Twenty Years After The Second World War

After "Culture" has been introduced to Japanese, the word has its own meaning in different period. Especially after the2nd world war and democratic reform after the war, the meaning of "culture" kept changing as the situation of politics and economy. Japan who experienced the recovery and development of economy took a new start from the defeated ruins during the twenty years after the2nd world war. In political terms, Japan came out from the shadow of the defeated and occupied position, and went towards "big country" back on the road. This paper, as the entry point of "culture", attempts to explore the association between society and awareness changes with the part of two decades of post-war commentary works associated with "culture".First, this paper will discuss the background of "culture" and "Japanese culture", the theoretical structure of social science that follows the changes of the social structure in Japan.Second, it will find the text of "culture" in this period, analyze changes of the meaning of "culture" in the text, and seek the common characteristics. Look for the association between changes of meaning of "culture" and background of times by this way.We can get the following conclusions after analyzing the meaning of "culture" in this period:First, the collapse of ideology which is based on nationalism and ultranationalism in the past brings the spiritual emptiness. In order to make the nation regain national self-confidence,"national culture" came into being.Second, although rebuild of national culture is looking forward to the leading of government, the dominance is handed over to the civil.Third, acknowledge that "culture" and "national culture" should based on contents of the everyday life is consistent with the keynote of the Chrysanthemum and the Sword written by American anthropologist Ruth Benedict. The latter also has great influence on the viewpoint of post-war Japanese culture.Forth, setting up the premise of "national culture" is regarding the Japanese as wholeJapan gradually recovered from the ruins in two decades from1945to1964, during which the gap between the rich and the poor becomes smaller and smaller. As the social development, people from every class and region separated in the past begin to have sense of community and change to "Japanese nationals". As a result,"culture" which directly associated with the Japanese national consciousness appeared.On the other hand, taking the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the U.S. and Japan as an Opportunity, people begin to recognize the departure from the concept and reality of the post-war democracy. Taking the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the U.S. and Japan as a dividing crest, people’s attention come out of the politics and goes to the economy. As the experience of war become more and more light in people mind, the characteristics of Japanese society, feudal and backward, becomes to the Japanese "national character " or The special structure of Japanese society."Culture" in Philosophy and ideology gradually disappear, specific culture appears instead.In the period of economy recovering, the degeneration of idealistic and development of realism proceed in the same time. After this, culture is discussed in the level of national and popular specific daily life. The reason can be considered as stability politics, Prosperous life and the coming Realism.Development of Realism, popularization of society and development of homoge-nization and Simplification changed the structure of Japanese society. In political terms, fight of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security makes Nationalism which criticizes and introspect behaviors in the past them taste the taste of frustration and has shaken the confidence of the people. Including political theory, social science theory is tested with fight of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security. Considering all the factors, the old paradigm of social science belong to the culture research can not adapt to this demand, which causes it has to modify the whole theoretical system. Especially dispelling of the context in Marxism makes the culture break away from the theoretical framework in Modernism, Democratic, stages of social development theory, and closely combined with Nationalism which advocates particularity of Japan and supports the reality.