ABSTRACT
The name of a country conveys an image. This image is not constant; it varies with the times and with the different minds on to which it is projected. Images, perhaps by definition, are caricatures, or at best impressions. They relate to an aspect of reality, but often exclude other aspects, other realities. They also tell us something about the perceiver of the image. Western images of Japan have varied, reflecting not only the changes taking place in that country, but also the changing attitudes of people in the West towards themselves.
