Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities, 2006

Wakon-Yosai Japanese Spirit, Western Learning and Globalization

Norio Ota York University Toronto, Canada

Preamble

Wakon-Kansai Japanese spirit, Chinese learning Wakon-Yosai Japanese spirit, Western learning Mishima Yukio and his suicide Bushido Chushingura 47 Ronin Wakon-Beisai Japanese spirit, American learning Mukon-Musai No spirit, no learning Wakonn-Wasai Japanese spirit, Japanese learning Wakon-Mansai Japanese spirit, all learning

Background

Wakon-Kansai Wakon-Yosai What is Wakon? Kurofune 2nd Kurofune globalization Fukuzawa Yukichi , Okakura Tenshin , Uchimura Kanzo , Nitobe Inazou , Kuki Shuzo , and Suzuki Daisetsu Translation-ism Ogyuu Sorai Yakubun-sentei Japanism Fukuzawa Yukichis isshin-nishou one body two lives

Karl Lwith: completely separate dual life style of Japanese scholars

Wakon-Kansai tradition

Ito Jinsai (1627-1705) Ogyu Sorai (1666-1728) Ishida Baigan (1685-1745) Tominaga Nakamoto

principles of kajo newer research tends to look at older sources than the previous research it is impossible to harmonize various theories to get to the one truth

Naito Torajiro Chinas response in

Early wakon-yosai tradition

Mori Senzo Oranda Shogatsu

Suminokura Ryoi Kawamura Zuiken Tanaka Kyugu Aoki Konyo Yamawaki Toyo Maeno Ranka Sugita Genpaku Hiraga Gennai Ito Tadanobu Katsuragawa Hoshu Mogami Tokunai Otsuki Bansui Inamura Sanpaku Hoashi Banri Mamiya Rinzo Takano Choei Sakuma Shozan Seki Takakazu Wakon-Wasai

Modern period

Takeda Kiyoko Naturalization and Renegation

Acculturation type Isolation type Renegation type Competitive or prophetic type Grafting type

Fukuzawa Yukichi Uchimura Kanzo Nitobe Inazo Okakura Tenshin Kuki Shuzo Suzuki Daisetsu

Encouraging to study Christianity Bushido Tea Structure of IKI Zen

Datsua-nyuuou leave Asia and join Europe

After WWII

Kokutai national polity Wakon-Beisai Japanese spirit, American learning Wakon - Chushingura 47 Ronin Bubble Economy Japan as No. 1 Collapse of the communist bloc Loss of self-confidence Return to Asia

Era of globalization Japans second sakoku national isolation The 9th Central Education Council general meeting

Wakon-yosai is talked about, but in the world of academia wa is pushed by yoo, and has atrophied. However, the philosophy of wa, such as irrationality and transience, is also inevitable, .

Era of globalization (cont.)

Marubeni Corporation exports the wakon-yosai approach to South Africa. Africans are making renewed efforts to harmonizing their culture with western culture, at the same time that they are arguing for the necessity of recovering African-ism and self-respect. In those efforts, Japanese culture such as wakon-yosai appears very fresh to them, and the role of Japan seems gradually to become clear. JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) also considers that Japans accumulated knowledge regarding wakon-yosai should be a part of financial cooperation with the recipient countries. A more eclectic view of wakon-yosai, taking good from both, has been promoted by some schools and businesses such as Shiseido.

Global nature of Japanese culture

Japanese culture possesses global characteristics

Hasegawa Nyozekan (1938)

Keichu Kamo no Mabuchi Motoori Norinaga
re-examined Japanese characteristics by distinguishing between the influences of Buddhism and Confucianism, in order to find a spiritual basis for a new united nation

universal nature of Japanese culture

Japanese national characteristics - harmonizing all conflicting factors by finding common denominators

Yamazaki Masakazu (1990)

universal nature of Japanese culture
interaction between the ie-system in the farmer class and the warrior class, and individualism in the merchant class, which have co-existed since the end of the Muromachi Era; this dual nature has played an important role throughout the premodern and modern periods

Critics of Wakon-Yosai

Pros & Cons

Motto: schools, universities Eclecticism between Japanese culture and western culture : Businesses Shiseido, advertisements for housing Strategy: JICA - a model strategy for under-developing countries to adopt Served to promote Japanese ultra-nationalism, and led Japan to its defeat in WWII Post-war: periodwakon-beisai Japanese spirit, American learning, mukon-musai no spirit, no learning , Wakon-mansai in the era of globalization Anime and film genre: Miyazaki Hayaos Spirited Away, The Last Samurai (a case of beikon-wasai?) - ghost of bushido ? North America - Bushido, Zen, Shintoism, Buddhism, Chanoyu, Haiku, Ikebana, Kurosawa Akira, Mishima Yukio, Tanizaki Junichiro, Abe Kobo - western scholars understanding of wakon (recycled among students) Asian scholars (China, Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam) - different understandings of wakon and Japans wakon-yosai tradition Chukon-yosai, chukon-wasai, kankon-yosai, kankon-wasai ? Canadian multicultural context - first generation immigrants adopt kasai with their cultural spirit, and disseminate their newly-created identities through their communities. The Chushingura mentality, the essence of wakon was still prevalent among Japanese in Japan, and also preserved strongly among Japanese-Canadians (Ota, 2003).

Views (overseas)

Allergic reaction to Christianity?

To put this issue into a personal context, like Yamazaki I have been advocating some global nature of Japanese culture, based on my strong criticism of the mistakes Japan made and has been making until now. In my attempt to understand yokon as suggested by Fukuzawa, religion is the largest hurdle. This seems to be a common tradition since Arai Hakuseki when he interviewed Giovanni Battista Sidotti in the Edo Era. Kawakita states: As a result, we Japanese have lost the ability to comprehend all religious phenomena. Nor are we even trying to understand them. (Kawakita, 76) He points out that this is the result of overemphasizing the communalist (group-oriented) tradition over Buddhist tradition (individualism), and suggests that Japanese should reexamine the latter. The wakon-yosai tradition seems to have been hampered strongly by Japanese allergic reaction to Christianity. Uchimura and Nitobe went far beyond by becoming Christians and probably understood yokon more deeply, but that fact could have been one of the reasons why their ideals were not accepted widely.

Conclusion

Wakon-yosai is not a unique approach for recipient nations of advanced civilization. The problem is, however, that it does not seem to be possible to adopt foreign culture selectively, and still maintain the local spirit intact. Wakon has been constantly changing, being influenced by kansai or yosai.
In the traditional view, wakon and yosai were separate and not interactive. A more dynamic view is required in an age of globalization. Yosai always influences wakon because yosai comes with yokon. Rather than taking a passive view, it is necessary for Japanese scholars to learn yokon vigorously, as Fukuzawa suggested, and develop wakon as a dynamically and continuously changing entity. Globalization requires wakon-wasai and yokonyosai constantly interacting with each other to deepen an understanding of the world with the synergistic effects of both. I would like to conclude my presentation with a personal episode. When I read Reginald Bibbys Mosaic Madness for the first time, I was indeed surprised to find he had written almost everything that I had been thinking about Canadian multiculturalism. I disagreed only on some issues of religion. As a result, I translated this book into Japanese with my colleague in Japan; I found it amazing that two persons from entirely different backgrounds could share almost the same opinions on various issues. I regard this as a result of the more dynamic model of the wakon-yosai approach.

References

Bibby, Reginald (1990) Mosaic Madness, Stoddart. (1990) 1942 (1938) 19951995 19891989 1941 2004 http://www.bioethics.jp/naox_report1-j.html 1973 1999 1999 (1979) 1995 196317 2004 http://www.kyoto-up.gr.jp/body/sirizu/sir_1follow.html

References (cont.)

1991 Leclerc, Richard & Claude Roberge (1997) Footsteps of the Quebec Missionaries in Japan ( ) http://www.info.sophia.ac.jp/amecana/Journal/15-4.htm 2002 1989 http://www.isis.ne.jp/mnn/senya/senya0686.html 1961 (1998) 1998 196317 (1925) http://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/000284/files/1735_4336.html 196317 1982 http://www5e.biglobe.ne.jp/~jhntakna/wakon.html Nitobe Inazo (1905) Bushido http://www.sacredtexts.com/shi/bsd/index.htm

Reference (cont.)

Ota, Norio (2003) What is Chushingura to current Japan?, panel presentation, JCCC. Toronto. __________(2005) Wakon-Yosai (Japanese spirit, Western learning) and Globalization, in WHY JAPAN MATTERS!, edited by Joseph F. Kess and Helen Lansdowne, Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives, University of Victoria, B.C. 2002 http://socyo.high.hokudai.ac.jp/Journal/J10PDF/No1013.pdf 1929 1990 http://www.valdes.titech.ac.jp/~kuwako/kanphi-1-1.pdf 1988120 1988 196317 1940 1992 http://www.res.otemon.ac.jp/~yamamoto/works_2/essay_02.htm (1990)