In:
Anthropologie et Sociétés, Consortium Erudit, Vol. 14, No. 3 ( 2003-09-10), p. 51-76
Abstract:
Ideology of Cultural Homogeneity in Japanexe Prehistory It is held by many Japanese, including a former prime minister who caused an international stir by his remark, that the strength of the Japanese nation lies in its cultural and ethnie homogeneity. While cultural homogeneity in the small island nation with the fast communications network may be close to reality today, this has not always been the case in the past. The cultural and ethnie homogeneity of Japan holds true, even today, only because the existence of cultural and ethnie minorities is dismissed from the consciousness of the majority of Japanese. Yet, the ideology of cultural homogeneity is reflected not only in the nation's immigration and naturalization policies, but also in the way archaeological materials are interpreted and organized into a narrative of national history. As the examples show, in the books addressed to the général reading public on Japanese prehistory, from the Palaeolithic to the Yayoi Periods, the image of the présent is projected back to the past to create the long history of the culturally homogeneous Japanese people. This in turn contributes towards the maintenance of the ideology of cultural and ethnie homogeneity of the Japanese nation.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
1703-7921
,
0702-8997
Language:
French
Publisher:
Consortium Erudit
Publication Date:
2003
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2115607-4
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