The Enigma of Japanese Power: People and Politics in a Stateless Nation

Enigma deserves all the praise you may read in this forum. Karl van Wolferen brings his extensive experience and keen insight to blow way the perfumed-scented, silk-screen interpretations offered up by the Reischauers, the Jansens and the Vogels. I have lived in Japan for seven years, have studied her language, her people, her history and culture and truly no explanation of Japan even approaches this work.It is interesting that while Japanese propagandists and apologists have always attacked revisionist works on Japan (and their authors), they have largely ignored Enigma. Witness the controversy surrounding Changfs Rape of Nanking and, earlier, the total ruination visited upon Berkowitz. I suppose they have no effective counters to the arguments put forth by van Wolferen and hope that the book will just go way.For anyone who is interested in learning about how Japan really works this book is an excellent place to start. For those who dont know the people of Japan, it could lend itself to a misinterpretation: most Japanese that I know are acutely aware of the failings in their society and are none too happy with them. However, they see little opportunity for change. As Patrick Smith has observed, theirs is a life of desire with out hope. It is the system that is the problem.

If you are interested in Japan (and given its history and place in the world today, you should be) this book is essential reading. When this book was published it was attacked by the Japanese "power structure" as "Japan bashing". 5 years later what he wrote in this book was accepted as "true" and he was a best selling writer IN JAPAN.To summarize the key point: power in Japan tends towards absolute power unfettered by laws or "western ideals" of truth and morality. As a self-defense mechanism, Japanese culture tries to surround any real power with layers of custom and protocol which prevent real power from actually being wielded. The result is that there is a huge gap between what is "said" vs. what is "done"; between what is "offically" the truth vs. what is actually happening; between who is in office vs. who actually makes the decisions. BTW: Japan is not the only country in the world where this is true, take a look at Algeria since independence and you will find a country where power and appearance are equally seperate.2nd point: most of the rest of the world does not understand Japan and Japanese don't tend to understand the rest of the world. In my opinion, Japan has the wierdest culture of all the major powers (Europe, U.S., China, and Japan). However, this book goes a LONG way towards solving at least one part of the equation: understanding the way Japan really works.If you have ever wondered why the Japanese Army didn't cooporate with the Japanese Navy during World War II, this book tells you why. If you ever wondered why trade deals with Japan during the 1980s had no effect on Japanese policy, this book tells you why. If you ever wondered why Japanese prime ministers seem to have no power to get things done in Japan, this book tells you why.This book has my highest recomendation.

I have given this book five stars because I can not give it six. Karel Van Wolferen's "The Enigma of Japanese Power" is a brilliant, if often infuriating and depressing, analysis of the way power is wielded in Japanese society. Having lived in Japan for six years now and having heard every conceivable interpretation of this culture by both westerners and Japanese, I have found nothing that even remotely approximates the accuracy of Van Wolferen's insights. I have seen the "the System" he describes at work, as it crushes the spirits of the good men and women of this country, demoralizing them until they meekly accept their "proper place." Van Wolferen's cool, clinical dissection of the central myths of Japanese society was so uncomfortably close to the mark that "the System" could not afford to let it go unchallenged. In fact, shortly after its publication a Japanese diplomat approached Clyde Prestowitz, an American expert on Japan, and through the use of an oblique threat, tried to enlist him in an effort to discredit Van Wolferen. For anyone who is interested in learning about how Japan really works this book is an excellent place to start.

I spent a significant part of my childhood growing up in Tokyo, and I developed my own intuitive understanding of the japanese system... But when I read this book, (not having been exposed to the real details of politics, etc, as a young'un), It really crystallized my intuitions into a coherent picture, and I found myself saying "Yeah! That's right -- everything I thought about that was true, but this makes it all so clear..." The most amazing realization though, (and I agree with it), is that so many aspects of what Japanese people are told is their "culture," have been manufactured slowly through the years by the bureaucracy, for their own ends... Even if you think you know Japan, you should read this book.

It is amazing that somebody who were not raised in our culture could see in such a considerable depth how Japanese culture and its system are operating. Mr. van Wolferen does have such a gift to have done this. A lot of people in my country see him as being highly critical of our culture, however, being as a Japanese myself, I believe that we could learn from him how we are, when measured by different value system. More importantly, we at least should know how much our innocently, or almost unconsciously, making divisions between "US" and "GAIJIN" could cause funny feelings outside of Japan. Cultures have an effect of brainwashing. When you are completely sunk in there since you were born, you tend not to see how much of your personality and behavior have been shaped by your culture. It is only when you encounter other cultures to compare that you could see this and doubt a little about your assumptions, bliefs, and judgements. I do agree with Mr. Wolferen that our country have the heritage from our previous period in large part; Feudalism. It is in every aspects of our society, much more than we think. I am not opposed to our current system though, I do appreciate my country for providing me with a safe place to grow up, and for giving me an equal opportunity to be educated enough to think and write like I am doing right now. However, what makes me sad is that today our country seems to be lost, not knowing where we should go. I believe what makes our society confusing in these days is the fact that the majority of Japanese, especially older people, are not aware of how much our thinking and conducts are influenced by feudalistic traditions, and are requiring our country to be democratic at the same time. Our goals and our conducts do not mix well. Mr. Wolferen's book is insightful for us to realize this conflicts, and I hope we have a courage to evaluate what he is saying, before labeling him as "GAIJIN" and assuming "GAIJIN can not unders! tand our way of doing the things," which is not true. Maturity comes from the strength to take critics and to accept diversities in opinions.