Multicultural Japan Palaeolithic to Postmodern

Challenges the conventional view of Japanese society as monocultural and homogenous.

This book challenges the conventional view of Japanese society as monocultural and homogenous. Unique for its historical breadth and interdisciplinary orientation, Multicultural Japan ranges from prehistory to the present, arguing that cultural diversity has always existed in Japan. A timely and provocative discussion of identity politics regarding the question of 'Japaneseness', the book traces the origins of the Japanese, examining Japan's indigenous people and the politics of archaeology, using the latter to link Japan's ancient history with contemporary debates on identity. Also examined are Japan's historical connections with Europe and East and Southeast Asia, ideology, family, culture and past and present.

Part I. Archaeology and Identity: 1. The Japanese as an Asia-Pacific population Katayama Kazumichi; 2. North Kyushu creole: a language-contact model for the origins of Japanese John C. Maher; 3. Beyond ethnicity and emergence in Japanese archaeology Simon Kaner; 4. Archaeology and Japanese identity Clare Fawcett; Part II. Centre and Periphery: 5. A descent into the past: the frontier in the construction of Japanese history Tessa Morris-Suzuki; 6. The place of Okinawa in Japanese historical identity Richard Pearson; 7. Ainu Moshir and Yaponesia: Ainu and Okinawan identities in contemporary Japan Hanazaki Kohei; Part III. Contact with the Outside: 8. Some reflections on identity formation in East Asia in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Derek Massarella; 9. Siam and Japan in pre-modern times: a note on mutual images Ishii Yoneo; 10. Indonesia under the 'Greater East Asia co-prosperity sphere' Goto Ken'ichi; 11. Japanese army internment policies for enemy civilians during the Asia-Pacific war Utsumi Aiko; Part IV. The Japanese Family: 12. Modern patriarchy and the formation of the Japanese nation state Ueno Chizuko; 13. The modern Japanese family system: a unique or universal? Nishikawa Yuko; Part V. Culture and Ideology: 14. Emperor, race and commoners Amino Yoshihiko; 15. Two interpretations of Japanese culture Nishikawa Nagao; 16. Kokusaika: impediments in Japan's deep structure Gavan McCormack; Afterword: diversity and identity in the twenty-first century Mark Hudson and Tessa Morris-Suzuki.

This book challenges the conventional view of Japanese society as being monocultural and homogenous. Unique for its historical breadth and interdisciplinary orientation, Multicultural Japan extends from the prehistoric phase to the present. It challenges established notions regarding Japan's monoculture and argues that cultural diversity has always existed in Japan.