Japonsko za zrcadlem

by Alan Macfarlane, Stanislava Bodná (translator)

Když se antropolog Alan Macfarlane setkal s Japonskem poprvé, připadal si jako Alenka v Říši divů. A tak zatoužil porozumět téhle zemi, její kultuře a zvykům. V této knize nás provází všemi stránkami japonské společnosti, od těch nejobecnějších až po ty nejintimnější. Postupně před námi odkrývá mnohostrannou povahu této země a jejích lidí. Bez sentimentu a s čestností nám ukazuje Japonsko tak, jak ještě nikdo před ním.

Genres: Japan, Nonfiction, Travel, History, Sociology, Cultural, Asia

242 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Alan Macfarlane was born in Shillong, India, in 1941 and educated at the Dragon School, Sedbergh School, Oxford and London Universities. He is the author of over twenty books, including The Origins of English Individualism (1978) and Letters to Lily: On How the World Works (2005). He has worked in England, Nepal, Japan and China as both an historian and anthropologist. He was elected to the British Academy in 1986 and is now Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at the University of Cambridge and a Life Fellow of King’s College, Cambridge.

Reviews

[Myriadofsins · Rating 1 out of 5]

Embarrassingly bad. It has all stuffiness of an airless university lecture (he never lets you forget he is a professor at Cambridge) and all the prejudices of a old white man's memoir. The author sets out from the beginning that he has a) never lived in Japan, b) has only visited 6 times and c) his Japanese collaborators didn't always agree with his conclusions. The book is badly organized and is clearly cobbled together from his various talks and papers. His grasp of women's issues is particularly unsympathetic and uniformed. If you want to learn about Japanese culture I heartily suggest trying a JSTOR search on specific topics and P. Sean Bramble's excellent and succinct 'Culture Shock! Japan'.

[Tim Pendry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alan Macfarlane is a leading British social anthropologist who does not speak Japanese nor has he dedicated his life to Japan but rather to the study of society in general and to tribal societies in particular. It might seem presumptuous for him to purport to explain the Japanese.

In fact, he makes a good fist of the task, owing a great deal to a number of extended visits to the country, wide reading and an appropriately humble engagement with Japanese academics and families. He does not want to 'go native', he wants to understand as an Englishman.

What we get is something useful if it is not going to be definitive. One knows that this is not the last word on the matter. He admits that but the book has insights that are thought-provoking even if one finishes the book thinking that neither he nor the reader truly understands the subject.

We are in that territory explored by Thomas Nagel who asked what it was like to be a bat and, of course, the answer is that we cannot know what it is like to be a bat. Only a bat knows what it is like to be bat if it knows anything at all.

So it is with our understanding of other people or peoples. We can imagine what it is like to be Japanese (just as a Japanese may imagine what it is like to be English) but we (and he) cannot know. Imagination is never knowing. Believing certainly is not.

However, if we think not knowing means that we should simply abandon the task, we know that we are deluding ourselves because human beings have to imagine other minds in order to communicate with them and permit the delusion of knowledge through the illusion of empathy.

We gain sufficient knowledge to 'do business' with the other. The closer we can approximate an understanding of the other then the better the business that can be done.

From this perspective, Macfarlane has produced a very worthwhile book that 'translates' (with Japanese help) the best possible approximation of what it might be like to be Japanese to a Westerner through a whole set of integrated observations of behaviour and language.

His anthropological perspective may have the disadvantage of a cool Western objectivity (at odds with the Japanese way of seeing the world) but it does allow a description that we can purport to 'understand'. The book is as much about us as the Japanese if we are wise enough to know it.

Perhaps his greatest insights are that the Japanese have a hole at their centre where the Western self is to be found, that the culture is untainted by 'axial' thinking and owes more to the tribal model than any other and that the enchantment the West has lost is still present amongst them.

Since the best use of the book is not to 'understand' the Japanese but to draw back and respect them and understand ourselves better in their mirror, I found myself understanding my own disenchantment with my own culture reflected in my personal similarities with theirs.

This is not to say that I am Japanese or aspire to become Japanese or regret not being born Japanese. Quite the contrary, I would resent deeply the conformity of their life and I am far from 'tribal'. It is more I regret that my culture has lost a great deal of what they have retained.

As Macfarlane shows us, the Japanese have not got trapped into our binary thinking and endless categorisations. Their fluidity of thought and ability to think impossible and contradictory things while getting on with the job in hand is why they are unique and we have become depressing.

I appreciate and love their aesthetic sense but I also know that it has been knocked out of me (as for most Westerners). What I connect with is their inherent and relaxed paganism and their lack of enforced text-based morality and integrated psychology and propensity to calm as default.

I have often wondered whether my being drawn to Japanese culture as a form of loss is because I was born with a personality separate from 99% of the rest of my culture (Myers-Briggs seems to tell me this) or whether it has been learned. A bit of both, I suspect.

Macfarlane is good on the constant reinvention of what it is to be Japanese around a central cultural core that persists over time (much as Western people are generally healthier for being able to reinvent themselves around whatever core personality they have).

As an avid reader of Japanese literature (in translation and therefore immediately suspect as a guide to mentality), there are points in the book when I suspect he is unconsciously doing some inventing himself but such inventions are still better than we are going to get from (say) a journalist.

I was early drawn to and never left the anti-Platonic trend in Western philosophy that started arguably with Kierkegaard and certainly with Nietzsche and which had a hidden link back to the more esoteric, transgressive and 'pagan' elements in Eastern 'religion' and philosophy.

Macfarlane pictures the Japanese as fundamentally Stoic if we have to choose a Western philosophy for them but, although this accords with their behaviour, it does not really accord with their melancholy, aesthetic, pre-modern/post-modern and 'tribal/pagan' thought patterns.

There is no Western philosophy for the Japanese because they do not need one. In their magpie borrowings from the West, they were drawn only to the philosophical thinking that derived secretly from the East. They are their own people and that is worth something. I wish we were.

A similar book on my tribe - the English - would be much harder to write because the English would have immediately to be differentiated from the British and then understood in relation to the Celtic peoples and empire. Such a project would be close to impossible.

There is much specific and close observation in the book that owes a great deal to Macfarlane's skills as an observer - about how people actually relate to each other (it is a relational culture), how they use language and how they cannot be said to have a religion whilst accepting 'spirits'.

This book made me feel that I understood the Japanese and their culture as much as it was possible to do so but I also knew, more than ever before, that I would and could never 'know what it was like to be a Japanese' and that their reality was going to be a lot more complex than the book allowed.

[Mauk · Rating 5 out of 5]

The books takes off a bit slow and sticks to a meditative or thoughtful tone throughout which might put some people off but I didn't mind in the least. What I really liked about this book was particularly the humble, thoughful approach Macfarlane takes. He analyses the contradictory aspects of the Japanese society and is interested in knowing why the society is what it is. The book strikes me as well-referenced and a tad academic, again something that I find no fault in but might put off some other readers who enjoy a more fast-paced, dare I say populistic touch. Not perhaps the best book for someone who has just recently become interested in Japan but a must read for anyone who really wants to understand the whys and hows of the country. Serves equally well a reader from the UK or any other country, in my view.

[Terrance · Rating 2 out of 5]

An average read that didn't manage to enlighten me on Japan in any way. Everything seemed to go in circles and only touch on the surface of many issues with constant comparisons to Britain for some reason. Alan Booth's travel books are a far better way for readers to acquaint themselves with this fascinating country.

[Filoména · Rating 4 out of 5]

Japonsko za zrcadlem není kniha, jež by si kladla nároky na zevrubné objasnění japonské kultury. Macfarlane se pokusil z každé oblasti postihnout to zásadní, ale především všechny kousky nechat propojené, což je hlavní myšlenkou celého textu: Japonsko je zemí kontextu, souvislostí, propojenosti, vzájemné závislosti. Nic - ať už člověk či kulturní prvek - nestojí samo o sobě, odstřižené od situace, okolností, jednoduše od okolí. To se snažil Macfarlane především ukázat a domnívám se, že úspěšně.

Samozřejmě, při takovémto přístupu se nemohl vyhnout určitým, místy značným, zjednodušením a zobecňování, nijak za zlé mu to ale nemám. Jako antropolog byl ke čtenáři od začátku upřímný, předestřel svou výchozí pozici, popsal své předsudky a očekávání a v průběhu knihy je na patřičných místech opět připomínal. Oceňuji to, mimo jiné i právě pro tu kontextuálnost, o níž píše a již má neustále na zřeteli. Je vskutku důležité vědět, kdo promlouvá, bez tohoto vědomí by mělo být přijímání jakýchkoli informací obezřetné.

Macfarlane je poctivý i v přiznání, že navštívil Japonsko pouze několikrát, nezná jazyk a podstatnou část podkladů pro svou knihu získal rozhovory se svými dvěma japonskými přáteli. I to je mi sympatické. Nehraje si na nic. Studoval, přemýšlel a debatoval poctivě a pečlivě a s otevřenou myslí i srdcem a výsledek je, myslím, více než dobrý. Styl má lehký a v jiných komentářích vytýkaná akademickost mi na obtíž nijak nebyla, ač repetitivní to místy vskutku je.

Japonsko je extrémně kontextuální země bez potřeby vytvářet jasné hranice mezi protiklady. To je vnímání světa, které se na Západě nejspíš opravdu obtížně vstřebává, ale ke mně právě tahle skutečnost mluví značně. Není potřeba si vybrat, jestli černou, nebo bílou, sladký, nebo slaný, zimu, nebo léto. Prostě není. Obojí. Obojí zároveň. A dává mi to perfektní smysl. Jen je těžké snažit se to vysvětlit.

[Bernadette · Rating 2 out of 5]

The historical references are quite interesting. But the author does not get Japan, despite all his studying and trips here. Actually some parts were rather insightful.

[Freca - Narrazioni da Divano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuano le mie letture di viaggio, con una impostazione diversa da passaggi di dogana, the passenger o atlante di un uomo irrequieto. Qua viene approcciato il Giappone tramite gli occhi di un uomo occidentale che si prefigge di superare lo shock culturale, le profonde differenze che fanno apparire la cultura del sol levante impenetrabile e decriptate il pensiero di questo popolo per poi renderlo accessibile a chi ci si approccia. Lo sguardo quindi è di uno straniero che si interroga, che mette in discussione il suo approccio alla vita e ciò che vede, cercando di non interpretarlo secondo i suoi schemi per il quale molto sembrerebbe assurdo o privo di senso: un ponte fra occidente e oriente, perché cerca di mettere in luce le difficoltà di comprensione e prova a mostrare come lui pensa di averle superate, un invito a non giudicare per propri preconcetti ma cercare di immergersi in quelli altrui per vedere il mondo con i loro occhi. Un buon primo passo, dato che affronta molti aspetti fondamentali di una società, per poi passare a autori giapponesi e non avere un filtro occidentale nella rappresentazione, perché fornisce strumenti basici per dare un senso e ribaltare l'approccio europeo, dato che le sue difficoltà sono le nostre e ci dà il risultato dei suoi studi e del suo percorso, anche se poi imprescindibile per davvero diventare esperti e non essere superficiali è farne uno proprio, lui suggerisce una via, un metodo.

[Arend · Rating 1 out of 5]

A book on Japan that left me knowing more about the author than about Japan.

The book is written as a long series of small vignettes, organized into chapters ("Wealth", "Ideas", etc.). I liked the episodic feel (quite Japanese), the many rich references and quotes from those who have visited Japan before (quite academic), and some of the interesting historical backgrounds to certain developments in Japanese society (he shows his grounding as an historian here).

What made me want to throw this book against the wall was the lack of awareness, an absence of critical engagement, and an overall attitude of "Japan is unknowable so let's throw my hands in the air and keep writing." His descriptions of the Japanese language and its use are full of dilettantism (he doesn't speak Japanese), showing how second-hand his knowledge is. His discussion of women in Japanese society is apologist and sometimes appalling (his vignettes on comfort women). His analysis of bathing culture in Japan is shallow, and shows his English roots all to clearly. In the end the book feels like it is the expected return for 15 years of boondoggle trips to Japan.

Don't bother.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Se pensavate che il Giappone fosse lontano dalla nostra cultura, questo libro non farà che confermare le vostre supposizioni. L'autore stesso si stupisce capitolo dopo capitolo e rimane basito fino all'ultimo in un crescendo di incredulità e ammirazione, toccando tutti gli aspetti sociali, religiosi e pure un minimo filosofici. Della lingua non parla, dice che non ci si è neppure messo, tanto è difficile. L'idea che ne esce è quella di un popolo molto pragmatico, estremamente condizionato dal proprio ambiente, ma del tutto libero da restrizioni morali e religiose. Il codice comportamentale deriva infatti da un severissimo senso di autodisciplina e non dalla paura di una punizione, umana o divina che sia. Pulizia, isolamento dal resto del mondo, ordine e minimalismo. Può sembrare uno stile di vita asettico (e forse, leggendo le pagine sulla vita matrimoniale, lo è sul serio), ma è comunque affascinante. Vedi solo la compostezza quando gli è capitata la tragedia dello tsunami - gente che non grida, ma che pensa e fa.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very interesting book examining Japanese society. The author does have some great insights on the country, but, as he points out early in the book, not many people will be able to fully understand the society because of the contradictions. Macfarlane includes himself in this group of people, as an outsider, it would be nearly impossible for him to "get" Japanese society when the uniqueness of it is impressed upon its people from a very early age. Even Japanese have a hard time explaining their society in certain ways. If someone is interested in Japan, this book is certainly worth a read, but it merely skims some of the nuances of Japan and explains their possible origins. It certainly isn't a bad book, it just takes a while to fully get into what the author is saying.

[Luciano Zorzetto · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is interesting if you want to dig in the Japanese mindset beyond the public image of pachinko, karaoke and sushi.
I liked it as a Japanese enthusiast on a binge of "Japan reading" before a trip. The chapters about Time and Ideas were really insightful.
However, it has several slow parts - namely, the beginning and the chapter about religion. I also had somewhat unrealistic expectations and I was disappointed when it glossed over aspects of the society that I wanted to know more about, but this is no encyclopedia.
Pet peeve: the recurring comparisons to Britain sounded a bit grating, with a faint whiff of "Britain may be on the forefront of social evolution".

[Noah Coad · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great overview and dive into Japan!

From the people, perspectives, culture, beliefs, religion, similarities and differences... this book does a great job of really making Japan come alive and peel back the top layer to go deeper inside the people. Wow, what an unusual place!! So different that the West. I really enjoyed this depth of perspective. Especially on the socially and mental differences. I started reading it before going to Japan myself and read it along my 18 day trip, which provided such a rich depth to the experience. And opened my eyes to see a lot more going on than I would’ve otherwise.

[Elin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't finish... just a lot of fork-waving conjectures many of which don't make sense, or are of trivial interest.

Suppositions are not supported by evidence or even by anecdote, just stated as fact. I stopped reading out of embarrassment for the author, frankly. Things like "The Japanese language, which I can't speak and don't know, has words which sound the same but mean different things"

Surely knot, I mean, not! Impossible to imagine such a language...

[Jarkko Laine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book offers lots of interesting ideas and thoughts about Japan, but lacks in the writing style which is quite academic and thus uninspiring.

However, a good read for anyone interested in cultures and Japan in particular.

[Scheherenata · Rating 5 out of 5]

an eye opener..beautifully written and easily read, this is one of the very few books on my shelf that will be read again

[Jirka Hiemer · Rating 4 out of 5]

moc pěkně zpracované, vtipné, glosy z osobních zážitků :) a tenké ke čtení, pokud to neodložíte jako já a pak nemůžete měsíce najít :)

[Patty 🐈‍⬛ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A volte é ridondante e autoreferenziale, ma mi é stato utile per comprendere meglio la cultura giapponese.

[Adelyne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Small book that caught my eye while browsing in the bookstore, and it was simply written such that it was easy to follow and I finished in just under two sittings. In short, I found that there were interesting nuggets of information here and there, but the general tone throughout really rubbed me the wrong way. Given how small it was there was quite a bit of unnecessary waffle.

I suppose the choice of the title “through the looking glass” is meant to convey the accurate notion that the author has not really lived in Japan, and that all of his “knowledge” as presented here are the product of several trips and correspondence with locals – who he describes and names in some depth in the prologue. I can accept that point-of-view, and there are authors that can pull it off, but from quite early on I was put off by his comments that there were parts of the book that his Japanese correspondents did not agree with, but he included anyway, and the reader is not told which of the points these were.

I sort of wish Macfarlane had told the story of Japan as Japan instead of finding the need to compare “to the West”, which in itself is a heterogeneous mix of cultures. Whether this was to appeal to Western audiences I don’t know, but it made the book sound a bit bipolar – on one hand he’s going on about how the Japanese culture is so unique that it cannot really be compared with anything else, while 2 sentences later direct parallels are made with Britain because “both countries are islands”. Some foreign points of reference are obviously to be expected in books like this, it was just dotted literally all over that it felt as though I was reading a book about other countries at some point (it’s not always Britain for instance, parallels are drawn with China for the religion chapters).

All in all this was largely a book about how Japan is perceived by an outsider, which I suppose makes the title accurate, and reads just as such. Not sure if the description of meticulous investigations as promised on the blurb really holds water, though I did find it interesting given that. 3 stars.

[Paige · Rating 2 out of 5]

From the start of this book, Macfarlane notes that he has never lived in Japan, nor can he speak Japanese. I thought this book could still be valuable, as culture is sometimes only understood when explained through the lens of your own.

Unfortunately, this book is horrifically dry - Macfarlane goes on lengthy theoretical explanations with numerous references to other academics and comparisons to other societies, but with few examples of what the hell he's actually talking about. I picked up some interesting facts here and there, but for most of the book I was just overwhelmed with jargon.

Macfarlane is obsessed with how multi-faceted Japan is. He loves to end his descriptions with contradictory adjectives… "Japan is this and yet that, that and simultaneously this." While I admire his reluctance to arrogantly categorize another culture, his writing comes off as vague and undeveloped. He remains content to conclude that Japan is complex and undeterminable, leaving me wishing I had read a more entertaining or concrete purview of Japan.

[Richard Swan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve often speculated what it would be like to communicate with a sentient extra-terrestrial species. As I understand it, Japan is the nearest we’re likely to get.

This belongs in the long line of books which try to begin to approach the thought of attempting to make sense of the idea of catching a glimpse of the ways in which Japan is different. Like all such books it fails, but provides lots of individual insights and challenges. It’s also invaluable in showing that there are alternative ways of thinking to Western ones. I have always been uncomfortable with simplistic Western binaries: good/evil, reason/emotion, body/soul, man/animal, black/white. Japan apparently lacks these; everything is relational, shaded, nuanced. This offers refreshing food for thought.

If you’re at all interested in Japan, or indeed the West, this is worth reading. Just keep in mind the comment of Lafcadio Hearn’s Japanese friend: ‘When you find, in four or five years more, that you cannot understand the Japanese at all then you will begin to know something about them.’

[Ed · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book that attempts to explain how Japanese society functions. Written by a Cambridge anthropology academic I learnt something about the uniqueness of Japanese culture. Whilst superficially the country appears to be a successful modern industrialised nation, much like Western developed countries, this is where similarities seem to end. In virtually all aspects of life, be it social, family, political or religious there are significant differences. Whilst the author highlights the many positives that come from their culture, such as unique artistic skills, low crime rates and politeness he does identify anomalies such as racism, anti-feminism and ambivalence about war crimes.

Unfortunately for the casual reader the academic style of writing meant at times this felt a somewhat dry and laboured read. I perservered with it as I was visiting Japan at the time.

[Marjolein · Rating 3 out of 5]

---ENGLISH REVIEW BELOW---

Dit was een interessant boek. Ik weet niet veel van Japan, en het was fascinerend om erover te lezen. Ik vond met name de eerste paar hoofdstukken het leukste, daarna werd het wat te abstract voor mijn smaak/begrip. Ik heb het gevoel dat het boek meer geschikt is voor iemand die al wat meer van Japan weet, en dat ik het daarom soms wat te diepgaand vond. Ondanks dat was het interessant en vond ik het leuk.

---ENGLISH REVIEW---

This was an interesting book. I do not know much about Japan, and it was fascinating to read about it. I especially liked the first few chapters, after that it became a bit too abstract for my taste/understanding. I have the feeling the book is for someone who already knows a bit more about Japan, and so it was sometimes a bit too profound for me. Despite that it was interesting and I liked it.

[Omar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book while I was reading it, but don't feel as if I came away with any new insights. The scope of the book seems to be too broad, and while there are insightful observations at times I feel as the if the professor does the audience a disservice by being so broad in his approach.
I am fascinated by Prof Macfarlane, and highly recommend everyone to check out his youtube channel -Ayabaya.

This is my first reading any of his works, and it has given me a bad impression. However, this might be because I'm used to his youtube talks/lectures which seem to be far more substantive than this book which comes of as a semi-biography as opposed to a study of Japan.

Note: This review was written 2 months after reading the book

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tahle kniha mohla být skvělá, ale není. Podle mě si autor nevytyčil publikum ani žánr. Nechápala jsem, zda to psal pro laiky a nadšence do Japonska, nebo pro kolegy antrolopology. Tomu odpovídal i jazyk, kdy některá slova byla příliš odborná, na druhou stranu k vysoké odbornosti chyběly zdroje a odkazy v textu a další podklady. Největší slabinou knihy je však její chybějící struktura, pokud by každá kapitola byla rozpadnutá do více podkapitol a více graficky rozděleny, četlo by se mi v ní mnohem lépe. I přes její slabiny jsem se však dozvěděla spoustu zajímavostí o Japonsku a Japoncích.

[Jenni · Rating 2 out of 5]

Englantilaisen kulttuuriantropologin Alan Macfarlanen teos tarjoaa omanlaisensa näkökulman Japanin kulttuuriin. Aiemmista lukemistani Japania käsittelevistä teoksista poiketen kirjailija ei ollut itse asunut kovin kauaa Japanissa ja perehtynyt kieleen ja kulttuuriin niin kovin omakohtaisesti. Se ei toki sinällään vähennä teoksen arvokkuutta, mutta tuo siihen entistäkin akateemisemman, toisen käden otteen. Kirja pyrkii olemaan melko neutraali ja kritiikitön katsaus Japanin kulttuuriin, vaikkakin lopussa nostetaan esille myös Japanin eriarvoistumista ja vähemmistöryhmiä.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

"La prima osservazione di uno straniero appena arrivato in Giappone è che in certe cose i giapponesi fanno l'esatto contrario. Noi pensiamo che il nostro modo sia innegabilmente quello giusto, mentre loro restano ugualmente impressionati dal fatto che facciamo tutto in modo diverso rispetto a loro. Considerando che i giapponesi sono un popolo con una civiltà molto più antica della nostra , può anche essere possibile che il loro modo di fare certe cose sia realmente il migliore"

in questa frase si racchiude lo scopo del libro
Molto bello complesso ma molto bello

[Roo O'brien · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beginner’s guide to Japan. It is very much written from a Western perspective for a Western reader. The author was born in the 1940s and at times the tone can come across as old-fashioned and sexist. But there is also real insight here. The section on ‘Beliefs’ in particular was fascinating and provided a profound underpinning for understanding aspects of my visit to Japan that I would otherwise have missed.

[Eloïse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to get an anthropological perspective on Japan, I especially enjoyed the chapters on ideas and beliefs.

However, this book is not particularly engaging or well written. MacFarlane’s academic writing style, which he has evidently tried to “translate” for the general public, makes the topics covered seem inaccessible and boring.

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting, well written and insightful. As a "japanophile" and reader of Japanese literature I found the insights and research very intriguing and eye opening. Great read if you want to know more about Japanese culture why it's not different, it just is.

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't get the negative reviews, I thought the book offered great insight to Japanese culture. [Ok, I skipped the emperor segment.] Makes me wonder if the Finnish translation is somehow more lively than the original text. Only one way to find out, I guess.