Article
French
ID: <
10.4000/ebisu.1495>
·
DOI: <
10.4000/ebisu.1495>
Abstract
During the nineteenth century, “faraway” societies were perceived as community-based and traditional. At the same time, nationalist and/or racialist doctrines were developed against a background of colonial expansion. Older conceptions of the “Orient” as a world of tradition and despotism were also revived. It was during this period that the stereotype of a supposed “lack of individuality” amongst the Japanese was formed.Japan’s victories over China and Russia in 1894-1895 and 1904-1905 saw theories on the Yellow Peril flourish. Culturalist theories subsequently underlined the community dimension of Japanese society and were soon joined by discourses on the crisis of the Western subject. The Japanese have also played a part in reinforcing this cliché.