This article focuses on the historical transformation of the concept of ‘mass’in the contemporary social sciences. First, the ‘masses’ is the collective object　conceptualized in a specific historical context that had emerged in the early　20th century and disappeared by the end of the century. Before the emergence　of this concept, the elite and intellectuals were struck with fear of the expanding　images of crowds of poor laborers.

　　After the W.W.I, the uncontrollable image of the crowd has changed to the　image of the ‘masses’ who could be mobilized as soldiers and consumers. Especially　after W.W.II, the concepts of ‘mass society’ and ‘mass communication’　were often discussed. The sociological theory of ‘mass society’ became a major　discourse in sociology and the ‘mass communication’ theory became the hegemonic　discourse in the field of media studies. The author also discussed the subtle difference of the concept of ‘mass’ in the different academic fields such as sociology, communication studies, and cultural studies.

　　Finally, this article discusses the transformation of the concept of ‘mass’ in digital society from the 21st century onward. Today, ‘mass’ is more discussed with the expansion of the ‘mass data’ than the ‘mass society’. The author analyzes the structural transformation of our society with digital technology in this conceptual change. Today, we are facing the expansion of ‘mass data’ that seems to be uncontrollable for ordinary people. Although the society of ‘mass data’ is quite different from the society of ‘mass communication’, it is still a subject in the field of media studies. So, the major focus of the next generation of media studies should be the critical analysis of the relationship between our society and ‘mass data’ that has been appropriated with highly developed algorithms in digital society.

　The masses have been perceived in a negative light in contrast to the public.

In addition, the mass audience has been regarded as subjects who are easily

manipulated by media and political elites. Still, the elimination of the masses

may jeopardize democracy itself. This fear as held by the author derives from

the fact that the masses and media in advanced societies have shaped popular

democracy as the correct form of democracy. This article re-examines mass

communication in terms of popular democracy and national democracy.

According to the popular belief held today regarding the masses and popularization

in Japan, the Great Kanto earthquake marked the dawn of popularization

and popular culture. But the notion has come into circulation without sufficient

factual evidence. The reality among people during this period was

revealed with reference to subscription records of newspapers, magazines,

books, and the like in Yanagawa, a small town in Fukushima Prefecture. The

media, as it turned out, did not evenly take root in society. On the contrary,

society was polarized between the upper class, who enjoys the benefits of

media and the lower class, who hardly embraced media. In fact, their gap widened.

In no way does the term popularization describe what really happened.

This is just an example pointing to the need to scrutinize the prevailing belief

that popularization in Japanese society took place in the 1920s.

　In the works of the author, Takumi Sato, who has been changed from a

German modern history scholar to a media historian, the concept of “Mass” has

crucial importance. This paper examines the role of the active masses who supported

the Nazi regime, collating the arguments of George L. Mosse, The

nationalization of the masses; political symbolism and mass movements in Germany

from the Napoleonic wars through the Third Reich （1975＝1994） and

Takumi Sato, The Fascist Public Sphere; Media Studies of Total War （2018）.

The Nazi regime did not succeed due to manipulation of the masses through

propaganda, but was instead supported by voluntary movements by the masses

for national consensus building. From this viewpoint, the framework of media

studies on the fascist movements should be changed from “Nazi propaganda” to

“Nazi public relations.” As an outstanding analysis during the time of Nazi propaganda,

Serge Chakotin, The Rape of the Masses; The Psychology of Totalitarian

Political Propaganda （1939） can be reread. In recent years, the book has

been republished and translated around the world, including an edition in Japanese（

2019）. What does the revival of this book mean? It shows that the bullet

effect theory functions as an excuse for the active masses who take part in the

political public sphere. Theoretically, the bullet effect theory was denied in the

1950s by the limited effect theory. However, it is thought that its popularity has

not abated because of the support by the nationalized masses in the information

society.

During the first two decades in the 21st century, it is clear that for the

mass media, which played a major social role in the last century, its role has

relatively been diminished, and the Internet has penetrated deeply into

Japanese society.

　What are the implications for society of this change from an era in which

mass media exerts a great influential power to shape society at large to an

era in which the Internet also plays a major role? If we contrast the mass

media and the Internet, the characteristics of the Internet are said to be

“diversification,”“polarization,” “filtering,” and “micro-targeting” which drives

its growth as an advertising medium. In the political dimension, these

characteristics have attracted strong social and academic interest, as they are

supposed to produce the phenomenon of “social polarization” and “echo

chambers.”

　　In this paper, I would argue that the technological determinism that “the

Internet intensifies social polarization” is false. I propose to consider the

relative reduction of the role of the mass media and the expansion of the

Internet media not as the “from the masses to the net” phenomenon but as

the “formation of a polymedia society.” My study, after specifying an “echo-

chamber scale” using social survey data, suggests that the higher the media

diversity, the lower the echo-chamber degree. That is, active use of the

polymedia environment is important to reduce the echo-chamber degree.

From this perspective, the concern is that Japanese society has a high echo-

chamber level compared internationally.

　In the publishing world in the 1980s, as the number of publications

increased, visual expression came to be more pronounced in both magazines

and books. How did this change in publishing media affect the content of the

publications and their authors? By focusing on the case of Amino Yoshihiko

（1928-2004）―a historian on the Japanese Middle Ages―this article

examines the relationship between published media in the 1980s and the

visualization of history. In particular, it explores the extent to which Amino’s

commitment to visualizing history was of his own accord.

　　This article analyzes publications by Amino from the 1980s to elucidate

how his history books were connected with visual expression in the process of

their production. After receiving opportunities to write in a PR magazine pub

lished by a company, he began to write on the subject of color and costume

in history. Afterward, he acquired knowledge on historical paintings while

proofreading the Pictopedia of Everyday Life in Medieval Japan, New Edition（

1984）, and he made the best use of this experience to write his own book

The Grotesque Emperor（ 1986）, which became one of his primary works.

After writing The Grotesque Emperor, he collaborated with a painter to

produce a picture book for children and participated in two large-scale

projects featuring visual expression. This article reveals that although he was

reluctant to commit to the work of visualizing history initially, he deepened

his understanding of the subject through various publishing projects.

Additionally, the publishing projects that he participated in grew in scale and

required more initiative. This article also found that Amino collaborated with

editors as well as at times a painter to complete all of his works, as early as

the proposal stage.

This article analyzes magazines intended for white-collar workers to trace

the history of “intermediateness” in knowledge formation, a topic that has

been　neglected in previous research on magazines.

　　First, our review of the existing literature summarizes knowledge

formation　as conveyed through magazines intended for white-collar workers

during　the pre-W.W.II period and the period of Japan’s high economic

growth（ in the　1950’s and in the 60’s）. Second, we discuss the content 　

and function of the magazine　BIG Tomorrow, which launched in 1980. In

addition to surveying the content　of the magazine, we also examine the

discourses surrounding the magazine.

Third, we refer to related studies to assess how the competitive environment

of white-collar workers influenced the content of BIG Tomorrow in the

1980s.

　　We conclude that during the prewar period and the period of Japan’s high

economic growth, the knowledge formation agreeable to the intelligentsia was

still alive. However, as the 1980s saw an increase in university graduates, the

young generation no longer were proud intelligentsia. Consequently, white-col

lar workers became targeted by Seishun Shuppan-sha, a media company

intended for non-elites. Since its inception, the company has a spirit of

“competing　against the educated elite,” which resulted in articles that

promoted competition　with elites through learning how to get ahead in the

workplace. Further,　such competition through learning how to get ahead as

method of differentiating　between employees was promoted because

numbers of university graduates　were increasing during the period of stable

economic growth and there　was a shortage of positions for them in

companies. Additionally, the competitive　structure within companies fueled

the non-elites. In view of these factors, BIG　Tomorrow began delivering

lessons on “how to get ahead” as practical knowledge　and white-collar

workers read them. Since the 1990s, practical knowledge　formation has 　

expanded beyond the workplace hierarchy resulting in the emergence

of a new “intermediateness” in knowledge formation within contemporary

society.

This paper focused on a content analysis of the Zexy magazine to examine

the ideal marriage image constructed in it. Before the appearance of a

specialized　marriage information magazine, the sources of information were

limited, so　individuals （consumers） had little choice in their own weddings.

Therefore, it　can be said that the concept of a “marriage between two

families” was still　emphasized in weddings. The appearance of specialized

marriage information　magazines in the 1990s prompted a change in

wedding culture back then.

Among them, Zexy, which was launched in 1993, has changed from a

magazine　which was aimed to show information about married life, into a

magazine which　focuses on bridal information only about weddings.

　　At the same time, it became clear that the ideal marriage concept

presented　in the magazine changed from a “marriage involving entire

families” in　the 1990s to “a marriage between two individuals.” In addition,

it is also　revealed the process by which Zexy socially builds a wedding into

an event in　which the bride has the right to make decisions.

This study focused on “criticism of TV” that is “viewers’ negative reaction

to TV,” and conducted an online survey to examine the mechanisms that

govern　such behavior. The survey was conducted by presenting four scenes

from　TV shows; namely, 1） a scene lacking neutrality and fairness; 2）

drama; 3）variety show; and 4） promotion of crime, to respondents and

enquiring whether　those scenes aroused an intention to engage in critical

activity.

　　With respect to whether the occurrence of intentional criticism behavior

varied depending on the scene, one way ANOVA revealed that the score of

“lack of neutrality and fairness” was high across all intention to engage in

critical　activity. Furthermore, in order to examine the determinants of the

intention　to engage in critical activity, multiple regression analysis was

performed using　the intentions to engage in critical activity regarding the

lack of neutrality and　fairness as the dependent variable, and the critical

attitude and Presumed　Media Influence （i.e., PMI） and confidence in TV,

and the interaction term　between the critical attitude and confidence in TV

as the independent variable.

The findings suggested that the interaction is significant for positive criticism

behaviors, such as expressing criticism on social media, etc., and that critical

behavior tends to occur when the confidence in TV is low and the criticism

attitude is strong.

　Media history scholars have looked at ‘media events’, events held by the

media industry （newspaper companies, radio stations and broadcasting

stations）,　and investigated their roles in mobilizing the masses,

popularizing unfamiliar　Western genres, and evoking nationalism in the pre-

war era. However,　little research has been undertaken on the relationship

between these events　and the audience/readers.

　　In this paper, we aim to understand how the media industry promoted the

participation of audience/readers and made impact on them during the

Showaera.

　　In particular, we decided to compare Shogi （Japanese chess） events

held　by Yomiuri Shimbun during the Showa-era with Shogi events held by

Yorozuchoho　during the Meiji-era.

　　In these events, Shogi players were invited and paid monetary rewards

for　playing games. Game records （moves on the chessboard） were printed

in the　Shogi columns in both newspapers. Based on these columns, we

compared the　audience/readers in each era.

　　In the Meiji-era, participation of the audience/readers was limited due to

the column’s features. Firstly, it was necessary to clip the Shogi columns and

use them with a chessboard, which made it difficult for inexperienced players

to read them. Secondly, little information was added to the game record, so

only　skilled players who were highly motivated could understand the

columns.

　　In contrast, participation increased dramatically in the Showa-era. Firstly,

the columns took up more space and contained much more information than

before. Secondly, column writers tried to increase readability by applying a

prose style inspired by popular fiction. This separated ‘reading’ from other

activities, such as clipping and using a chessboard, and made it an enjoyable

activity in itself. As a result, such efforts succeeded in attracting not only

novices　but also people unfamiliar with Shogi.

　Popular cultural content is transnational, as it is produced across national

borders. However, it is used as a tool to represent national image and identity

for branding, which is contradictory. Therefore, two issues will become the

subject　of discussion: signifying the processes of policy makers and the

effects of　these discourses on people’s national identity. This study examines

these issues　through document analysis of Korean government publications

concerning　Korean popular music（ K-Pop）.

　The study shows that K-Pop signifies two different things in these

documents.

Documents written in English say that it is “hybrid and transnational

music” for external branding, whereas those in Korean claim that it has

“original　content, inheriting Korea-ness from traditional culture” for internal

branding.

In addition, the government’s view of national identity and cultural

nationalism　shown in internal branding is not considered by the Korean

people in their　reactions to discourse about the Korean wave or change of

governance. This　rejection of this reconstructed national identity differs from

the circumstances　shown in previous studies.