> Not only that but many Japanese are very racially concerned and do not
> like "Gai Jin" or people from other backgrounds than Japan.
>
> That is a generalization at best applies to Japanese living in Japan.
> And as Harumi Befu and Ohnuki-Tierney have commented in their books,
> this is a generalization that needs a lot of qualification and the like
> for the post-war Japanese. Kinda like saying all white Americans hate
> black Americans.
Mark:
I greatly admire the history and culture of Japan--in many ways.
It's a culture which is simultaneously highly civilized, yet savagely
barbaric. During recent centuries, it has been perhaps one of the MOST
RACIST cultures on the planet, however.
How can I say this?
Since the "divine intervention" on the part of a terrified Japan, when
Kublai Khan's invasion fleet was nearly destroyed and was driven back to
Korea 700 years ago (in 1274 and again in 1281) by the "kamikaze" ("divine
wind," or typhoon), the Japanese became increasingly isolationist and
xenophobic. The Shogunate largely consolidated and retained its power by
the "invisible threat" of future invasions by outsiders, which fed the
warrior culture and the development of bushido during the Tokugawa Shogunate
and throughout the Edo Period.
When Westerners first attempted to make friendly inroads into Japan, they
were met by extremes of racism and resistance. The Japanese concept of
being a "superior race" with a divine mandate due to the Emperor's descent
from Amateratsu the Sun Goddess, was well developed and entrenched. The
Dutch and English had to contend with limited access and being intentionally
isolated, and only Francis Xavier's Jesuits had some access to the country
and to the various political powers.
Christianity, a "gaijin" religion, was seen as a threat and eventually
proscribed. Practitioners were executed or tortured. The Tokugawa Shogunate
halted all immigration of foreigners, allowing a few Dutch and Chinese
traders and merchants only some limited access.
Much later, U.S. Commodore Matthew C. Perry had a hard time making friends
with a very suspicious, unfriendly, and racist government, in 1853. In 1854
he finally succeeded in convincing Japan to sign a treaty with the U.S.,
which preceded treaties with other countries like Russia, Great Britain, and
the Netherlands.
But Japan was still a very "racist" state at this point.
This concept of racial superiority was still very much alive during WWII,
and the Bataan Death March is only one example of this. The Nanking
Incident makes this clear, as do the MANY reports of cannibalism on the part
of Japanese soldiers, in which civilians of occupied territories, and
prisoners of war, were murdered to be eaten by Japanese. This is not a
"myth," but has been admitted, and was largely fueled by the concept which
the Japanese held at the time of themselves as the only "real" human
beings, all other types being inferior and essentially on a par with
animals. THIS de-humanizing behavior is the ultimate expression of racism,
and just a part of the information can be found at this URL:
http://www.ukar.org/mclell18.shtml
If I'm wrong on any of these points, please let me know.
--Mike
