此书运用文化人类学的方法，从日本人生活方式和典型事件入手，揭示日本人的矛盾性格，即日本文化的双重性（如爱美而黩武、尚礼而好斗、喜新而顽固、服从而不驯等），进而分析其原因。
This book uses the method of cultural anthropology, starts from the perspective of the Japanese lifestyle and typical events, reveals the contradiction of Japanese characters, namely the dual natures of the Japanese culture (e.g., the love of beauty and bellicose, advocating etiquette and aggressiveness, loving new things and stubborn, obedience and untamedness, etc.), and then analyzes its reasons.