Japan: A ReinterpretationThe Japanese are in the process of re-creating themselves--an endeavor they have undertaken at intervals throughout history, always prompted by a combination of domestic and global forces. In this landmark book, Patrick Smith asserts that a variety of forces--the achievement of material affluence, the Cold War's end, and the death of Emperor Hirohito--are now spurring Japan once again toward a fundamental redefinition of itself. As Smith argues, this requires of the West an equally thorough reevaluation of the picture we have held of Japan over the past half-century. He reveals how economic overdevelopment conceals profound political, social, and psychological under-development. And by refocusing on "internal history" and the Japanese character, Smith offers a new framework for understanding Japan and the Japanese as they really are. The Japanese, he says, are now seeking to alter the very thing we believe distinguishes them: the relationship between the individual and society. Timely, measured, and authoritative, this book illuminates a new Japan, a nation preparing to drop the mask it holds up to the West and to steer a course of its own in the world. Jacket image: The Great Wave of Kanagawa, from 36 Views of Mount Fuji (detail) by Katsushika Hokusai. Private collection. |
From inside the book
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Page 234
... later , though in earthly form : A right - wing ex- tremist nearly took Motoshima's life with a bullet that passed through the aging mayor's lungs . The Motoshima shooting was treated as a sign that Japan was still a dangerous place ...
... later , though in earthly form : A right - wing ex- tremist nearly took Motoshima's life with a bullet that passed through the aging mayor's lungs . The Motoshima shooting was treated as a sign that Japan was still a dangerous place ...
Page 235
... later trip , to the United States , the imperial couple returned to the imagery Akihito fa- vored as crown prince : casual attire , easy conversations , a dinner with Joe DiMaggio . The message , which was also beamed homeward , was ...
... later trip , to the United States , the imperial couple returned to the imagery Akihito fa- vored as crown prince : casual attire , easy conversations , a dinner with Joe DiMaggio . The message , which was also beamed homeward , was ...
Page 350
... later interviews . 234 " If you do not do this ” : Kido's diaries were used ( selectively ) as evidence during the Tokyo war - crimes trials and were , as Bix points out , a scholarly breakthrough when they began to be published , in ...
... later interviews . 234 " If you do not do this ” : Kido's diaries were used ( selectively ) as evidence during the Tokyo war - crimes trials and were , as Bix points out , a scholarly breakthrough when they began to be published , in ...
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