ABSTRACT
An adequate 'theory' of Japanese society should provide a model of the Japanese person, a model of Japanese social relations and a model of Japanese collectivity. It should also provide some basic ground rules or a framework according to which these models can be interrelated or integrated. Though a good deal has been written about groups in Japan, and although one might point to Japanese concepts such as 'jinkaku' or 'seishin' as examples of how Japanese conceptualize personhood, few social science treatises have discussed the way Japanese conceive of the individual or the person as a cultural concept. Social exchange theory has offered considerable insight about interpersonal relations, and might be useful in linking individual and collective behaviour.
