Author : Antony Cummins
Publisher :
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 33,60 MB
Release : 2017-08-15
Category : SOCIAL SCIENCE
ISBN : 9781445663029
A fascinating collection of folktales, ritual black magic, protection spells, monsters and other dark interpretations of life and death from Japanese folklore.
Author : Alex Kerr
Publisher : Macmillan + ORM
Page : 479 pages
File Size : 24,28 MB
Release : 2002-02-10
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 1466804505
The crises--and failures--of modernization in Japan, as seen up close by a resident expert Japan is a nation in crisis, and the crisis goes far beyond its well-known economic plight. In Dogs and Demons, Alex Kerr chronicles the crisis on a broad scale, from the failure of Japan's banks and pension funds to the decline of its once magnificent modern cinema. The book takes up for the first time in the Western press subjects such as the nation's endangered environment--its seashores lined with concrete, its roads leading to nowhere in the mountains. It describes Japan's "monument frenzy," the destruction of old cities such as Kyoto and construction of drab new cities, and the attendant collapse of the tourist industry. All these unhealthy developments are, Kerr argues, the devastating boomerang effect of an educational and bureaucratic system designed to produce manufactured goods--and little else. A mere upturn in economic growth will not quickly remedy these severe internal problems, which Kerr calls a "failure of modernism." He assails the foreign experts who, often dependent on Japanese government and business support, fail to address these issues. Meanwhile, what of the Japanese people themselves? Kerr, a resident of Japan for thirty-five years, writes of them with humor and passion, for "passion," he says, "is part of the story. Millions of Japanese feel as heartbroken at what is going on as I do. My Japanese friends tell me, 'Please write this--for us.'"
Author : Ikko Shimizu
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
Page : 297 pages
File Size : 46,20 MB
Release : 2016-09-16
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 1315286122
"(The novels) depict Japanese business as nasty and businessmen as villains. As the books sell in large numbers in Japan this is presumably how ordinary Japanese view the driving force of the world's second biggest economy". -- The Economist
Author : Ken Schoolland
Publisher : Praeger
Page : 240 pages
File Size : 36,99 MB
Release : 1990-09-21
Category : Education
ISBN :
In most accounts of the struggle for economic supremacy between the United States and Japan, the inferiority of the United States' education system is continually pointed out. Here, Ken Schoolland, who taught in Japan at the college level, tells a different story about Japanese education. Schoolland gives a first person account of a side of Japanese education rarely seen in the West. Having spent five years teaching in a Japanese university, he writes of pervasive problems with the system of lower level colleges; unruly classrooms where discipline is a myth and cheating is a fact of daily life. Schoolland uses this new knowledge to redefine what he terms the new cold war between United States and Japanese systems of education. Schoolland begins by sharing his experiences as a professor at a Japanese university. He then explores some of the attitudes on education that are typical of publications that seem to be fueling a race between the economic superpowers. He describes some of the changing, relevant characteristics of Japanese society and how these shape the education system. Turning up the dark side of Japanese educaion, Schoolland elaborates on punishments in the schools and reveals the challenge that has come forth against physical punishment, the debate over students rights, court battles, and models of leadership. Finally, Schoolland shows the extent of student violence in the schools, he dissects the myth of Japan as unified, harmonious, homogeneous society, and reaches into Japanese history to show the roots of group responsibility in Japanese society.
Author : Robert Whiting
Publisher : Vintage
Page : 402 pages
File Size : 50,42 MB
Release : 2000-09-26
Category : History
ISBN : 0375724893
"A fascinating look at some fascinating people who show how democracy advances hand in hand with crime in Japan."--Mario Puzo In this unorthodox chronicle of the rise of Japan, Inc., Robert Whiting, author of You Gotta Have Wa, gives us a fresh perspective on the economic miracle and near disaster that is modern Japan. Through the eyes of Nick Zappetti, a former GI, former black marketer, failed professional wrestler, bungling diamond thief who turned himself into "the Mafia boss of Tokyo and the king of Rappongi," we meet the players and the losers in the high-stakes game of postwar finance, politics, and criminal corruption in which he thrived. Here's the story of the Imperial Hotel diamond robbers, who attempted (and may have accomplished) the biggest heist in Tokyo's history. Here is Rikidozan, the professional wrestler who almost single-handedly revived Japanese pride, but whose own ethnicity had to be kept secret. And here is the story of the intimate relationships shared by Japan's ruling party, its financial combines, its ruthless criminal gangs, the CIA, American Big Business, and perhaps at least one presidential relative. Here is the underside of postwar Japan, which is only now coming to light.
Author : Charles Park
Publisher :
Page : 402 pages
File Size : 48,21 MB
Release : 2020-08-17
Category :
ISBN :
Japan was the first non-Western country to achieve a high level of modernization during the late 19th century and early 20th century. Based on this, Japan increased its national power by invading, colonizing, and occupying Asian countries. Such events at the time were considered as a light for Japan but it was a huge tragedy and a dark shadow cast over Asian countries. After the war, Japan did not put in effort to change such shadow into light. Therefore, the shadow that was cast from the light of Japan's history in the early 20th century is still hanging over Asia today in the 21st century. This book straightforwardly depicts the light shined by Japan's history and the shadow cast from that light. It particularly focuses on the facts and causes of the shadow of Japan's history, which has been neglected so far. Thus, when people learn and hear candidly about the shadow cast by Japan's history, many of them will feel uncomfortable and be astonished. However, if such uncomfortableness is not confronted and overcome, reconciliation in Asia and Japan's genuine development cannot be sought. Therefore, by revealing the true character of the shadow cast by Japan's history, this book seeks to confront head-on the uncomfortableness that has been avoided to this day and tries to find a method of resolution. Franz Kafka said, "A book must be the axe that breaks the frozen sea inside us." The author wishes this book to become 'Kafka's axe' that breaks the uncomfortableness of the shadow of Japan's history and allows future-oriented reconciliation and development. Furthermore, this book offers an opportunity to understand Japan and Asia's past, present, and future from diverse angles.
Author : Anne Allison
Publisher : Duke University Press
Page : 257 pages
File Size : 16,10 MB
Release : 2014-02-04
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 0822377241
In an era of irregular labor, nagging recession, nuclear contamination, and a shrinking population, Japan is facing precarious times. How the Japanese experience insecurity in their daily and social lives is the subject of Precarious Japan. Tacking between the structural conditions of socioeconomic life and the ways people are making do, or not, Anne Allison chronicles the loss of home affecting many Japanese, not only in the literal sense but also in the figurative sense of not belonging. Until the collapse of Japan's economic bubble in 1991, lifelong employment and a secure income were within reach of most Japanese men, enabling them to maintain their families in a comfortable middle-class lifestyle. Now, as fewer and fewer people are able to find full-time work, hope turns to hopelessness and security gives way to a pervasive unease. Yet some Japanese are getting by, partly by reconceiving notions of home, family, and togetherness.
Author : Fuminori Nakamura
Publisher : Soho Press
Page : 529 pages
File Size : 48,62 MB
Release : 2018-05-22
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 1616957875
The magnum opus by Japanese literary sensation Fuminori Nakamura, Cult X is a story that dives into the psychology of fringe religion, obsession, and social disaffection. When Toru Narazaki’s girlfriend, Ryoko Tachibana, disappears, he tries to track her down, despite the warnings of the private detective he’s hired to find her. Ryoko’s past is shrouded in mystery, but the one concrete clue to her whereabouts is a previous address in the heart of Tokyo. She lived in a compound with a group that seems to be a cult led by a charismatic guru with a revisionist Buddhist scheme of life, death, and society. Narazaki plunges into the secretive world of the cult, ready to expose himself to any of the guru’s brainwashing tactics if it means he can learn the truth about Ryoko. But the cult isn’t what he expected, and he has no idea of the bubbling violence he is stepping into. Inspired by the 1995 sarin gas terrorist attack on the Tokyo subway, Cult X is an exploration of what draws individuals into extremism. It is a tour de force that captures the connections between astrophysics, neuroscience, and religion; an invective against predatory corporate consumerism and exploitative geopolitics; and a love story about compassion in the face of nihilism.
Author : Miyuki Miyabe
Publisher : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Page : 304 pages
File Size : 45,92 MB
Release : 1999
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 9780395966587
Tokyo's Inspector Shunsake Honma investigates the case of a woman who may have murdered another in order to take her identity. A tale of credit cards and debt and rampant consumerism in today's Japan.
Author : David Young
Publisher : Tuttle Publishing
Page : 188 pages
File Size : 16,90 MB
Release : 2019-03-26
Category : Photography
ISBN : 1462906575
The Art of Japanese Architecture presents a complete overview of Japanese architecture in its historical and cultural context. The book begins with a discussion of early prehistoric dwellings and concludes with a description of works by important modern Japanese architects. Along the way it discusses the iconic buildings and architectural styles for which Japan is so justly famous--from elegant Shinden and Sukiya aristocratic villas like the Kinkakuji "Golden Pavilion" in Kyoto, to imposing Samurai castles like Himeji and Matsumoto, and tranquil Zen Buddhist gardens and tea houses to rural Minka thatched-roof farmhouses and Shinto shrines. Each period in the development of Japan's architecture is described in detail and the most important structures are shown and discussed--including dozens of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The aesthetic trends in each period are presented within the context of Japanese society at the time, providing a unique in-depth understanding of the way Japanese architectural styles and buildings have developed over time and the great variety that is visible today. The book is profusely illustrated with hundreds of hand-drawn 3D watercolor illustrations and color photos as well as prints, maps and diagrams. The new edition features dozens of new photographs and a handy hardcover format that is perfect for travelers.
