Japanese studies

Japanese: 日本研究 - にほんけんきゅう（英語表記）Japanese studies

A general term for research into Japan. Also called Japanology. Japanese studies by Americans have existed since the late 19th century, but initially they mainly emphasized the mysticism and exoticism of Japan. In the 20th century, this tendency was gradually corrected, and with the efforts of Okakura Tenshin, who served as director of the Oriental Department at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and others, full-scale Japanese studies in America were gradually promoted. When the Pacific War broke out, the Army and Navy Japanese Language Schools were established during the war to elucidate the enemy country, Japan, and R. Benedict's The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, which is considered a masterpiece of regional studies, was published after the war. After the war, Japanophiles such as EO Reischauer, who also served as ambassador to Japan, became active in the field of history, and D. Keene in the field of literature. From the late 1970s, the number of experts on Japanese politics and economics increased against the backdrop of economic friction between Japan and the United States, and practical elements were added to the traditional Japanese studies centered on history and literature. In the late 1980s, so-called revisionist (those who reconsider Japan) studies were published one after another.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

日本に関する研究の総称。ジャパノロジーともいう。アメリカ人による日本研究は，19世紀後半より存在するが，当初は日本の神秘性，エキゾチシズムを強調したものが主であった。 20世紀に入ると，こうした傾向も少しずつ修正され，ボストン美術館東洋部部長をつとめた岡倉天心などの尽力もあって，アメリカにおける本格的な日本研究が徐々に推進された。太平洋戦争勃発に際し，敵国日本の解明のため，戦争中に陸・海軍日本語学校が設立され，地域研究の名著といわれる R.ベネディクトの『菊と刀』が終戦後に発表された。戦後，歴史分野では駐日大使もつとめた E.O.ライシャワー，文学分野では D.キーンなどの知日派が活躍するようになった。 1970年代後半からは，日米経済摩擦を背景に日本の政治・経済の専門家が増加し，従来の歴史・文学中心の日本研究に実学的要素が加わった。 80年代後半には，いわゆるリビジョニスト (日本見直し論者) による日本研究も続々と発表されている。

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