The word (nashonarizumu) in postwar Japan tends to be associated most strongly with ultranationalism. However, while nationalism may be used as a tool of politics or business, essentially it is a cultural phenomenon. The terminology of nationalism, moreover, has been defined in connection with the formation process of the state and nation. Understandings of national identity have thus been made the premise of understandings of ethnic identity. It appears that Japan's national identity cannot be grasped without studying the ancient myths and the tradition of Kokugaku (National Learning).
　This study, while at times referring to modern concepts such as historicism and racism within existing cultural anthropological frameworks, will not be bound by theoretical discourse but will make the actual culture enjoyed by the general populace the target of research. The purpose of this project is to undertake a sociological and socialpsychological analysis of the humanitiesrelated elements, content, and ripple effects of popular culture. We wish to make clear, through a dissection of its varied contents, the form in which the sentiment and desire of the nation-state made itself apparent in that particular set of circumstances in which the visible identity of Japan transcended the frame of the state, and spread through all those localities, which accommodated Japanese mass culture. In this research project, our method involves analyzing nationalism as it appears in Japanese mass culture.
　We believe that popular culture is useful in clarifying the direction of Japanese nationalism as it has grown conspicuous since the 1990s. This is because popular culture is the field that most directly reflects changes in the values and lifestyles of Japanese society or the masses. This study will thus analyze Japan's popular culture from various angles from the beginning of the modern age until today. Inasmuch as popular culture can be analyzed chronologically, we can see that many social changes and changes in popular values have been linked to each other. We will treat Japanese popular culture not simply as content, but adopt an interdisciplinary approach, incorporating the perspectives of cultural representation, cultural history, media history, historiography, political science, intellectual history, as well as aesthetics, sociology, and cultural anthropology.

Research Representative	朴　順愛	国際日本文化研究センター・外国人研究員 / 湖南大学校・教授
Organizer	山田奨治	国際日本文化研究センター・教授
Team Researcher	市川孝一	明治大学文学部・教授
〃	須藤遙子	横浜市立大学・客員准教授
〃	全　美星	神戸大学大学院人文学研究科・講師
〃	竹内幸絵	同志社大学社会学部・教授
〃	土屋礼子	早稲田大学政治経済学術院・教授
〃	寺沢正晴	神奈川大学人間科学部・教授
〃	油井清光	神戸大学大学院人文学研究科・教授
〃	尹　健次	神奈川大学外国語学部・教授
〃	吉田則昭	立教大学社会学部・兼任講師
〃	谷川建司	国際日本文化研究センター・客員教授 / 早稲田大学政治経済学術院・客員教授
〃	朴　美貞	国際日本文化研究センター・プロジェクト研究員