Sprit of Japan

I'm writing about the spirit of Japan in reply to Mr/Ms YL's comment in my entry of "Resilience".
Japan was attacked by propaganda from China and Korea after the Greater East Asian War. Some people held out against them, but the Japanese Government did not take protective measures against them. They were desperately useless. Consequently lots of Japanese were brainwashed and came to think that Japan used to be an evil nation. I believe that all the Japanese will stand up against those critics when it is required.
Modesty or to be humble is a virtue for the Japanese. The DNA of the Japanese always tries to avoid conflict with others. The result of this virtue is the Russian unlawful occupation of the Kuril Islands and the southern half of Karafuto (Sakhalin in Russian). South Korea's unlawful occupation of Takeshima is the same. China is taking advantage of the Japanese virtue.
If you want to know Japan and the Japanese, read "Bushido: The Soul of Japan" written by Inazo Nitobe. It is written in English. I wrote some entries about Inazo Nitobe before. Additionally, I want you to access the website of the Society for the Dissemination of Historical Fact. Lastly I'll show you the links to the society and my entries concerning Inazo Nitobe.

http://www.sdh-fact.com/

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2008/07/a-new-acquainta.html
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2008/03/nitobe-memorial.html
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2008/01/ski-schedule.html
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2007/08/taking-a-walk-i.html

(Vocabulary)
hold out against 対抗する
take advantage of people's misfortunes 人の不幸につけ込む

(From comments)
proletariat ［無産］階級, プロレタリアート [同意] working-class
See the 3rd comment of this entry! Very useful and highly suggestive!
manifest (感情・態度など)を表明する
be manifested in/through sth ＜…＞に［を通じて］はっきりと表れる
manifest itself（問題・症状などが) 現れる, 目に見えてくる
on a silver tray　　See the 3rd comment of this entry!
stature 評価
of stature  評価されている
the masses 《複数扱い》 一般大衆, 庶民
denominator 分母
lowest common denominator
(けなして) (万人にとっての) 共通項 (専門) 最小公分母
[同意] least common denominator(米)
lightweight (けなして) 取るに足らぬ人, 小者,軽薄な人,根性なし
class 一流の
demagogue 扇動政治家
demagogy (demagoguery とも) [名] [U]（民衆）扇動
demagogic  [形]扇動的な
statecraft 政治的活動, 政治的手腕
a school of thought  (ある集団の共有する) 考え方, 見解
There are two main schools of thought on the subject. その問題については2つの主流となる見解がある．
discredit
[他] …の信用［威信］を傷つける
《[他]通例受け身形で》 〈理論・報告など〉 の信憑(しんぴょう)性を失わせる
a discredited theory 信憑性を失った理論
venture an opinion 思い切って［あえて］意見を言う
in medical/scientific/advertising parlance 医学［科学，広告業界］用語で
in common/popular/ordinary parlance 平易な言葉で言えば
Joe Six-pack, the Great Unwashed    See the 3rd comment.

 

Comments

[KUMO]

Hi, Mr. YL

Thanks for very useful knowledge.
And, you are welcome. You never wrote too much.

[YL]

先日も書いたのですが、またお邪魔させて頂いました… (汗)

Although this may be a comment on a comment on a comment :-) but I saw two interesting items on your Vocabulary list. I hope you accept my apologies…

The Western usage of the word "proletariat" has changed and the definitions given by the dictionaries do not reflect the contemporary parlance any more. While in the past "proletariat" meant "propertyless working class", today it refers to "poorly educated people with very basic interests and lifestyles". American journalism often refers to them as "Joe Six-pack", depicting someone who spends his evenings in front of the TV finishing six packs of beer. A similarly descriptive journalistic expression is "the Great Unwashed". In other words, today "proletariat" seems to be more of a sociocultural term than a socioeconomic one. In Japan, however, this may be very different.

The expression "[something] is offered on a silver tray" is sometimes used in the following sense: "Although a valuable benefit—truth, freedom, opportunity, etc.—was presented to a person, he refused it [against his best interest]". In English it sounds like「錦の風呂敷に包んだ宝物を断る」. I wonder if there is a Japanese expression like this.

書き過ぎがちな YL (男）

[KUMO]

Sorry to be late for reply, Mr/Ms YL

My work has been hectic in the past several weeks.

I was surprised to know that you knew Mr. Tamogami and Mr. Kou Bun'yuu (黄文雄). I'm thinking of writing an entry about them.

[YL]

Dear Kumo先生、

Thank you very much for reflecting on my comment. Inazo Nitobe's book has been one of my favorites. It is indeed a fundamental work for anyone who wishes to understand Japan. I have also been familiar with the Society for the Dissemination of Historical Fact (a few months ago I read Gen. Toshio Tamonaga's essay "Was Japan an Aggressor Nation?" in which he referred to another essay by Kō Bunyu (黄文雄), which, in turn, led me to the Society's website). But I have even more serious concerns about our countries:
•Since the First World War the living standards of the proletariat have significantly increased worldwide. Along with their increasing purchasing power increased their political and cultural power. The growing political power is manifested in leftist governments that represent the international proletariat instead of their own nation. The growing cultural power is manifested in the pop culture that spews from our televisions and media. They do not want facts, they want power. You can offer them all the historical facts on a silver tray, they will reject them or twist them until they support their own ideology.
•The moral and intellectual stature of the politicians has been rapidly declining worldwide. Since the masses inherently distrust anything that is above the least common denominator, they tend to elect populist lightweights whose intellect is sufficient for class demagoguery but not for national statecraft. Importantly, the very concept of nation has come under attack in the process.
•In this environment serious thinkers have become isolated in their own countries and been practically excluded from the national and international government level dialogs. Any independent school of thought seeking better understanding between nations is promptly discredited as nationalist or revisionist. In the absence of statesmen of true stature the present intergovernmental dialogs have been reduced to mere propaganda.
•The uniqueness of Japan is hysterically denied by the left. (If I may venture the opinion, anyone who questions Japan's uniqueness is totally ignorant of your culture, or his own or, most often, both). The problem with denying Japan's distinctive character is that it is a key factor in any effort to reach mutual understanding and harmony with other nations.

Sorry for the impossibly long comment...

YL (Mr)