Monday, October 03, 2016
Shame and Visual Culture
Shame and Visual Culture
Rev Joshiba's essay on guilt and shame is a good summary of the various theories regarding their difference. He mentions one author, likewise a Christian, who shares a similar appraisal of Japanese culture to myself. Joshiba summarizes [28] 鈴木範久が『菊と刀と十字架と』で指摘した点はその意味でも興味深い。鈴木はそこで、日本は主として生け花・日本料理・和服・絵画など視覚型文化を発展させてきたが、恥は「見る・見られる」という視覚を前提とすると言っている（p50-51）。 In "The Chrysanthemum, the Sword and the Crucifix", Norihisa Suzuki makes an interesting point. Suzuki says that the Japanese have a developed a visual mode of culture in their flower arrangements, cuisine, clothing, and pictorial art and shame assumes a the visual sense of seeing and being seen （p50-51）. Quite so. Vision is no more external than language but hearing oneself "whispering" (which is what we now know linguistic thought to be) is worse because it hides its externality more effectively, and always makes contrasts, slagging off other people, groups and things, as I am doing now.
Rev Joshiba's essay on guilt and shame is a good summary of the various theories regarding their difference. He mentions one author, likewise a Christian, who shares a similar appraisal of Japanese culture to myself. Joshiba summarizes [28] 鈴木範久が『菊と刀と十字架と』で指摘した点はその意味でも興味深い。鈴木はそこで、日本は主として生け花・日本料理・和服・絵画など視覚型文化を発展させてきたが、恥は「見る・見られる」という視覚を前提とすると言っている（p50-51）。 In "The Chrysanthemum, the Sword and the Crucifix", Norihisa Suzuki makes an interesting point. Suzuki says that the Japanese have a developed a visual mode of culture in their flower arrangements, cuisine, clothing, and pictorial art and shame assumes a the visual sense of seeing and being seen （p50-51）. Quite so. Vision is no more external than language but hearing oneself "whispering" (which is what we now know linguistic thought to be) is worse because it hides its externality more effectively, and always makes contrasts, slagging off other people, groups and things, as I am doing now.
Labels: blogger, japanese culture, nihonbunka, 日本文化
This blog represents the opinions of the author, Timothy Takemoto, and not the opinions of his employer.