Civilizational Aspects of Japanese History: Continuities and Discontinuities

This paper discusses the merits and problems of civilizational perspectives on Japanese history, with particular reference to the task of combining a comparative approach with valid points made by those who see Japan as a highly self-contained cultural world. After a brief consideration of Claude Lé...

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Autor principal:	Jóhann Páll Árnason
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	CS EN SK
Publicado:	Karolinum Press 2021
Materias:	Sociology (General) HM401-1281
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/fcae304ee4e047c193128945ec1998b6
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:fcae304ee4e047c193128945ec1998b62021-11-29T09:26:05ZCivilizational Aspects of Japanese History: Continuities and Discontinuities2336-35251804-061610.14712/23363525.2021.20https://doaj.org/article/fcae304ee4e047c193128945ec1998b62021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttp://www.karolinum.cz/doi/10.14712/23363525.2021.20https://doaj.org/toc/1804-0616https://doaj.org/toc/2336-3525This paper discusses the merits and problems of civilizational perspectives on Japanese history, with particular reference to the task of combining a comparative approach with valid points made by those who see Japan as a highly self-contained cultural world. After a brief consideration of Claude Lévi-Strauss’s reflections on Japan, the central section of the paper deals with Shmuel Eisenstadt’s work. His conception of Japan as a distinctive civilization characterized by pre-axial patterns is rejected on the grounds that the native mode of thought which he proposes to describe is more plausibly interpreted as an offshoot of Chinese traditions, although a notably autonomous and historically changing one. The transmission of Daoism to Japan, although much less explicit than the reception of Confucianism and Buddhism, was of crucial importance. That said, Eisenstadt’s concrete analyses of Japanese ways to transform foreign inputs are often detailed and insightful, and his comments on the relationship between culture and institutions raise important questions, although they must in many cases be reformulated in more historical terms. The paper discusses the genesis, dynamics and collapse of the Tokugawa regime (1600–1868), and concludes with reflections on Japanese modernity, up to and including its present crisis.Jóhann Páll ÁrnasonKarolinum PressarticleSociology (General)HM401-1281CSENSKHistoricka Sociologie, Vol 13, Iss 2, Pp 105-132 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	CS EN SK
topic	Sociology (General) HM401-1281
spellingShingle	Sociology (General) HM401-1281 Jóhann Páll Árnason Civilizational Aspects of Japanese History: Continuities and Discontinuities
description	This paper discusses the merits and problems of civilizational perspectives on Japanese history, with particular reference to the task of combining a comparative approach with valid points made by those who see Japan as a highly self-contained cultural world. After a brief consideration of Claude Lévi-Strauss’s reflections on Japan, the central section of the paper deals with Shmuel Eisenstadt’s work. His conception of Japan as a distinctive civilization characterized by pre-axial patterns is rejected on the grounds that the native mode of thought which he proposes to describe is more plausibly interpreted as an offshoot of Chinese traditions, although a notably autonomous and historically changing one. The transmission of Daoism to Japan, although much less explicit than the reception of Confucianism and Buddhism, was of crucial importance. That said, Eisenstadt’s concrete analyses of Japanese ways to transform foreign inputs are often detailed and insightful, and his comments on the relationship between culture and institutions raise important questions, although they must in many cases be reformulated in more historical terms. The paper discusses the genesis, dynamics and collapse of the Tokugawa regime (1600–1868), and concludes with reflections on Japanese modernity, up to and including its present crisis.
format	article
author	Jóhann Páll Árnason
author_facet	Jóhann Páll Árnason
author_sort	Jóhann Páll Árnason
title	Civilizational Aspects of Japanese History: Continuities and Discontinuities
title_short	Civilizational Aspects of Japanese History: Continuities and Discontinuities
title_full	Civilizational Aspects of Japanese History: Continuities and Discontinuities
title_fullStr	Civilizational Aspects of Japanese History: Continuities and Discontinuities
title_full_unstemmed	Civilizational Aspects of Japanese History: Continuities and Discontinuities
title_sort	civilizational aspects of japanese history: continuities and discontinuities
publisher	Karolinum Press
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/fcae304ee4e047c193128945ec1998b6
work_keys_str_mv	AT johannpallarnason civilizationalaspectsofjapanesehistorycontinuitiesanddiscontinuities
_version_	1718407442662948864

Civilizational Aspects of Japanese History: Continuities and Discontinuities

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