Guilt and Shame

Abstract

In order to study Japanese culture, we had better scrutinize “The chrysanthemum and the sword” written by Ruth Benedict.
Though the book has been criticized as static and not historical, it has many merits. Historians point out some mistakes and scarcity of data. Some scholar esteem the book highly while other criticize it completely. I think the book is the preliminary trial for comparative study of nations.
Ruth Benedict said as follows. In anthropological studies of different cultures the distinction between those which rely heavily on shame and those that rely heavily on guilt is an important one. A society that inculcates absolute standards of morality and relies on men's developing a conscience is a guilt culture by definition, Where shame is the major sanction, a man does not experience relief when he makes his fault public even to a confessor. So long as his bad behavior does not 'get out into the world' he need not be troubled.
True shame cultures rely on external sanctions for good behavior, not, as true guilt cultures do, on an internalized conviction of sin. Shame is a reaction to other people's criticism. A man is shamed either by being openly ridiculed and rejected. But in America a man may suffer from guilt though no man knows of his misdeed and a man's feeling of guilt may actualy be relieved by confessing his sin. American do not expect shame to do the heavy work of morality.
Many scholar has criticized doctrins about two types of culture. R.P. Dore insists that it is not pertinent to divide Japanese culture into two types and other say shame culture does not rely on external sanction.
But for all that, the book has yet value to scrutinize.