The Worldview of the Ainu, by Takako Yamada

The Ainu, the indigenous people of Japan, are very distinct from the modern Japanese, but not much has been written about them. Takako Yamada examines the Ainu culture, specifically looking at the mythology of the Ainu and their nomenclature for plants and animals, as well as comparing them to the Japanese and similar Siberian people groups. This anthropological study seeks an examination of their worldview, not to describe it from the standpoint of another culture.

This book is especially valuable for people seeking to learn specifically about the Ainu culture, or who plan to visit or do cultural exchanges with Hokkaido, where most modern Ainu live. It is also valuable for those who wish to learn of the cultural diversity in Japan.

The Taming of the Samurai: Honorific Individualism and the Making of Modern Japan, by Eiko Ikegami

Eiko Ikegami's The Taming of the Samurai is a sociological treatise on individualism and collectivism, and on the culture of honor and shame, in Japan. To give a better understanding of the background of Japanese values, Ikegami looks at the progression of the samurai culture from the formation of the samurai class to the Tokugawa post-feudal period, specifically outlining the changes in the definitions of honor and loyalty.

This book is very dense and is recommended for students of college age and above who have had some background in sociology. However, for those who desire advanced reading, it is very informative and more balanced than, for instance, The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, which Ikegami is very critical of. The last section of the final chapter and the epilogue of the book is recommended reading for those interested in learning cultural values; it points out that cultural values, traditions, and idioms are not rules that every member of a society has to follow, but resources. For those who wish to read the entire book, it is recommended to read Bushido and The Chrysanthemum and the Sword beforehand, and Hagakure would be a good follow-up reading.

In Godzilla's Footsteps: Japanese Pop Culture Icons on the Global Stage, edited by William M. Tsutsui and Michiko Ito

In Godzilla's Footsteps is a collection of scholarly articles that examine both the significance of Japanese popular culture to the Japanese, and investigates what makes them popular in the West. The articles use Godzilla as a case study, since it was the first Japanese pop culture icon that became popular in the United States as well. Many of the articles focus on the social messages in the movie Godzilla regarding weapons of mass destruction and nuclear testing, which were all but taken out in the dubbed version, and many of the articles focus on how these pop culture icons became a phenomenon abroad, not only in the United States, but also in places like Russia.

In Godzilla's Foosteps is not merely informative about the significance of Godzilla; it also demonstrates an effective means of inquiry into the pop culture of any society. Rather than looking at it as pure entertainment, this collection of articles examines them in their historical and societal background and searches for the deeper meaning behind it. Two key articles are "Mobilizing Gojira: Mourning Modernity as Monstrosity" and "Lost in Translation and Morphed in Transit: Godzilla in Cold War America," but many of the other articles are worth reading and informative. Teachers may be particularly interested in the article "Teaching Godzilla: Classroom Encounters with a Cultural Icon."

Discussion Questions:

• Pick a pop culture icon from your own culture; it could be something you are personally interested in, or something the majority of people around you are interested in. What does it mean to people from your culture? What does it mean to people from other cultures?

The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns of Japanese Culture, by Ruth Benedict

The Chrysanthemum and the Sword is one of the first anthropological studies done on Japan. Ruth Benedict, who began this study while World War II was occurring, noted that Japan is a very alien culture to the West, and seems to be full of contradictions; the title symbolizes that the Japanese take joy in both cultivating chrysanthemums, a symbol of peace, and in practicing the sword, a symbol of war. As such, many Americans did not understand the Japanese they were fighting in the war, and this book is an effort to explain the Japanese culture, and its conflicting systems of virtues.

This study is very in-depth and deals with cultural issues that would not be guessed at by casual observation of the Japanese. However, it has some problems. The first is that Benedict, as she writes herself as one of her limitations, was unable to study Japanese in Japan, because of the war. The second is that the book is now over 60 years old, and much of the information is out-of-date. It is, however, a fairly accurate description of prewar Japan and can be used to understand the background of modern Japanese values, though other sources should be investigated to learn about prewar Japan.

Discussion Questions: