Prepared for the IIPS Symposium on

Upcoming Changes in Japanese Society and theFuture Shape of the Nation
Wednesday , 7 December 2005TokyoSession 3

Cultural Reverberations—A Culture That Transcends
Borders and a Deeper Mutual Understanding

Wang Min
Professor, Center of International–Japan Studies
Hosei University

Cultural Reverberations—A Culture That Transcends
Borders and a Deeper Mutual Understanding
Wang Min
Professor, Center of International–Japan Studies
Hosei University
1. What We Would Like to Discover and What We Have Seen So Far
On 21 March 2005, in a town at the foot of China’s famous Yellow Mountain, theauthor happened to meet a university student named Zhang Weiwei. Zhang was athird-year student at a local private university, the Sanlien Vocational and TechnicalInstitute, and related that she was currently studying Japanese. She described how she
was motivated to do so after watching soccer’s Asian Cup, which took place in thesummer of 2004. In Japan, the clamorous booing was reported and there was talk ofan “outpouring of anti-Japanese sentiment”; for Ms. Zhang, however, it marked thestart of her fascination with Japan. Watching on television, she marveled at the skilland teamwork displayed by the Japanese team, which had become the top side in Asia.
She described to the author how this had made her want to learn more about Japanand the Japanese, and to find out for herself how Japan (although a relatively smallnation) had grown so strong.
As we talked, the author was reminded of an extract from “Clouds above theHill” by Ryotaro Shiba.
Although Japan was never more than a small oriental country, its
strenuous efforts to build a nation that could rival the nations of theWest has yielded impressive results.
Despite the fact that Mr. Shiba and Ms. Zhang are of different nationalities andcome from different backgrounds, they share the same impression—namely, thatJapan is a model of modernization. This would seem to underscore just how
successful this modernization has been.
In particular, Mr. Shiba represented Japan’s success at the cultural level. Ms.
Zhang also undoubtedly wished to unearth the cultural differences between China andJapan. This trend is evident in China’s younger generation.
2. A Revolution in Japanese Culture (Popular Culture, Lifestyle, andContemporary Culture)
Shortly after soccer’s Asian Cup concluded, the author participated in China’s Ninth
Research Convention on Japanese Literature. This four-day event was staged at Xian
Foreign Language University and commenced on 20 August 2004. With more than
800 students, the Japanese department is the largest in the faculty. Reputedly, all its
graduates find employment. When asked their reasons for electing to major inJapanese, most of the students replied that they had a liking for Japanese culture,
although a few did offer the more pragmatic response that the prospects of finding ajob were good.

1On the evening of the opening day of the convention, the assembled company ofinvited speakers (including the author) gathered at a Japanese restaurant in downtown
Xian. The spacious interior was decked out with red Japanese lanterns that lent asurreal ambience to this bustling 800-square-meter restaurant. Employees clad inpatterned kimono rushed to and fro. An elderly couple seated at the reserved tablenext to ours were effusing over the service: “The staff here are so attentive. Japaneseservice is just the best!” We were greeted by the head chef, 32-year-old Mr. Tsai, whotold us that he had trained for two years at a famous hotel in Japan. “The mostimportant thing that I learned in Japan was the ethos of service,” he related. Thehusband, who was tucking into his dinner, is the owner and a veteran of the war withJapan. “Eating Japanese food has nothing to do with politics. Politics is politics, andpeople are people. I want to enjoy my old age,” he said, echoing the pragmatism of
the younger generation.
Gathered at the research convention were approximately 80 researchers inJapanese literature who had come from all over China. Almost all had studied inJapan, and eight of them had received doctorates from Japanese universities. A totalof 49 presentations were given. Innovative research into the novels that won theAkutagawa Prize for the latter half of the 2003, “Kick Me” by Risa Wataya and“Snakes and Earrings” by Hitomi Kanehara, attracted particular attention.
Professor Lin Shao Hua of the Ocean University of China, who is renowned forhis translation of the complete works of Haruki Murakami, introduced research intoMurakami that has been conducted at Harvard University and used this as the basisfor his assertion that the works of Murakami now occupy an important place in world
post-modernist literature.
All the participants who delivered research presentations said that they wereneither especially anti-Japanese nor pro-Japanese, adding that Japanese literature wasoutstanding and well worthy of an exalted position in the pantheon of world literature,and that continued research on Japanese literature was essential. They felt sure that
intense and dispassionate research on Japan and Japanese literature is thriving.
3. A Cultural Revolution Inspired by Japanese Culture
As exposure to Japanese literature and culture in China increased, China broke freefrom the fetters of a dogmatic ideology in December 1978 and embarked on a path ofreform and openness. As the emphasis of state policy shifted drastically from politics
to the economy, the process of urbanization moved forward. Richer lifestyles, which
had hitherto been shunned, made a comeback. Nowadays, 85.5% of city dwellers
regard themselves as middle-class, according to a “Survey of the Chinese MiddleClass” published by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in September 2005.
Japanese popular culture and the culture of the Japanese lifestyle, which haspermeated every nook and cranny of everyday life, are indivisible from thisphenomenon and have had a profound influence on the younger generation—that is,
on Chinese aged up to 30. As they come to grips with traditional values at home andform links with the outside world, they are developing a hybrid culture.
Many Chinese who come into contact with Japanese culture are influenced by it.
They can be classified as follows:2(1) Those who have discovered a universality possessed by people who aredifferent from them. In 1963 “The Roof Tiles of Tempyo” by Yasushi Inoue waspublished in translation. Subsequently, this group developed an awareness of otherpeople and of Japan. As well as depicting images of other people, this outstanding
work also reflects a self-portrait of the reader. These people are aware that knowledgeof Japan also confers a rudimentary knowledge of the wider world, and they simply
perceive Japan as an intermediary that can provide a direct link to the wider world.
(2) The Japanese movie week in the latter half of the 1970s was a major factor inaltering Japan’s image as a war-like nation. For example, the “Sachiko hairstyle”
became highly fashionable.
An opportunity arose to rectify the fixed notions held by ordinary people. Not
only the established image of Japan but also the awareness that an image of Japan
exists were destined to be re-evaluated. Although the historical experiences of China
and Japan are different, a genre known as “scarred literature,” influenced by post-war
Japanese literature, came into being. “Proof of the Man” by Seiichi Morimura, asocially aware detective story, evokes the importance of humanity.
(3) Those who are drawn to the refinement of the Japanese lifestyle. These people
are able to adopt “Japanese aesthetics,” which are characterized by an attention todetail that turns day-to-day life into a work of art. The well-to-do pose for souvenir
photographs wearing kimono or yukata, and Japanese words and expressions such as
those for “cute,” “popular,” “in a meeting,” “debut,” “karaoke,” and “bride” havepassed into the Chinese language.
As well as Japanese sushi restaurants, noodle restaurants are all the rage inShanghai and elsewhere. People love conveyor-belt noodles, a Chinese innovation
modeled on conveyor-belt sushi. In Shenzhen a Japanese restaurant named Nakamori
Meisai opened in the fall of 2004. The Chinese word “meisai” signifies renowned
cuisine, but this is also a pun on the name of the famous Japanese singer and actress
Akina Nakamori, which in Chinese would be pronounced identically with therestaurant’s name. With a floor area of 16,000 square meters, it is the largest Japaneserestaurant in the world and can reputedly seat 1000 customers.
(4) People who are starting to learn about the wonders of Japanese culture. In thepresent climate of conflict and antagonism, this is probably the most desirable
category. In February “The Chrysanthemum and the Sword” was released intranslation by two publishers. Now it is apparently being published by four different
companies.
4. The Hidden Possibilities of Japanese Culture
On 30 September 2004, the awards ceremony for the Ig Nobel Peace Prize was held atHarvard University in the USA. The winner of the award was Daisuke Inoue, from
Nishinomiya in Hyogo Prefecture, the award citation reading, “for inventing karaoke,
thereby providing an entirely new way for people to learn to tolerate each other.”
Two weeks after the award ceremony, the author participated in an international
symposium entitled “Japanese Culture around the World—Friction and Harmony withthe Culture of the Host Nation.” This event was staged at the Japanese ResearchCenter of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing and lasted from 15 to 18
October. Leaders and specialists in the field of Japanese research gathered from Japanand eight other countries (including South Korea, the USA, France, Russia, India, andVietnam) and conducted wide-ranging debates in Japanese. Research topics relating3

to the enormous influence of Japanese culture included karaoke as well as anime andcomic books.
Given this state of affairs, the following two points can be made.
First, different countries seem to share the same perception of the power ofJapanese culture (or soft power). The unique position enjoyed by Japanese culture
within the cultures of the world also means that it can exert a positive influence andsmooth the way to better mutual understanding.
Second, it is difficult to ignore the role that is played by Japanese culture ininternational relations. Above all, with frequent political discord arising between
Japan and China, as well as between other Asian nations, there is surely an urgent
need to establish a shared culture that can serve as a basis for potential dialog.
Practical in-depth analysis is probably required of the love-hate ambivalence thatis spreading among the general population and which complicates views of Japan. A
probe that ties together specialist research across a wide range of fields ought
naturally to lead to better mutual understanding between China and Japan.
For example, every year a Japanese speech contest for university freshmen is heldin Beijing. This year the sponsors were said to be worrying about whether they would
be able to stage the event, in light of the anti-Japanese demonstrations that had takenplace. In fact, however, the number of universities registering to compete shot up to20, a four-fold increase over the previous year. Today’s younger generation in China
seems to be embroiled in anxiety and turmoil occasioned by the gulf between thein-coming tide of foreign culture and goods, and the precepts of China’s own culture
and traditions.
There are approximately half a million Chinese living in Japan at present. TheChinese Review Weekly, a newspaper for Chinese residents of Japan, recently
published a special edition featuring a round-table discussion on the anti-Japanesedemonstrations. Flexibility was evident in the younger generation that spans the twocultures, all of whom pragmatically asserted that political problems and personalproblems constitute separate issues.
Japanese culture is inherently capable of identifying and empathizing withforeign cultures. As well as embracing diverse values, it can also swiftly adapt toother distinct cultures. It is also capable of fostering openness as well as mutual
understanding and intellectual expansion. It is up to Japan to improve the way inwhich it responds, in light of the research being done on Japan in a turbulent China.
After its defeat in the war, Japan engaged in a self-examination that led it tore-invent itself as a great cultural nation. At some point, however, it veered off thistrack and instead devoted its efforts to becoming an economic powerhouse. This wasfollowed by the “lost decade,” and Japan has still not regained sight of its essence.
Now would seem to be just the right time for Japan to look outwards and broaden its
horizons. The growing boom in Japanese culture seems to indicate the way to peace inan Asia that was once ravaged by war.

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