Japanese Sociological Review

Personalism and Backstage Bosses in Rural China

A Study on the Fabric of Chinese Rural Life

Toshikazu SHUTO

2002 Volume 53 Issue 3 Pages 312-328
Published: December 31, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: April 23, 2010

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.53.3_312

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Weber's concept of “Personalismus” is a key to understanding social change in Chinese society. This essay is an attempt to apply the concept of personalism in analyzing the dynamism of contemporary Chinese society through reviewing previous studies on the fabric of Chinese rural life, focussing on the role of “backstage bosses” (houtai ren) in China's rural society.
This paper emphasizes that social relationships based on the principle of personalism was the most important aspect of peasant life, and that changes in the social network, where backstage bosses exercised their influences, clearly reflect social changes in China.
In Republican China, the indispensable relationships for peasants were those of the “peasant-middlemen (that is, backstage bosses whose foundation of power and prestige were based on clan lineage, status in religious organization, or land holding) -market town, ” and “peasant-production team cadres” in the Mao era. After the 1978 reforms, the backstage boss was usually a village cadre, who was known among peasants as a capable worker (nengnai de ren), whose status has been rising formally or informally, and whose social network extended in and around the village, accumulating connections in the upper level of local governments as social resources. Peasants seek to get acquainted with backstage bosses to further their personal interests by applying the principle of personalism in everyday life.
This paper finds that further in depth discussions on the personality of backstage bosses, especially regarding their motivation, values, and the human resources that they command, are necessary to explain the peculiarities of social change in Chinese society.

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Representations of the 'West, ' 'Japan, ' the 'Periphery' and Nationality in the Discourse of Lafcadio Hearn Studies

Yoshiaki FUKUMA

2002 Volume 53 Issue 3 Pages 329-347
Published: December 31, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: April 23, 2010

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.53.3_329

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The purpose of this paper is to analyze representations of the 'West, ' 'Japan' and 'Periphery' in the discourse of the studies of Lafcadio Hearn in pre-war Japan in order to examine the nationality and its construction, where representations of the 'West, ' 'Japan and the' Periphery intersected.
'Japan' wanted a universality such as that of the 'West, ' but recognized the lack of it in the 1900s. In the 1910-20s, however, what was emphasized was the peculiarity of 'Japan, ' something distinct from the universality of the 'West.' And in the 1930-40s, 'Japan' wanted to project its universality as something distinct from the 'West.' But, in trying to legitimize the image of its 'self, ' 'Japan' appropriated 'Periphery' as something that should be excluded from, or included in that 'self image.'
While the representations of 'Japan' was (re-) produced in such a manner, we can also find a residual uncertainty in 'nationality.' This paper reveals the complex process between the construction and the uncertainties of 'nationality' through analyzing representations of the 'West, ' 'Japan' and the 'Periphery in the discourse of studies on Lafcadio Hearn.

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The Politics of Coming Out

Takashi KAZAMA

2002 Volume 53 Issue 3 Pages 348-364
Published: December 31, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.53.3_348

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The purpose of this paper is to explore the politics of coming out by homosexuals. There are two points to which I wish to draw attention. First, the discourse of liberationists who aim to move toward the liberated state of nature by telling sexual matters results in homophobic insistence. Second, social constructionists who regard telling of one's own sexuality as a confession conspire with the deployment of sexuality by not questioning one's own positionality in it.
Through the analysis of the lawsuit on the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's decision that homosexual groups should not be allowed to use Tokyo's youth center, the following three points on coming out are propounded. First, coming out is a resistance to change how power is exercised in homophobic society through taking a position within the power relations instead of remaining outside of them. Second, coming out shows that heterosexual norms are exclusive to neither the public sphere nor the private. Third, coming out problematizes the frame of knowledge that the truth of self is produced through the deployment of sexuality by constituting sexual pleasures as secrets.

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Theory and Practice in Habermas and Honneth

Akira OBATAKE

2002 Volume 53 Issue 3 Pages 365-379
Published: December 31, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: April 23, 2010

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.53.3_365

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The purpose of this paper is to examine the possibility of mediating between theory and practice as treated in Hegelian Marxism by reviewing the critical theory developed by J. Habermas and A. Honneth. The theoretical-universal approach of Habermas succeeded in overcoming the problem of the irrational, but it raised a question about the motivation for moral practice. This difficulty takes place under an influence of historical philosophy. On, the other hand, Honneth's approach of “recognition” regards “the other of justice” excluded by Habermas as the motivation for practice. By dividing recognition theory into three themes, this author finds that a practical-normative approach of Honneth can diagnose “pathology of the social” which is not reduced to the question of justice. However, this approach runs a risk of turning practice into the irrational at the same time. And lastly, on top of verifying that both Habermas' and Honneth's approaches to mediating between theory and practice have shifted to the level of “life-world” theory, I argue that there is a need for sociology to work out a strategy for the practice of recognition by which the motivation for justice is objectively teased out from the communication analysis of life-world.

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The Prevalence of Psychological Knowledge and the Consecration of the Heart

Yoko YAMADA

2002 Volume 53 Issue 3 Pages 380-395
Published: December 31, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: April 23, 2010

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.53.3_380

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Psychological knowledge prevails in society today.The way people think and act is deeply influenced by discourses of the heart. People are greatly concerned about the state of their hearts and minds. They feel impelled to exercise care about its condition or maintenance, and be prudent not to hurt other people's feeling. In these circumstances, the heart is treated as sacred.
The purpose of this paper is to examine from the viewpoint of sociology of knowledge why psychological knowledge flourishes and why the heart is regarded as sacred today. Surveying the theoretical development of E.Durkheim's conception of “culte de la personne, ” I try to clarify the sociological origins of this phenomenon.
First, Durkheim's concept of “culte de la personne” is examined. According to Durkheim, the person is sanctified as sacred in modern society. They worship the notion of the person and revere the individual. Next, E.Goffman's essays on “face-work” and “interaction ritual” are considered. Informed by Durkheim's arguments, he applies them to mass society and points out that secularized society is in reality not “secular” One's “face” -that is, one's appearance?continues to enjoy sanctity, and the individual remains “godly.” Third, A.Hochschild's thesis on “emotion management” is discussed. She notes that people are required to perform “emotion work” conforming to “feeling rules, ” and also suggests that ritual care is given to the heart. Lastly, I illustrate the above discussion with a case study on lessons on mental care in a Japanese elementary school.
By re-reading the seminal works of leading sociologists, I intend to show in this paper that the cult of individual led to the rise of psychotherapeutics and the worship of the heart.

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Fascism as Resistance

The Non-church Movement in Wartime Japan and the Discourse of “Japanese Fascism”

Tatsuya AKAE

2002 Volume 53 Issue 3 Pages 396-412
Published: December 31, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.53.3_396

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Whenever the relationship between religion and politics is being questioned in postwar Japan, the Christian group that called itself “Non-church movement” (henceforth Mukyokai) is almost always mentioned as an example of resistance against wartime “Japanese Fascism.” In sharp contrast with Japanese Christendom, which is said to actively mobilize itself in favor of Japanese fascism, the Mukyokai is rather appraised as a source of resistance to fascist ideas. In particular, Yanaihara Tadao, who is also a well-known colonial policy scholar, is hailed to be “one of the few monuments of resistance against ultra-nationalism.”
Yet, why is it that in postwar Japan Mukyokai came to be understood almost entirely as a resistance movement to fascism? This paper is an attempt to probe into that question. First, by re-examining the place of Christianity in the history of postwar Japanese thought, I illustrate a pattern by which Christianity was almost always systematically excluded from the focus of academic analysis. Further, by examining the specific rhetoric that Yanaihara engaged in, I argue also that although he indeed criticized fascism based on his “pure belief, ” at the same time he also endorsed the concept of “sweeping fascism.” Finally, through questioning the discourse of Mukyokai, I also point out the limitations of the discourse of “Japanese Fascism, ” which failed in its treatise of Mukyokai by positing it within the ordinary framework of “fascism versus democracy.”

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[in Japanese]

2002 Volume 53 Issue 3 Pages 413-417
Published: December 31, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.53.3_413

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[title in Japanese]

[in Japanese]

2002 Volume 53 Issue 3 Pages 418-419
Published: December 31, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.53.3_418

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[title in Japanese]

[in Japanese]

2002 Volume 53 Issue 3 Pages 419-421
Published: December 31, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.53.3_419

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[title in Japanese]

[in Japanese]

2002 Volume 53 Issue 3 Pages 421-423
Published: December 31, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.53.3_421

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[title in Japanese]

[in Japanese]

2002 Volume 53 Issue 3 Pages 423-425
Published: December 31, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.53.3_423

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[title in Japanese]

[in Japanese]

2002 Volume 53 Issue 3 Pages 425-426
Published: December 31, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.53.3_425

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[title in Japanese]

[in Japanese]

2002 Volume 53 Issue 3 Pages 427-429
Published: December 31, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.53.3_427

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[title in Japanese]

[in Japanese]

2002 Volume 53 Issue 3 Pages 429-431
Published: December 31, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.53.3_429

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[title in Japanese]

[in Japanese]

2002 Volume 53 Issue 3 Pages 431-432
Published: December 31, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.53.3_431

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[title in Japanese]

[in Japanese]

2002 Volume 53 Issue 3 Pages 433-434
Published: December 31, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.53.3_433

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[title in Japanese]

[in Japanese]

2002 Volume 53 Issue 3 Pages 435-436
Published: December 31, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.53.3_435

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[title in Japanese]

[in Japanese]

2002 Volume 53 Issue 3 Pages 437-438
Published: December 31, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.53.3_437

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[title in Japanese]

[in Japanese]

2002 Volume 53 Issue 3 Pages 439-440
Published: December 31, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.53.3_439

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[in Japanese]

2002 Volume 53 Issue 3 Pages 441-442
Published: December 31, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.53.3_441

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[title in Japanese]

[in Japanese]

2002 Volume 53 Issue 3 Pages 443-444
Published: December 31, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.53.3_443

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[title in Japanese]

[in Japanese]

2002 Volume 53 Issue 3 Pages 445-447
Published: December 31, 2002
Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.53.3_445

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Erratum

2002 Volume 53 Issue 3 Pages 448
Published: 2002
Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4057/jsr.53.3_448

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