The Genealogy of Culturalist International Relations in Japan and Its Implications for Post-Western Discourse

Abstract

This paper aims to introduce a neglected methodology from Japanese

international relations (IR) – the culturalist methodology – to Anglophone

specialists in IR. This methodology is neglected not only by an Anglophone

audience but also by Japanese IR scholars. I argue here that despite this

negligence, the culturalist methodology has great potential to contribute to

contemporary post-Western international relations theory (IRT) literature by

posing radical questions about the ontology of IR, as it questions not only the

ontology of Western IR, but also the IR discourses developed in the rest of the

world. Consequently, in understanding and imagining the contemporary world,

I clarify the importance of perceptions based on what, in Japan, are commonly

called ‘international cultural relations’ (kokusai bunka) and ‘regional history’

(chiikishi). I also indicate how our perceptions of the world are limited by the

Westphalian principles of state sovereignty and non-intervention among ‘equal’

nations on the basis of state borders. While historical understanding is widely

recognised as an important approach to contemporary IR, its scope is limited

by its universalised principles.

Keywords

• Japanese IR,diplomatic history,international cultural relations,regional history,post-Western IR theories

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