Central Themes for a Unit on Japan
in the World Cultures Social Studies Curriculum

• Theme 1: Cultural Borrowing/Japanization of Foreign Ways
• Theme 2: Social Closeness and the Primacy of Society
• Theme 3: Relations between the Inward and Outward Economy
• Theme 4: Inclination toward Political and Social Stability
• Theme 5: Pursuit of Change/Preservation of Cultural Values
• Theme 6: Japan and the World

Theme 1: Cultural Borrowing/Japanization of Foreign Ways

All societies borrow from others, but the Japanese are distinguished by the degree to which they have engaged in deliberate, aggressive, and selective borrowing, followed by adaptation, or Japanization, of foreign ways.

Theme 2: Social Closeness and the Primacy of Society

Japan's insularity has fostered a sense of social closeness, reflected in the structures of the family, community, and workplace, as well as in the sense of Japanese national identity. The primacy of society as a central value characterizes the dynamic of Japanese ways of making decisions, setting goals, and resolving conflict.

Theme 3: Relations between the Inward and Outward Economy

Japan's lack of natural resources greatly affected the relation between the inward economy, which was predominantly agrarian until well into the twentieth century, and the outward economy, which flourished at times and languished at others but was often the critical factor in the economic situation of the country.

Theme 4: Inclination toward Political and Social Stability

An inclination toward political and social stability (or a disinclination toward disorder) is reflected in the continuity of political institutions which survived after power had in fact devolved to other sectors as well as in the tendency toward evolutionary rather than revolutionary change.

Theme 5: Pursuit of Change/Preservation of Cultural Values

Japan has long accommodated aggressive pursuit of change at the same time that it has tenaciously preserved its distinctive customs and culture, often by enshrining them in forms altered to suit the contemporary age.

Theme 6: Japan and the World

In Japanese history periods of reclusive isolation have alternated with times of active engagement both with Asia and the world. Japan's search for its proper place in a global order no longer defined in terms of only East and West is the late twentieth century expression of the changing relationship between Japan and the world.