Ideology and Practice in Modern Japan

by Goodman,Roger; Goodman,Roger

• ISBN13: 9780415061025
• ISBN10: 0415061024
• eBook ISBN(s): 9781134927111
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1992-04-22
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

How does Japanese society operate, and what is the key to its success? Most explanatory models assume a Japanese "uniqueness"--cultural, structural, or even biological.Ideology and Practice in Modern Japanshows that such ideas obscure the true picture: Japan is actually an extremely complex and heterogeneous society. The contributors to this study examine the failings of conventional models and explore "practice" at the micro-level of society to illuminate a broader, less simplistic ideology. They investigate a wide variety of subjects such as attitudes towards death, the role of education, gender segregation, and film-making--and draw bold conclusions for our understanding of Japan in general and of society in the broadest sense.

Table of Contents

A Note to the Reader	p. ix
General Editor's Preface	p. xi
Acknowledgements	p. xiii
Ideology and Practice in Japan	p. 1
References	p. 22
Symbols of Nationalism and Nihonjinron	p. 26
Rivers in Tokyo	p. 47
Individualism and Individuality	p. 55
When Blossoms Fall	p. 72
From Farm to Urban Middle Class	p. 101
Japanese Educational Expansion	p. 116
A Beacon for the Twenty-First Century	p. 130
Nhk Comes to Kuzaki	p. 153
The Discourse on Japan in the German Press	p. 171
Confucianism and Gender Segregation in Japan and Korea	p. 196
Notes	p. 207
References	p. 208
Self-Presentation and Performance in the Yakuza Way of Life	p. 210
Index	p. 235
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.