2022 Volume 20 Pages 136-151
In this study, we investigated the concept of nationalism as a vague sense of individual identity as belonging to a common nation, i.e. also-called ‘cognitive nationalism’, focusing particularly on how the latter is constructed in relation to sports. Previous studies of ‘cognitive nationalism’ have focused mainly on football and have examined the stereotyped concept that Japan’s national teams or Japanese players are ‘organized’. However, no empirical research has ever attempted to substantiate this stereotype. Therefore, to clarify whether Japan’s national football teams and players can indeed be considered as ‘organized’, we evaluated this issue using quantitative and qualitative measures, focusing on players and teams featured in football magazines. Quantitative analysis revealed that the number of expressions affirmed by collective traits accounted for only about half of the total. Many expressions affirmed the personal and physical qualities of Japan’s national teams or Japanese players. A detailed analysis of the collective traits revealed that in the early days, many expressions centered on collective tactics, whereas in more recent times references to pass work increased. Furthermore, it was shown that in the early period, the term ‘organized’ often had a qualitative connotation of ‘playing collectively to make up for lack of personal and physical traits’. However, the meaning gradually changed, and recently the word ‘organized’ has been used in the sense of ‘personal qualities of the Japanese nation’, with a specific emphasis on unity or diligence. Consequently, we conclude that perceptions of Japan’s national teams or Japanese players as being ‘organized’ are no longer dominant in articles featured in football magazines, and that the term ‘organized’ has developed some ambiguity of meaning.
