Japan: A ReinterpretationCurrent Affairs/Asian Studies Winner of the Overseas Press Club Award for the best book on Foreign Affairs A New York Times Notable Book of the year "A stimulating, provocative book . . . fresh and valuable." —The New York Times Book Review In 1868, Japan abruptly transformed itself from a feudal society into a modern industrial state. In 1945, the Japanese switched just as swiftly from imperialism and emperor-worship to a democracy. Today, argues Patrick Smith, Japan is in the midst of equally sudden and important change. In this award-winning book, Smith offers a groundbreaking framework for understanding the Japan of the next millennium. This time, Smith asserts, Japan's transformation is one of consciousness—a reconception by the Japanese of their country and themselves. Drawing on the voices of Japanese artists, educators, leaders, and ordinary citizens, Smith reveals a "hidden history" that challenges the West's focus on Japan as a successfully modernized country. And it is through this unacknowledged history that he shows why the Japanese live in a dysfunctional system that marginalizes women, dissidents, and indigenous peoples; why the "corporate warrior" is a myth; and why the presence of 47,000 American troops persists as a holdover from a previous era. The future of Japan, Smit suggests, lies in its citizens' ability to create new identities and possibilities for themselves—so creating a nation where individual rights matter as much as collective economic success. Authoritative, rich in detail, Japan: A Re-interpretation is our first post-Cold War account of the Japanese and a timely guide to a society whose transformation will have a profound impact on the rest of the world in the coming years. "Excellent . . . a penetrating examination." —International Herald Tribune |
From inside the book
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Page 18
... known in Japan as the ordinary sarari- man , the salaryman , the employee tied to a major corporation for his entire career . We are all familiar with the samurai who carries a briefcase . The Japa- nese worker , whether he is on the ...
... known in Japan as the ordinary sarari- man , the salaryman , the employee tied to a major corporation for his entire career . We are all familiar with the samurai who carries a briefcase . The Japa- nese worker , whether he is on the ...
Page 209
... known the world over as the Elder Statesmen . . . . Today the Elder Statesmen are passing into history . . . . For the first time in centuries the military oligarchy is in the thickening shadows , and one of its leaders , General Baron ...
... known the world over as the Elder Statesmen . . . . Today the Elder Statesmen are passing into history . . . . For the first time in centuries the military oligarchy is in the thickening shadows , and one of its leaders , General Baron ...
Page 321
... known , instructs officials on the proper treatment of peasants . Life of Monzaemon Chikamatsu , the celebrated ... known by the name he chose as a poet , Basho . † Names rendered in Japanese order . These artists are customarily known ...
... known , instructs officials on the proper treatment of peasants . Life of Monzaemon Chikamatsu , the celebrated ... known by the name he chose as a poet , Basho . † Names rendered in Japanese order . These artists are customarily known ...
Contents
Hidden History | 37 |
Becoming Nihonjin | 71 |
Fences in the Heart | 102 |
Copyright | |
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Ainu Akihito American arrived autonomy became began buraku burakumin called century Chinese Cold War comfort women constitution corporate countryside culture daimyo decades democracy economic elite emperor feudal foreign Forty-Seven Ronin Fukushima Fukuzawa gaijin Hirohito human idea imperial important individual industrial Japa Japanese spirit Kakeya karoshi Kenzaburo Oe Kishi Koiso kokutai Kokutai no Hongi Koreans learned less live look MacArthur matter Meiji Michiko military Mishima modern Japan Mori Nagatacho Nakasone named nationalists nese never nihonjinron official Okinawans once ordinary Japanese otaku Pacific past political postwar prefectures prewar problem question Reischauer reverse course samurai sarariman scholar seemed Sensei shogun simple social society Soseki Soseki Natsume Tanizaki things tion Tokaido Tokugawa Tokyo told tradition turned understand University ura nihon village wanted warrior West Western women wrote Yamato