JAPAN IN BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
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lack of the VariableJapan in the work of Japanese social psychologists. And
yet, as reflected in many Japanese feelings that Caucasians and Japanese
are basically different creatures (Wagatsuma 1967), Japanese seem to
remain Japanese. Professors Ishida and Sabata’s previously mentioned
listing of essentially Western traits and basically Eastern traits might be
seen as the reflection of a Japanese tendency, or perhaps effort, to remain
Japanese, in spite of plastic surgery. We do not as yet know well the inside
structure of this seemingly complicated East-West complex in the Japanese
mind. Perhaps Japan’s nationalism should be reexamined in terms of
Japan’s group identity problem.
For instance, it would be meaningful to analyze carefully what Japan,
vis-à-vis Western nations, meant psychologically to various leaders in dif-
ferent eras of Japan (e.g., Bellah 1965). One way of doing this would be to
study the meaning of overseas experiences to Japanese intellectuals who
lived during Meiji, Taisho, and pre- and postwar Showa. After the war,
many Japanese wrote about their experiences in the West, particularly in
the United States (to name only a few, Eto 1964; Horiba 1968; Kato 1966;
and Yamazaki 1965). Many more should be collected and their content
should be examined.
University of Pittsburgh
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