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Fukuzawa Yukichi on Education: Selected Works

Doi's major point is that in Japan omote does not have to coincide with ura, neither does tatemae with honne. In the West (by which Doi unfortunately only means the U.S.), the two ought to overlap; failing this, one is charged with "hypocrisy." These ideas seem to make good sense at an ideal-typical level, but what about the proof? Sadly, he declines to give examples from his own field of expertise, i.e., clinical data from Japan and the U.S., without giving any reasons for the omission (p. 71). Instead, he cites randomly from world literature with the result that his interesting hypothesis becomes more and more vague. Unsupported generalizations abound, e.g., "When people look at omote, they are seeing not only omote, but also ura through omote. In fact, it may well be closer to the truth to say that they are looking at omote solely in order to see ura" (p. 26); "the Japanese have always privileged reserve over eloquence" (p. 33); "Americans do not openly display feelings of jealousy, or attempt to trip others up behind their backs." (p. 57); "in the process of a divorce one partner in the marriage will ultimately come to represent tatemae while the other represents honne" (p. 82). Many more examples could be given; collectively such observations severely limit the value of this book despite its interesting hypothesis. It is to be hoped that this work will be widely discussed as a fruitful starting point for further research, which needs to include Korean and Chinese equivalents of omote and ura, as well as non-American ones, e.g., from Catholic countries in the West, plus other non-Western sources. Perhaps the problem is not so much a Japanese one, but a rather uncommon train of thought found in white Anglo-Saxon Protestants who insist on unity where none is to be found?