"Kanjin Shugi" and the Patterns of Japanese Interpersonal and Public Communication

本研究旨在从日本文化特有的新视角解释日本人的交际特点。以往的传播学研究一直以西方的传播学研究方法为指导，试图将西方的本体论和认识论应用于日本的传播学研究。然而，这种西方的方法不能充分揭示日本通信的特点。本研究以这一问题为出发点，以日本人特有的方法论视角，运用滨口的“看人规则”和“看人”概念，对日本的传播学进行了分析。这些访谈的结果表明，西方的方法论不能充分解释日本人的人际和公共传播过程，这是概念化的整体“Kanjin。基于这一访谈结果，2003年对日本各地1500名年龄在23岁至74岁之间的日本人进行了邮件调查。从215份返回的调查中获得了答复。根据他们的回答，该研究分析了受访者如何定义“沟通”一词以及他们如何处理公共沟通情境。结果显示，约60%的回答将沟通定义为类似于西方文化的“行为”，但40%的回答将沟通概念化为与“Kanjin”相关的概念，如与他人的关系和上下文或情况。在公共传播情境方面，日本人的应对既有西方意义上的“说服”，也有强调演讲者与听众之间的语境共享等意义上的“Kanjin”，研究并未发现日本传播完全与“Kanjin Shugi”有关，但证明了日本传播不能完全用西方传播本体论和方法论来解释。

This research was conducted to explain Japanese communication characteristics by using a new perspective that is unique to the Japanese culture. Past research in communication that is guided by Western approach has tried to apply Western ontology and epistemology to Japanese communication. However, such Western approach cannot adequately unveil characteristics of Japanese communication. Basing this problem as a starting point, this research attempted to analyze Japanese communication through a methodological perspective unique to Japanese eyes using Hamaguchi's concepts of "Kanjin Shugi" and "Kanjin".In 2002, qualitative interviews were conducted with seven Japanese communication researcher-educators. The results of these interviews revealed that Western methodology could not adequately interpret processes in Japanese interpersonal and public communication that were conceptualized holistically as "Kanjin."Based on this interview finding, a mail survey was administered to 1500 Japanese between age of 23 and 74 living throughout Japan in 2003. Responses were obtained from 215 returned surveys. From their responses, the study analyzed how the respondents defined the word "communication" and how they approached a public communication situation. The results suggested that approximately 60% of the responses defined communication as "behaviors" similar to the Western cultures, but 40% of the responses conceptualized communication as concepts related to "Kanjin," such as relationships with others and contexts or situations. In terms of public communication situation, Japanese responses included the Western sense of "persuasion" and also emphasized the sense of "Kanjin," such as sharing the context between the speaker and the audience.The study failed to find that Japanese communication was entirely related to "Kanjin Shugi," but proved that Japanese communication could not be totally explained by Western ontology and methodology for communication.