Re-inventing Japan

Re-inventing Japan PDF Author: Tessa Morris-Suzuki
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317461150
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Book Description
This text rethinks the contours of Japanese history, culture and nationality. Challenging the mythology of a historically unitary, even monolithic Japan, it offers a different perspective on culture and identity in modern Japan.

Etiquette Guide to Japan

Etiquette Guide to Japan PDF Author: Boye Lafayette De Mente
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
ISBN: 1462902464
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 194

Book Description
Farewell to faux pas! Minding your manners is an acquired skill, but what serves you well elsewhere could trip you up in Japan. Save yourself possible embarrassment with Etiquette Guide to Japan. An inside look at Japanese social graces, it answers all the questions of the thoughtful traveler. Extensive, specific information on Japanese business etiquette assists readers traveling to Japan for business. Although often overshadowed by a modern facade, long-standing traditional aspects of Japan's culture still influence the country and almost everyone in it. Concrete evidence of this traditional culture can be seen everywhere--in the ancient arts and crafts that are still important parts of everyday life, in the many shrines and temples that dot the nation, and in the modern comeback of traditional fashions such as kimono and yakata robes. To many Western visitors, however, the most obvious example of this traditional culture's strength is the unique etiquette of the Japanese. Like many nations, Japan has experienced vast political, social, and economic change over the past century. But enough of Japan's traditional etiquette remains to set the Japanese apart socially and psychologically and to make success in socializing and doing business with them a special challenge for Westerners. About this new version: This updated and expanded edition of the best-selling Japanese etiquette guide addresses not just the puzzling protocols relating to name cards, bowing or shaking hands, bathrooms and public baths--but also what to do when entertaining Japanese dinner guests, attending a Japanese tea ceremony, taking the subway, and much more! It also provides the latest etiquette in mobile phone manners, texting, social media and other forms of digital communication. The glossary at the back of the book has been revised to include the latest technology-related words and expressions used by Japanese today. Two new chapters address the changing role of foreigners in the workplace and the contemporary business style and etiquette used by the younger generation of Japanese who are now increasingly cosmopolitan--but still very Japanese!

Ametora

Ametora PDF Author: W. David Marx
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465073875
Category : Design
Languages : en
Pages : 299

Book Description
The story of how Japan adopted and ultimately revived traditional American fashion Look closely at any typically "American" article of clothing these days, and you may be surprised to see a Japanese label inside. From high-end denim to oxford button-downs, Japanese designers have taken the classic American look—known as ametora, or "American traditional"—and turned it into a huge business for companies like Uniqlo, Kamakura Shirts, Evisu, and Kapital. This phenomenon is part of a long dialogue between Japanese and American fashion; in fact, many of the basic items and traditions of the modern American wardrobe are alive and well today thanks to the stewardship of Japanese consumers and fashion cognoscenti, who ritualized and preserved these American styles during periods when they were out of vogue in their native land. In Ametora, cultural historian W. David Marx traces the Japanese assimilation of American fashion over the past hundred and fifty years, showing how Japanese trendsetters and entrepreneurs mimicked, adapted, imported, and ultimately perfected American style, dramatically reshaping not only Japan's culture but also our own in the process.

African Samurai

African Samurai PDF Author: Thomas Lockley
Publisher: Harlequin
ISBN: 1488098751
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 518

Book Description
This biography of the first foreign-born samurai and his journey from Africa to Japan is “a readable, compassionate account of an extraordinary life” (The Washington Post). When Yasuke arrived in Japan in the late 1500s, he had already traveled much of the known world. Kidnapped as a child, he had ended up a servant and bodyguard to the head of the Jesuits in Asia, with whom he traversed India and China learning multiple languages as he went. His arrival in Kyoto, however, literally caused a riot. Most Japanese people had never seen an African man before, and many of them saw him as the embodiment of the black-skinned Buddha. Among those who were drawn to his presence was Lord Nobunaga, head of the most powerful clan in Japan, who made Yasuke a samurai in his court. Soon, he was learning the traditions of Japan’s martial arts and ascending the upper echelons of Japanese society. In the four hundred years since, Yasuke has been known in Japan largely as a legendary, perhaps mythical figure. Now African Samurai presents the never-before-told biography of this unique figure of the sixteenth century, one whose travels between countries and cultures offers a new perspective on race in world history and a vivid portrait of life in medieval Japan. “Fast-paced, action-packed writing. . . . A new and important biography and an incredibly moving study of medieval Japan and solid perspective on its unification. Highly recommended.” —Library Journal (starred review) “Eminently readable. . . . a worthwhile and entertaining work.” —Publishers Weekly “A unique story of a unique man, and yet someone with whom we can all identify.” —Jack Weatherford, New York Times–bestselling author of Genghis Khan

Asian Media Productions

Asian Media Productions PDF Author: Brian Moeran
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136841881
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 367

Book Description
A substantial book on the social practices and cultural attitudes of people producing, reading, watching and listening to different kinds of media in Japan, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore and India.

Amazing Japan!

Amazing Japan! PDF Author: Boye Lafayette De Mente
Publisher: Cultural-Insight Books
ISBN: 0914778293
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 148

Book Description
Japan is known worldwide for its economic prowess and such iconic symbols as geisha, karaoke, manga, Mt. Fuji, ninja, feudal-age samurai warriors and huge sumo wrestlers. What is not so well-known are its amazing historical artifacts [shrines; temples; castles; the world's largest and oldest wooden buildings; arts and crafts, hundreds of annual festivals that go back nearly two thousand years]; the incredible scenic beauty of its mountains, gorges, rivers, one of the longest and most gorgeous coastlines in the world; and a combined modern and traditional lifestyle that is so fascinating and seductive that exposure to it for just a few days is a mind-altering experience. The author identifies and describes a choice selection of things that make Japan one of the world's most unusual, most intriguing, and most enjoyable travel destinations...things that explain why so many foreigners take up permanent residence there once they have experienced life in this amazing country.

The Vanished

The Vanished PDF Author: Léna Mauger
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1510708286
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 179

Book Description
Every year, nearly one hundred thousand Japanese vanish without a trace. Known as the johatsu, or the “evaporated,” they are often driven by shame and hopelessness, leaving behind lost jobs, disappointed families, and mounting debts. In The Vanished, journalist Léna Mauger and photographer Stéphane Remael uncover the human faces behind the phenomenon through reportage, photographs, and interviews with those who left, those who stayed behind, and those who help orchestrate the disappearances. Their quest to learn the stories of the johatsu weaves its way through: A Tokyo neighborhood so notorious for its petty criminal activities that it was literally erased from the maps Reprogramming camps for subpar bureaucrats and businessmen to become “better” employees The charmless citadel of Toyota City, with its iron grip on its employees The “suicide” cliffs of Tojinbo, patrolled by a man fighting to save the desperate The desolation of Fukushima in the aftermath of the tsunami And yet, as exotic and foreign as their stories might appear to an outsider’s eyes, the human experience shared by the interviewees remains powerfully universal.

A History of Popular Culture in Japan

A History of Popular Culture in Japan PDF Author: E. Taylor Atkins
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1474258557
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 289

Book Description
The phenomenon of 'Cool Japan' is one of the distinctive features of global popular culture of the millennial age. A History of Popular Culture in Japan provides the first historical and analytical overview of popular culture in Japan from its origins in the 17th century to the present day, using it to explore broader themes of conflict, power, identity and meaning in Japanese history. E. Taylor Atkins shows how Japan is one of the earliest sites for the development of mass-produced, market-oriented cultural products consumed by urban middle and working classes. The best-known traditional arts and culture of Japan- no theater, monochrome ink painting, court literature, poetry and indigenous music-inhabited a world distinct from that of urban commoners, who fashioned their own expressive forms and laid the groundwork for today's 'gross national cool.' Popular culture was pivotal in the rise of Japanese nationalism, imperialism, militarism, postwar democracy and economic development. Offering historiographical and analytical frameworks for understanding its subject, A History of Popular Culture in Japan synthesizes the latest scholarship from a variety of disciplines. It is a vital resource for students of Japanese cultural history wishing to gain a deeper understanding of Japan's contributions to global cultural heritage.

Community Volunteers in Japan

Community Volunteers in Japan PDF Author: Lynne Y. Nakano
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 9780415323161
Category : Voluntarism
Languages : en
Pages : 208

Book Description
Based on extensive original research, this book explores the reality of volunteering in an urban residential Japanese neighbourhood.

Popularizing Japanese TV

Popularizing Japanese TV PDF Author: Hakan Ergül
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317190378
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 280

Book Description
Over the past years, the view has emerged that Japanese TV is dominated by an infotainment mode of discourse. The book extends this view, detailing and interpreting the cultural, economic, and emotional dimensions of this communication phenomenon from an ethnographic perspective. It examines the complex ways in which infotainment works in an advanced capitalist society. As such, this is more than a book about Japan; it is a work that fits within media ethnography and cultural studies, and appeals to readers interested in the question of how television, at the heart of the global media stream, successfully turns into a persuasive, intimate, and powerful member of a televisual audience-family through carefully engineered televisual discourses, linguistic/non-linguistic component, audiovisual strategies, and economic and cultural elements. Drawing on ethnographic observations in TV stations in two major cities, Sendai and Tokyo, the book reveals several essential components embedded within infotainment discourse. Thus, this book not only provides a panoramic picture of a core phenomenon in Japanese broadcasting since the 2000s but also discusses how both cultural discourses and economic considerations influence contemporary television broadcasting.
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