R. Benedict (1887-1948) - American cultural anthropologist, the most prominent representative of the ethnopsychological trend in American anthropology. During the war years, she began studying Japanese national psychology. Based on the collected materials, she wrote the famous book “Chrysanthemum and the Sword” (1946). In it, from a cultural-relativistic position, Japanese culture is viewed as hierarchical in nature, which presupposes an accurate knowledge of each member of society of his place in it and his role. The author typologizes the Japanese culture of shame, contrasting it with the Western, primarily American, culture of guilt with an ethical emphasis on divine commandments. This work has become a classic in cultural anthropology and foreign Japanese studies.