ABSTRACT
A range of terms has been used to describe the Japanese sense of self: “socially defined,” “contextualized,” “embedded,” “contingent” (Lebra, 2007: 127); “situational” (Bachnik and Quinn, cited in Clammer, 2003: 24); and “interdependent” (Markus and Kitayama, 1991: 227). What all of these terms focus on is the central idea that subjectivity in Japanese terms is constructed and expressed dependent upon context and relationships (between the self and others). Subjectivity can shift depending upon context, and the ability to shift effectively between and within contexts, achieved through sensitivity to others and self-discipline, is seen as the realization of mature subjectivity (Bachnik, 1986: 68–69). Key to this shifting is individual agency: the self must determine what degree of informality or spontaneity is acceptable, or what degree of politeness, formality, or distance is required for the specific social interaction (Bachnik, 1992: 24; Kondo, 1987: 263; Markus and Kitayama, 1991: 228).
