Nancy R. Rosenberger.
Japanese Sense of Self.
CUP. 1992
Resisting explanations of Japanese “self” through Western assumptions,
the contributors to this volume use on-the-ground experiences with Japanese people
to trace the parameters of selves in their own social contexts.
The authors find these selves to be multiple and changing,
inextricable from the kaleidoscope of everyday life.
They reinterpret what Westerners have viewed as oppositions in Japanese life –
the contrast between public and private life, ritual and informality,
group consensus and personal strength –
and demonstrate that the Japanese nurture multiple sides of themselves to reconcile these alternatives.
The Japanese people emerge from this book as a complex, multifaceted people,
vulnerable to the influences that surround them,
yet shaping selves creatively around a broad spectrum of people and situations.