Publication details
From Ikigai to Wabi-sabi: Decoding Japan-themed Self-Help Books and Their Orientalist Lens
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| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | Edward Said’s seminal work, Orientalism, explores how the West interprets, depicts, and treats the East across various genres. The portrayal of Japan and its people since the country’s opening in the 19th century, following centuries of isolation, serves as a compelling illustration of Said’s theories. Historically, the Western gaze predominantly emphasized Japan’s traditional aspects; however, in recent decades, there has been a marked shift towards an engagement with Japanese pop culture. In 1995, David Morley and Kevin Robins argued that starting in the 1980s, due to its rapid technological development, Japan became synonymous with futuristic technologies such as screens, robotics, and artificial intelligence. This discourse, termed by them techno-orientalism, linked Japanese technological prowess with national identity, while also embodying a form of exotic Japanese particularism. In 2016, Wester Wagenaar proposed a third model of orientalism, termed wacky orientalism. This framework characterizes Japan by its supposed weirdness, often highlighted in popular articles discussing myths like used panty vending machines or cuddle cafes. Captions such as “WTF Japan” frequently accompany images deemed strange in the English-speaking internet. The popularity of Japanese manga and anime as well as the emergence of the global otaku culture supported this image. Around the 2010s, Japan has gained widespread attention and popularity in the self-help genre worldwide. Books like Ganbatte!: The Japanese Art of Always Moving Forward, The Book of Ichigo Ichie: The Art of Making the Most of Every Moment, the Japanese Way, Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life have popularized these concepts. This trend shifted around 2018, with authors suggesting that not single concepts, but the entire Japanese way of life holds the key to happiness. Titles like A Little Book of Japanese Contentments: Ikigai, Forest Bathing, Wabi-sabi, and More, Japonisme: The Art Of Finding Contentment, as well as The Art of Japanese Living: How to Bring Mindfulness and Simplicity Into Your Life, reflect this shift. A common thread among these books is that the authors often take a mundane Japanese word or practice out of its original context, mystify and exoticize it, and present it as a unique Japanese concept or even philosophy, that can drastically improve your quality of life. This approach not only reinforces the notion of Japan as an exotic and mystical place, it also, to some extent, revives the noble savage stereotype, framing various Japanese practices or words as traditional and somewhat mystical, harking back to times when people lived in harmony with nature. They highlight these practices as being in sharp opposition to the hectic life of contemporary Westerners and propose them as tools for modern-day city dwellers’ escapism. The combination of traditional concepts and aesthetically pleasing serene and minimalistic photographs creates a contemporary popular image of Japan. Traditional orientalism typically contrasts “Them” as barbaric and “Us” as civilized, but the orientalistic tendencies observed in the self-help genre, which I propose to term Insta-orientalism, posit West as modern, over-industrialized and unhappy, while depicting Japan as traditional, natural, and almost bucolic. The article examines in detail how various aspects of Japanese life and traditions are reflected in these books and how the process of becoming a “concept” illuminates the orientalist treatment of Japan. |