Ethnocentrism And Ethnocentrism In Japan

Part two included the following four chapters that the Dower depicted the characteristics and assumptions that Westerners had on Japanese in particular, but included other races likewise. Chapter four examined Westerners’ association of Japanese with animals, restated that they were considered differently than their German and Italian allies, who were still considered as “people” and treatment dependant on individual behaviors. These discrimination applied to Japanese Americans, who were American citizens, also (Dower 78, 82). Chapter five studied reasons the term “lesser men” and “supermen” were given to the Japanese. Before Pearl Harbor, Westerners devalued the Japanese culture, for not having “uniqueness”, as well as its military strength, because of unimpressive performance in imperialism in its occupied colonies (i.e. China, Korea) (95, 98). Because of these arrogant

Throughout history of not only the United States but also the world, racism has played a huge role in the treatment of other humans. A dark mark in United States history, the Japanese Relocation during WWII is a prime example of this racism coming into play. Whether or not this event was necessary or even justified, however, is a constant question for historians even nowadays. The Japanese relocation of the 1920’s unnecessary and unjustified because it’s main causes: selfish economic plots by farmers, unrealistic military measures, and blatant racism.

The Japanese empire was in great power by this time period, and they thought themselves as the king of the East Asian race. Japan, the “old order”, also believed that some day Europe and America would take over their power and become the “new orders”(Doc A). Japan was one

Ultranationalism in Japan began once the global markets collapsed in 1930. Difficult times and a growing need for national glory led to increased militarism. In 1937, Japan invaded China and expanded its empire from the Korean peninsula to Indonesia. However, Japan’s

This background knowledge is coherent in identifying the social problems such as a “race problem and contest” is forecasted if nothing is done to keep them out. He understands that his people will not permit the Japanese to come in “as citizens and will not tolerate their presences.” US experienced widespread anti-Japanese sentiments and this is supported from evidence that Roosevelt received insults such as “an unpatriotic President, who united with aliens to break down the civilization of his own countrymen” by San Francisco Chronicle when he decided to back Japan up against

After the United States of America forced Japan to open up its borders in 1853, Japan was subject to ‘unequal trade treaties’, where Japan gained little in the deals. The people saw this as an insult to their national pride and were convinced that the Americans and other Western nations like Britain and Russia were looking to conquer Japan to dominate in Asia. The people held riots in protest. Consequently, Japan forcefully acquired three major foreign territories: Taiwan in 1895; Korea in 1905, then as a colony in 1910; and the Kwantung Leased Territories in 1905. Many of the residents in Japanese-occupied territories complained of exploitation of labour, marginalisation of history and culture, and environmental exploitation. Despite these claims, the Japanese people were proud of their international achievements as the defeat of Russia gave Japan a new standing as a world superpower and their nationalistic idea of superiority was achieved. Thus, nationalism amongst the Japanese people was beneficial to restoring national pride, although it destabilised conquered

The belief, subtly reinforced by racist stereotypes, that the behaviour of Japanese forces, from attacks on Chinese cities in 1937 through Pearl Harbour to the Bataan death march...nullified any humanitarian consideration for the Japanese people (Kyoko + Mark Selden, 1989, book)

In the 19th century, technological improvements enabled many European nations to enlarge their power and have greater impact on other parts of the world. Those impacts are clearly demonstrated in the book Abina and the Important Men and the source Fifty Years of New Japan. Abina and the Important Men views on how a young woman from Gold Coast, West Africa in the 1870s failed to declare her own freedom in a local British dominated court. The source Fifty Years of New Japan demonstrates how Japan had modernized in fifty years with adoption of European cultural practices. Because the Gold Coast was a crown colony of the British empire, change made by European culture and power was in favor of the interest of Britain. Indigenous people respond to such changes differently based on their different social status. Japan, on the other hand, was independently adopting western cultural practices for modernization, so Japan was able to better improve herself by learning about the Western Civilization.

The Americans prior to World War II had always seen the Japanese as an inferior race dating back even further than the time of Commodore Matthew Perry in the mid 19th century. The US government saw the country of Japan as childish and immature. After the War The United States wanted to fix Japan, make it an ally by changing the country into a more western mature nation. The USA wanted to create a democratic economic powerhouse in its own image. The reformation of Japan after the war was simply an imposing of western ideas and values, not unlike the Meiji period that happened almost a century prior. The article shows that the United States needed the help the Japanese because they believed that the Japanese could not help themselves. The article also show a contrast to this with the treatment of the Chinese by the Japanese during the second Sino-Japanese war, who saw them as inferiors. Japan saw themselves as liberators from barbarism as much as the Americans. The article stops itself from being an essay on the shortcomings of the US, but also of Japan; it succeeds in giving discredit where discredit is due, for a more balanced look at both of the

He is well aware that his defense of Japan's tight society is subject to criticism, and at the end of his book he concedes the widespread corruption underlying so many Confucian societies, the diversity that makes overall judgments tricky and the racial homogeneity that may play a great part in enforcing Confucian harmony. But he sticks to his central thesis, fortified by his obviously pleasant recollections of living in Japan.

“Japanese were perceived as animals, reptiles, or insects (monkeys, baboons, gorillas, dogs, mice and rats, vipers and rattlesnakes, cockroaches, vermin- or, more indirectly “the Japanese herd” and the like)… at the simplest level, they dehumanized the Japanese and enlarged the chasm between ‘us’ and ‘them’ to the point where it was perceived to be virtually unbridgeable. ”(Dower 81-82) John Dower, the writer of War Without Mercy, focused part of his book on the way the Japanese in American culture were viewed by the public and the other part on the way the Americans were viewed by the Japanese in their culture. Each chapter in Dower’s book is titled in a way so that they describe how the Japanese and Americans were viewed by each other’s culture. During WWII the Japanese were not the only culture that was viewed poorly, the Americans were also viewed very poorly while in the Japanese public culture. Race played a very large role in the war in the Pacific during WWII.

How the United States and Japan integrated “previously despised populations into their nations in unprecedented ways, while at the same time denouncing racial discrimination and even considering these peoples as part of the national populations and, as such, deserving of life, welfare, and happiness” (Fujitani

The foundation of Japanese imperialism, which eventually led to World War II was in the Meiji Restoration of the 1870’s. At that time, pro-war sentiment and desire for national strength and growth arose as the national attitude of the Japanese people. Certain groups, which advocated return to the traditional Japanese ways, began to grow in power. Shinto, the traditional religion of Japan, was revived with a new emphasis on emperor worship. By the time Emperor Hirohito assumed power in 1926, the nation was ready for a second restoration.1

Japan is an unique oriental country in many aspects, especially in politics and economy, both western practices and traditional nationalism are coexisted in this country. The period 1890-1940 was just followed the Meiji restoration, and was typical in the history of Japan, at that time, Japan was on the way from a feudal country to a capitalistic country, called modernization. Many western practices were being more and more adopted, however, at the same time, traditional rules still had strong influences in Japan. Under this background, this report will discuss the Japanese cultural factors during 1890-1940 that influenced the disclosure

The culture of a place is an integral part of its society whether that place is a remote Indian village in Brazil or a highly industrialized city in Western Europe. The culture of Japan fascinates people in the United States because, at first glance, it seems so different. Everything that characterizes the United States--newness, racial heterogeneity, vast territory, informality, and an ethic of individualism-- is absent in Japan. There, one finds an ancient and homogeneous society, an ethic that emphasizes the importance of groups, and a tradition of formal behavior governing every aspect of daily living, from drinking tea to saying hello. On the surface at least, U.S. and Japanese