The 'nihonjinron' is a body of writing and thought which constitutes a major and highly thought of academic industry in Japan. It analyses the Japanese identity and presupposes that the Japanese differ radically from other people in their make-up. This book is an analysis of the thought on which the 'nihonjinron' is based.

The 'nihonjinron' is a body of writing and thought which constitutes a major and highly thought of academic industry in Japan. It analyses the Japanese identity and presupposes that the Japanese differ radically from other people in their make-up. It believes that their uniqueness is due to linguistic, sociological and philosophical differences.

First published in 1988, this book is a critical analysis of the thought on which the 'nihonjinron' is based. Placing particular emphasis upon psychoanalysis, which constitutes the centrepiece of the book, Peter Dale reasons that the...