A year ago on Round and Square (25 July 2012)—The Cortex Chronicles: Introduction
Two years ago on Round and Square (25 July 2011)—Longevity Mountain: Mao and Then
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| [a] Distinctive RF |
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VI
East Asia (c)
“Yamato” Japan
Although many ethnic
groups have strong senses of identity that often contrast the in-group quite
markedly with outer groups, there are historical and cultural reasons why the
dominant Japanese ethnic group has prevailed. Japan’s distinctive island
setting and consistent interpretations of its cultural history have provided
some of the background for these perceptions.
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| [b] Shared RF |
The chief reason for the
distinctive role of Japan in early East Asian history is its location—an island
complex distant from Korea by over one hundred miles, and with even exploration
of adjoining islands and ethnic groups occurring only quite recently in
Japanese history. Unlike its East Asian neighbors, Korea and Vietnam, Japan was
not occupied by foreign armies until the twentieth century. “Foreign”
influences penetrated Japan more conspicuously than they did in Korea. They did
not seep across a shared border but came, rather, by ship.
Through it all, one
powerful force of ethnic and national identity flowed as a cultural constant—the
imperial family that was linked to the Sun Goddess since the earliest decades
of the Yamato state. To this day, the Japanese imperial line is spoken of as an
unbroken succession of 125 emperors, all of whom—in a secret ritual last
carried out in 1989—”merged” with the Sun Goddess to achieve a kind of imperial
immortality that has been used for purposes both peaceful and profoundly
warlike over the centuries. Although the Showa Emperor renounced the divinity
of the emperorship in 1945, it is significant that the ceremony was still
carried out for the succession of his son in 1989. It is another small glimpse
into early Yamato images of legitimacy and centrality in the political life of
a formidable modern political system.
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| [c] Okinawa RF |
Today, even with a falling
birth rate and an economy that has not recovered to its peaks in the 1970s and
1980s, Japan remains a central player on the world stage. Japan’s ethnic
homogeneity has figured in international politics during this time, and it is
not infrequently heard in private conversations that Japan’s “strengths” are
due in large part to that very homogeneity. Such a view is troubling to many in
Japan, but it remains a significant theme in Japanese expressions of national
identity.
This is by no means a
hidden issue, either. In 1986, Japanese prime minister Yasuhiro Nakasone made a
statement that received worldwide attention.
So high is the level of education in our country that Japan is an intelligent
So high is the level of education in our country that Japan is an intelligent
society. Our average
score is much higher than those of countries like the
U.S. There are many
[minorities] in America. In consequence the average
score over there is
exceedingly low.
Attempting to clarify these remarks when the situation proved challenging diplomatically, Nakasone continued.
But there are things the Americans have not been able to do because
Attempting to clarify these remarks when the situation proved challenging diplomatically, Nakasone continued.
But there are things the Americans have not been able to do because
of multiple nationalities there…On
the contrary, things are easier in Japan
because we are a monoracial society.[1]
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| [d] Hokkaido RF |
This view, while
certainly not universal, is common in Japan, and is clearly an outgrowth of the
dominance of “Yamato” ethnicity on the main island of Honshu and throughout
Japanese history. Yet only the Japanese royal family could make anything
resembling a coherent (yet still flawed) argument for a kind of Yamato ethnic
pedigree. The history of Japan–much like that of Korea or China—shows an
interplay between and among groups. Despite expressions of ethnic superiority
in some circles, patterns are changing, and intermarriage is more common today
than at any time in the documented past.
This is especially
relevant to the two largest indigenous ethnic groups in Japanese society—the
Ainu to the north, on the island of Hokkaido, and the Ryukyuan people in
Okinawa prefecture. In both cases, assimilation and intermarriage has led to
remarkable changes in the cultural makeup of the groups. These have not by any
means been seamless or without conflict, and anti-Japanese resentment has been
common among both groups.
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| [e] Difference RF |
Perhaps the most
difficult ongoing situation of this nature in Japan today has occurred with a group
that is not, strictly speaking, ethnically distinct. The Buraku people
(Burakumin) have been stigmatized for centuries. They were originally perceived
as an employment group that was considered to be outcaste because members
worked in ritually “impure” occupations ranging from tanners and butchers to
undertakers. Although the caste system was abolished in the early years of the
Meiji era, discrimination has remained in employment, marriage, and
even—although far less commonly today—real estate purchases.
All of these groups have
higher profiles within and beyond Japan than they have had in the past. Yet each
one has also been defined to a very large extent by its interactions over the
decades and even centuries with Japan’s “Yamato” culture. This is equally true
of other groups in Japan today, many of which are even larger. These include
significant numbers from China (including the Republic of China on Taiwan),
Korea (mostly South Korea), Brazil, and the Philippines. Even so, the total
foreign population does not exceed two percent, and all ethnic politics takes
place under assumptions of overwhelmingly numerical superiority.
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| [f] Blur RF |
Notes
[1] Chicago Tribune 28 September 1986. Clarence Page.
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