Nationalism emerges anew as a critical issue today. In the midst of greatest upheaval of global political system in the post-World War II era, the framework of the modern "nation-state" has started to crumble here and there. As if erupting through those opening cracks, new, small-scale regionalism and egoism have come to life on the foundation of various interest or religions solidarity. Some call this situation "the century of neo-nationalism". In the 19th century Western nations, nationalism was first discussed positively as a major factor for materializing the "take-off" towards the modern ages. Yet today, in the stage of secession from the modern ages, nationalism is being grotesquely reproduced as if to liquidate the "negative legacy" inherited from the modern ages. How can we define this nationalism ? In this paper, the elements which constitute its collective emotion will be discussed in a more general context. This is the first step towards the subsequent stage where the consciousness that the Japanese intelligentsia had in the peri-Meiji Restoration days will be analyzed with nationalism as "conceptual scheme".