[Tsuwabuki]

Looks like we agree, but it took me a long time to write that so I missed the above posts.

Originally Posted by Ronin4hire

How is this unique to the Japanese? All "cultures" have elements within it that were originally borrowed or copied and modified as well as moments when they have been "reimagined"

It's not if you merely look at it that way. However it IS if you look at the combination as a whole. While the whole of Japanese culture may be made up of different cultural elements (Yamato itself being made up of previous cultural elements from mainland Asia prior the founding of the Chrysanthemum Throne by Jimmu, supposedly), the combination of those elements are what makes Japanese culture a unique culture. Kinda like that saying, "we're all unique, just like everyone else." Often said disparagingly about those that seem to overstate individualism, for both people and cultures, it is true. The one thing we have in common is that our combinations are all different sum totals.

A common theme in many nationalistic or cultural discourse (I translate Nihonjinron to "discourse of Japaneseness") is that of uniqueness. And it sounds very convincing on it's own.. except when you compare it to other cultures and you realise that it's not all that unique in the general sense.

I actually don't agree. I think 日本人論 and 国体 have been misappropriated to sometimes be compared to fascist doctrines like National Socialism and its related ideologies of German Exceptionalism and Führerprinzip quite unfairly. In the early 1900s, it was taught to Hirohito to a certain degree, although I would argue, given the scholarship available, that it was not quite as violent or militant as it would become at the time of the death of Taisho. Certainly in the 1930s and 1940s, this misappropriation was at its worst by extreme right wing elements of Hirohito's cabinet, especially in the Navy and Army ministries. Athough Hirohito was unlikely to have been anything we would remotely call a racial egalitarian, he initially had a very healthy fear of the advantages in trade and war that Britain and America held. I think, and have argued elsewhere, that Hirohito's behavior towards the end of the war which drummed up even more extreme and warped versions of the inherent superiority of the Japanese people was really caused by his concerns that Japan would lose, and his throne would be lost with it. He allowed himself to become a supporter of the extremist versions espoused by his increasingly militant ministers because perhaps if you repeat something long enough, loud enough, and with enough conviction, it will become true. He was not, however, an entirely blameless bystander, and to understand why, we would have to deeply go into how the Emperor is described in the Meiji Constitution of 1889, which would be at least a three or four page paper, single spaced.

My point here is that 日本人論 and 国体 as inherently "evil" ideas is something I don't buy. I do think that they can be used to adequately describe the unique combination of cultural elements that make up "Japaneseness" as long as we be careful to avoid equating "unique" with "superior."

I was recently asked by a Japanese university student to explain to her in English how to translate 日本人論. This is what I said:

You've asked a fairly complicated question. 日本人論 is not easily
translated into English. A direct translation would be "Opinions on
the Japanese" but more accurately might be translated to "Opinions on
the uniqueness and specialness of Japaneseness as written, discussed,
taught, and believed by the Japanese."

Although 日本人論 is a legitimate scholarly field, especially at the 大学院
level in Japan, it applies to all aspects of Japanese education,
formal and informal, at home, and in the schools. Along with 国体, a
view of the national polity of Japan as one "family" (either under or
with the Emperor or not), 日本人論 serves to explain to Japanese
individuals how they fit together as a society, and how Japan fits
into the world at large. I would say that neither 日本人論 nor 国体 are
ever specifically mentioned as societal education standards, and you
certainly won't find them as titles of courses, but they subtly imbue
most, if not all, aspects of Japanese society.