshi in his book USA and Japan have a confusing relationship with each other? The two countries are historically related and there have been bad times like the Pearl Harbor and the atom bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki so there has been voice against Americans by Japanese politicians. Both the countries have ethnocentricity and both believe their cultures are unique. America believes their culture is unique and Japan believes their culture is very unique which it is. So critics in America judge Japanese literature on the basis of western literature which is a wrong basis because both cultures are different and unique. Japanese culture is different and so is their literature. While on the other hand Japanese politicians do talk about free international trade which is the hot topic in USA. Japanese culture, politics and economy all are different from America and they can not be judged on the basis of western culture, politics or economics. Japan’s culture has had worshipping the emperor, feminist writing and overall a different literary form. There is no universal culture and both cultures are different and should be treated differently.11 Samurai was one of the most significant parts of Japan and Saigo Takamori whose stories are mentioned in the book “The last samurai” helped to rejuvenate Meiji’s empire and waited in anguish to watch the samurai come to an end and modernization of traditional Japan. Saigo the last samurai eventually came to terms with the modernization and he realized that the Imperial govt he was supporting was corrupt after modernization. Politics was a dirty game and it was all about money. It was evident in Japan not being successful in dealing with Korea peacefully. Radical groups came into being after modernization and peace was a faint dream. Japan was moving towards a weird state and condition after modernization and samurai culture was significant in Japan but it was good for the country since it was free of the bad consequences of modernization.12 Ernest Satow has a lot to say about modernization and the crux being that the country had started to experience the negative consequences of modernization eventually. He talks about corruption and murder and dangerous situations. He has focused on politics and the change in government due to the modernization which was negative as well as positive effects. The Process Log: This essay includes the history of Japan in order to get a grasp of what actually Japan used to be traditionally and how it was westernized. The westernization of Japan is equally important to have been included because that’s how Japan actually got onto this path and gradually moved out of isolation. Then the different views of some modern historians have been added that show how Japan has changed from an isolated country and developed into a powerful country in less time comparatively. But the Japanese culture is still alive and the world is influenced by it in terms of food, clothing and other magnificent things in their culture that attract tourists to the country. Thus, the product includes the argument that whether Japan has been totally westernized or not and that has been supported by what the historians have to say. Henshalls’s history of Japan is a core book on the history of this country and it includes how the country had its exotic culture and then started to move towards westernization. It is more of hard facts about Japan’s history in that book. Reischauer and Jansen’s Japanese Today: Change and Continuity is mainly about how this country started to change and what it has turned put to be today. Japan is all about technology and latest gadgets today but its food is most popular in the world. It talks about the modern Japan that is tech savvy, advanced, fast and beautifully decorated with exclusive architecture. George Sansom’s, A History of Japan is again a book purely on the history of Japan which has been explained in the essay. Jansen, The Making of Modern Japan, this book is about how Japan came up to be this country today. The people and the ideas and the situations behind this change have been discussed. It is a note on how the seeds for modern Japan had been laid and it came into being. Johnson, Japan: Who Governs, this is about the conflicts that started to arise when Japan became powerful but again does USA take it as an ally or a threat. Liza Dalby, Geisha was just to know more about geisha’s in Japan. This book has comprehensive matter on the subject. Marius Jansen, The Making of Modern Japan and this again is how Japan was modernized. Milton Meyer, Japan: A Concise History, this book was a specific one with Japan’s history in a compact and easy to read form. Sugimoto et al., An Introduction to Japanese Society, this book gave an insight to Japan’s culture, lifestyle, traditions and day to day lives which was an important indicator to the change that Japan has undergone. Van Wolferen, The Enigma of Japanese Power, this book was a positive note on Japan stating its strengths in terms of culture, tradition, history, technology etc. Walter A. McDougall “Let the Sea Make a Noise -A History of the North Pacific, this book talks about the history to how Japan became isolated and then came out of it gradually. It includes the situation in the North Pacific back then. W. Scott Morton, J. Kenneth Olenik, and Charlton Lewis, Japan: Its History and Culture, this again gave a better insight to the history and also the culture of Japan. Kaori Sugishita “Anthropology and Japanese Modernity” Journal of Theory, this was included to get a better view of the culture of Japan and state the little details as well. Ken Tanaka’s note on Japan was included to support the argument that whether historians take it positively the change in Japan and so were the others- Reginald Dale and Roisi Proven were added. They gave a strong argument to about Japan and how historians view it. The Conclusion: This essay about Japan’s westernization and how historians view it is an argumentative essay that shows how Japan moved towards westernization and has been growing since then but the culture is still alive and has influenced the world. Historians have various views to the entire scenario and those have been included in the essay. Japan or the Land of the rising sun grew into a successful economy in very little time after the tragic atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Works Cited Books and Journals: 1. De Mente, The Japanese Have a Word For It, McGraw-Hill, 1997 (ISBN 0-8442-8316-9) 2. Edwin Reischauer and Marius Jansen, The Japanese Today: Change and Continuity (Belknap Press) (2000) 3. George Sansom, A History of Japan, vol. 2-3 (Stanford University Press) (1997) 4. Henshall, A History of Japan, Palgrave Macmillan, 2001 (ISBN 0-312-23370-1) 5. Hirakawa, Sukehiro (2000) Return to Japan or Return to the West?--Lafcadio Hearn's "A Conservative" 6. Jansen, The Making of Modern Japan, Belknap, 2000 (ISBN 0-674-00334-9) 7. Johnson, Japan: Who Governs?, W.W. Norton, 1996 (ISBN 0-393-31450-2) 8. Liza Dalby, Geisha (University of California Press) (2002) 9. Marius Jansen, The Making of Modern Japan (Belknap Press) (2000) 10. Milton Meyer, Japan: A Concise History (Littlefield Adams) (2000) 11. Sir Ernest Satow (2006) A Diplomat in Japan. Stone Bridge Classics. Pp 39-52. 12. Sugimoto et al., An Introduction to Japanese Society, Cambridge University Press, 2003 (ISBN 0-521-52925-5) 13. Comparative Literature Studies - Volume 37, Number 2, pp. 196-211 14. Van Wolferen, The Enigma of Japanese Power, Vintage, 1990 (ISBN 0-679-72802-3) 15. Walter A. McDougall “Let the Sea Make a Noise -A History of the North Pacific from Magellan to MacArthur;” Quill. (1994) 16. W. Scott Morton, J. Kenneth Olenik, and Charlton Lewis, Japan: Its History and Culture (McGraw Hill) (2001) Internet: 1. Kaori Sugishita “Anthropology and Japanese Modernity” Journal of Theory, Culture & Society, Vol. 23, No. 2-3, 474-476 (2006) 2. Ken Tanaka July 30, 2008 < http://www.helium.com/items/1012270-encroaching-westernization-in-japan> 3. Mark Ravina August 17, 2008 < http://www.altculture.org/ccult/ccult114.html> 4. Reginald Dale (1996) July 30, 2008 5. Roisi Proven. July 30, 2008 Read More