Guided by interpretive ethnographic methods and by instructional leadership concepts, this comparative study of secondary principals in Japan and America discovers characteristics of excellent principals and examines their values in relation to dominant cultural themes. The investigation applies anthropologist Clifford Goertz's assumptions (1973, 1983) about extracting significative meaning from informants' interpretations of situational experiences. From principals recognized as outstanding through a peer selection process in their own nations, researchers selected American and Japanese secondary-school principals to be surveyed through questionnaires and open-ended interviews. Responses were received from 67 American and 71 Japanese principals. Principals rate relations with teachers as a key leadership factor. Japanese principals' symbolic role derives from instructional qualities; American principals emphasize additional abilities. For both, an "effective school" possesses a positive climate, clear goals, and high student expectations. Strong leadership and student/teacher visibility characterize American principals. Japanese principals are more visible to teachers and the surrounding community and obtain instructional leadership from trust in teachers' performance. All of the principals are committed to serving others, but strategies differ--Americans approach operations directly and Japanese rely on teachers. Student achievement concerns both nations. Anthropology and education converge where the quality of human encounters is the ultimate focus. Understanding tensions between educational ideology in a national context and the principal's setting can help to construct an order congruent with values from both worlds. An eight-page bibliography and appendices are included. (CJH)