The image of the Japanese people in Polish weeklies: Analysis of texts from the National Corpus of Polish

Abstract

This article investigates texts from Polish weeklies found in the National Corpus of Polish that contain the word Japończyk ‘a Japanese’ in all possible grammatical cases. The analysis shows that it is possible to distinguish nine thematic categories of texts on the basis the following relevant facets: traits of character; physical features; associated motifs; exoticism; image of a leader on the international arena; artistic sensitivity; diplomatic relations; historical and war context; and social issues. Some texts portray the Japanese people positively, others negatively (for example, positively in texts related to politeness, negatively in those related to social issues). However, most of the texts describe the Japanese people in a neutral way. Additionally, the analysis shows that the term “pro-Japanese” (projapoński), used to describe Poland in the Japanese press, may be incorrectly interpreted by the public.