The System of Reasoning the Child in Contemporary Japan

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to explore how various technologies have constructed the notion of childhood as a way of disciplining and self-disciplining in contemporary Japan. This is a study which attempts to disturb what has been taken for granted about children and children’s nature. By applying Foucault’s notion of governmentality (Foucault, 1977, 1984, 1986, 1991), I assert that, first, there are various technologies which have constructed disciplining and self-disciplining in contemporary Japanese schools and, second, that the relationships between the teacher and the child are multiple. Foucault’s notion of power is that a multiplicity of actions engenders power, and power operates through discourse associated with the construction of knowledge. Moreover, Foucault’s conception of governmentality allows us to rethink the relationships among self, other, and institutional discourse. Using Foucault’s theories allows us to be suspicious about power. Each instance of power relations must be carefully analyzed, with the assumption that sometimes, many contradictory forms of power may be operating.