Dilemmas Under The "AYIDA" Structure:Okakura Kakuzo With Multiple Identities

Japanese Ideologist Takeuchi Yoshimi once made such comments on Okakura Kakuzo:"Okakura is an ideologist whom you may find difficult to make a definite conclusion about.In a sense,he is also a dangerous ideologist".Indeed,as the speaker of Asia,Okakura produced some books including The Ideals of the East(1901-1902),The Awaking of the East(1903),The Awaking of the Japan(1904)and The Book of Tea(1906).In other words,he’s well known globally because he published these"English books".In The Ideas of the East,Okakura started his book by stating,"Asia is one".This idea was used by the Japanese imperialists to promote the construction of Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere and start the aggressive wars.Therefore,Okakura is generally considered a defender and advocate of Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.Okakura Kakuzo is a mysterious and intriguing figure.How should we comprehend and know him?This study,based on comparative culturology,tries to explore the potential relations between East and West,art and politics,Japan and Asia through analyzing the multiple identities of Okakura Kakuzo as a global traveler,critic of Chinese civilization and interpreter of Asia,therefore presenting his spiritual dilemmas under the "AYIDA" structure.In the Introduction,the consciousness of problems is proposed.Previous research about Okakura both in China and Japan is sorted out and introduced.Then,the research methods and framework of contents of this paper are proposed based on the consciousness of problems and previous research.The title of chapter two is "Okakura Kakuzo as a Global Traveler".Under the historical background of sharp collision between Eastern and Western cultures,Okakura started his global travel.Whether it’s the European tour focusing on studying European art,the first Chinese tour aiming at exploring Chinese art,the Indian tour with the purpose of escaping from the management difficulties of Japanese Academy of Fine Arts and seeking for spiritual relief,or the American tour to Boston where he spoke for Asian civilizations,these have all laid a solid foundation for him to be shaped as a global traveler.It is also through the tours to the West and the East that provided empirical support to Okakura to think about the East and Japan in the dual framework of the East and the West,Japan and China,Japan and Asia,enabling him to talk about Eastern civilization and art,and highlight the role of Japan as the"museum" and "leader" of Asian civilizations when he faced the world.The title of Chapter three is "Okakura Kakuzo as a critic of Chinese civilization".This chapter attempts to reveal Okakura’s ultimate purpose and motivation of proposing "for the benefit of Japan" by deconstructing his investigation of Chinese civilization.First,through his investigation on Chinese culture and customs based on Confucianism and thoughts of Laozi and Zhuangzi,Okakura proposed to divide Chinese cultural areas into northern and southern cultures,and they should be managed separately.He furthered put forward that "there is no China in China","China has no commonality" and ’Japan shouldn’t feel ashamed of being different to China",therefore concluding that China did not have the national unity as a nation and was not a nation in the modern sense.His remarks were aimed at dispelling the Japanese adoration to Chinese people and denying China’s national unity and modernity.Second,Okakura traced back the splendid civilization of ancient Chinese art as the source of Japanese art through investigating Chinese aesthetic arts including arts,mirror and tea ceremony.However,in his word,Chinese art,mirror and tea ceremony all become the past of Asian civilization,while the responsibility of developing Asian civilization has been passed to Japan in the course of history.He believed that China was only the past of Asian civilization while Japan was not only the storehouse,but also represented the present and future of Asian civilization.Chapter four is titled "Okakura Kakuzo as an interpreter of Asia".By analyzing the four English books written by Okakura,this chapter discusses Okakura’s perception of the East and West and his idea "Asia is one".Okakura advocated the Asian civilization cycle of India,China and Japan in "The Ideals of the East";He held high the banner of "Standing up against the West and Returning to the East" in "The Awakening of the East";he revealed the origins of Japanese self-consciousness in"The Awakening of Japan";he defended the Oriental lifestyle in the spiritual realm in"The Book of Tea".In summary,these English books of Okakura were to prove Asian civilization as the origin of Japanese civilization,and then eliminated the"brutal image" of modern Japan in the eyes of Westerners and set up a new role of Japanese civilization as the representative of Asian civilization based on its legitimacy.Thus far,his idea "Asia is one" can be summed up in the following three points:Firstly,Okakura expounded the theme of his idea-"Ideals of Asia" through discussing the development of Japanese art from the perspective of Oriental art history;Secondly,Okakura believed that the core of "United Asia" lay precisely in the pursuit of ultimate and universal love;Thirdly,he held the opinion that in the entire Asian civilization,Japanese civilization is the most representative and refined one,as he put it,"It is Japan’s great privilege to achieve this kind of complex unity."The fifth chapter serves as the conclusion,which presents the spiritual dilemmas of Okakura under the multiple "AYIDA" Structure.As a global traveller,Okakura stood between the East and the West.As a critic of Asian arts,he was between arts and politics.As a narrator of Asia,he was thrown between Japan and Asia.Due to this kind of "AYIDA" structure,Okakura started to explore his or Japan’s "modernity"cultural identity.Therefore,he inevitably fell into a doomed dilemma.