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:

Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai, by Yamamoto Tsunetomo

Hagakure is the closest book there is to a manual on the warrior spirit of Bushido. Unlike Nitobe's Bushido, which was written for foreigners, Hagakure was written for the samurai themselves. The book is filled with short quotations and anecdotes, which, rather than explaining Bushido explicitly, give subtle inside as to what Yamamoto understands Bushido to be about. Yamamoto's main premise is that to live as a warrior is to live as though one were already dead.

This book appears to stay far truer to the Japanese ethics of Bushido than Nitobe's Bushido. However, it may not be nearly as easy for foreigners to understand. Many times, Yamamoto simply tells an anecdote without explaining its meaning, reasoning that his audience should understand how it connects to Bushido. Thus, a prior understanding of the Japanese culture to the extent of being intuitive is crucial to understanding Hagakure.

Discussion Questions:

The Japanese Today: Change and Continuity, by Edwin O. Reischauer

The Japanese Today was first written by the American ambassador to Japan Edwin O. Reischauer in 1977, and updated in 1988. Reischauer, who grew up in Japan himself and attended the American School in Japan, was considered one of the leading American experts on Japan. Reischauer wrote this book as an introduction to the history and geography of Japan, and in particular the society, politics, business, and international relations of postwar (modern) Japan.

This is an indispensable introduction of Japan to Westerners because of the breadth of information it covers, and is reinforced by Reischauer's intimate knowledge of the Japanese society. However, what it gains in its breadth it loses in depth, so other resources are necessary to delve deeper into specific subjects. Further, much of this book will be irrelevant to people learning about Japanese values and culture. The sections on government and business may be of interest to those learning about those specific topics, but for those interested in the culture and values, the sections on setting, historical background, and society, as well as the final two chapters titled "language" and "uniqueness and internationalism" contain most of the pertinent information. Finally, as opposed to books such as Shutting Out the Sun and In the Realm of a Dying Emperor, Reischauer makes very few value statements, instead choosing to give an objective report on Japan.

Discussion Questions:

In the Realm of a Dying Emperor: Japan at Century's End, by Norma Field

Norma Field's In the Realm of a Dying Emperor was written about the end of the 1980s in Japan, when Emperor Hirohito was dying. In a culture characterized by homogeneity (at least, assumed homogeneity) of culture, behavior, and values, some Japanese stood out by challenging these values. This book is about three of them; an Okinawan who, after years of being treated like second-class citizens, publicly burned the Japanese flag, a Christian woman who challenged the courts to keep them from venerating her husband in a Shinto shrine, and the mayor of Nagasaki who stated his belief that the dying Emperor Hirohito had responsibility for World War II.

Though this book is very pessimistic (and may take its pessimisms to extremes), it displays the values of Japanese people very clearly by showing what happens when they are violated. Some ideas that can be inferred from this book are explicitly defined in books such as Shutting Out the Sun. Since Field is a Japanese-American who reports not feeling at home in either Japanese or American culture, this book is far more honest and takes the culture at face-value far better than any full Japanese can, but with the intimate knowledge of the culture that an American does not have access to.

Discussion Questions:

• What does the public reaction to these three people the book focuses on show about Japanese values and assumptions?
• What does Field mean by "self-restraint?" How does it differ from the Western concept of self-restraint?
• This book was written before the collapse of the bubble economy, and much has changed in Japan since then. Read Shutting Out the Sun. How have Japanese values changed between the publishing of these two books?
• Think about your own culture's values and assumptions. How did you come to realize that you or others around you held them?

Shutting Out the Sun: How Japan Created its Own Lost Generation by Michael Zielenziger

Shutting Out the Sun was written by the American journalist Michael Zielenziger to examine several issues in modern Japan. Zielenziger examines the problem of hikikomori, a recent condition in which youth shut themselves in their rooms and avoid social interaction. He also investigates parasite singles, young women who refuse to move out of their parents' home and get married, and the Japanese obsession with brand names and labels.

This book is a very realistic book that takes modern Japanese society at face-value, unafraid to uncover potentially shameful aspects of the society. It is not an explicit treatise to Japanese values like Bushido is, but by examining Japanese society and the problems that exist within it, it is possible to understand the values that underlie the society that cause these problems.

Discussion Questions:

• In what ways do Japanese values differ from Canadian ones to result in these issues?

Bushido: The Soul of Japan, by Nitobe Inazo

Bushido is the first book about Japanese culture and values written by a Japanese specifically for Westerners. It was written in 1900 by the diplomat and educator Nitobe Inazo, who lived during the Meiji Period, a time of great social and political revolution, when Japan had emerged from isolation and was quickly modernizing and Westernizing. Nitobe wrote Bushido in English, so that people in the Western world could understand the values that his people traditionally held to, and that underlied their assumptions and actions. The core virtues that Nitobe wrote about are what is part of Bushido, the Way of the Warrior, and include rectitude, courage, benevolence, politeness, sincerity, honor, loyalty, and self-control. Nitobe found parallels in these virtues to the Western concept of chivalry.

This book is an ideal place for Westerners to start an inquiry to Japanese values. It summarizes the core values traditionally held by the Japanese people, and the reasons for holding these values, in a way Westerners can easily understand. However, the book was written 110 years ago, and much has changed since then, so it should not be read as an authoritative source on modern Japanese values.

Discussion Questions:

• Why does Nitobe choose these particular values?
• What counterparts do these values have in Western culture? How are they similar? How are they different?
• Nitobe wrote this book 110 years ago. How have Japanese values changed since he wrote it? How have they stayed the same?