A Companion to the Anthropology of Japan (Wiley Blackwell Companions to Anthropology)

This book is an unprecedented collection of 29 original essays by some of the world’s most distinguished scholars of Japan. Covers a broad range of issues, including the colonial roots of anthropology in the Japanese academy; eugenics and nation building; majority and minority cultures; genders and sexualities; and fashion and food cultures Resists stale and misleading stereotypes, by presenting new perspectives on Japanese culture and society Makes Japanese society accessible to readers unfamiliar with the country A Companion To The Anthropology Of Japan Is An Unprecedented Collection Of Original Essays By Some Of The Field's Most Distinguished Scholars Of Japan Which, Taken Together, Offer A Comprehensive Overview Of The Field. Aiming To Retire Stale And Misleading Stereotypes, The Authors Present New Perspectives On Japanese Culture And Society - Past And Present - In Accessible Language.--book Jacket. Introduction: Putting And Keeping Japan In Anthropology / Jennifer Robertson -- The Imperial Past Of Anthropology In Japan / Katsumi Nakao -- Japanese Archaeology And Cultural Properties Management: Prewar Ideology And Postwar Legacies / Walter Edwards -- Feminism, Timelines And History-making / Tomomi Yamaguchi -- Making Majority Culture / Roger Goodman -- Political And Cultural Perspectives On Insider Minorities / Joshua Roth -- Japan's Ethnic Minority: Koreans / Sonia Ryang -- Shifting Contours Of Class And Status / Glenda S. Roberts -- Anthropology Of Japanese Corporate Management / Tomoko Hamada -- Fashioning Cultural Identity: Body And Dress / Ofra Goldstein-gidoni -- Genders And Sexualities / Sabine Frühstück -- On The Nature Of Japanese Culture, Or, Is There A Japanese Sense Of Nature? / D.p. Martinez -- The Rural Imaginary: Landscape, Village, Tradition / Scott Schnell -- Tokyo's Third Rebuilding: New Twists On Old Patterns / Roman Cybriwsky -- Japan's Global Village: A View From The World Of Leisure / Joy Hendry -- Formal Caring Alternatives: Kindergartens And Day-care Centers / Eyal Ben-ari -- Post-compulsory Schooling And The Legacy Of Imperialism / Brian J. Mcveigh -- Theorizing The Cultural Importance Of Play: Anthropological Approaches To Sports And Recreation In Japan / Elise Edwards -- Popular Entertainment And The Music Industry / Shuhei Hosokawa -- There's More Than Manga: Popular Nonfiction Books And Magazines / Laura Miller -- Biopower: Blood, Kinship, And Eugenic Marriage / Jennifer Robertson -- The Ie (family) In Global Perspective / Emiko Ochiai -- Constrained Person And Creative Agent: A Dying Student's Narrative Of Self And Others / Susan Orpett Long -- Nation, Citizenship And Cinema / Aaron Gerow -- Culinary Culture And The Making Of A National Cuisine / Katarzyna Cwiertka -- Historical, New, And New New Religions / Ian Reader -- Folk Religion And Its Contemporary Issues / Noriko Kawahashi -- Women Scientists And Gender Ideology / Sumiko Otsubo -- Preserving Moral Order: Responses To Biomedical Technologies / Margaret Lock. Edited By Jennifer Robertson. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. A Companion to the Anthropology of Japan is an unprecedented collection of original essays by some of the field's most distinguished scholars of Japan which, taken together, offer a comprehensive overview of the field. Aiming to retire stale and misleading stereotypes, the authors present new perspectives on Japanese culture and society - past and present - in accessible language.A Companion to the Anthropology of Japan covers a broad range of issues, controversies, and everyday practices, including the unacknowledged colonial roots of anthropology in the Japanese academy; legacies of nationalist research; eugenics and nation-building; majority and minority cultures; class and status; genders and sexualities; urban spectacle and rural "undevelopment"; domestic, corporate, and educational ideologies and practices; the mass media, leisure, and "infotainment" industries; women's and men's sports; fashion and food cultures; ideas of nature, life, and death; new and folk religions; and science and biotechnology.Collectively, these chapters not only demonstrate Japan's significance for anthropological research but also help make Japanese society accessible to readers unfamiliar with the country. A Companion to the Anthropology of Japan is a reference volume for scholars, but is also designed to serve as a primary text for courses in anthropology and sociology, history, and Japan and East Asian Studies.