Forms of the Body in Contemporary Japanese Society, Literature, and Culture

This collection brings together fifteen chapters written by scholars specializing in disciplines ranging from anthropology and sociology to literature, film, and performance studies. These scholars analyze complex questions about how the body is lived and imagined as a locus of meaning-making in contemporary Japan. Exploring such topics as mind-body dualism, aging and illness, spirit possession, beauty, performance, and gender, this collection addresses the wide array of socio-cultural and literary contexts in which the body is interpreted in Japanese culture and thought. Using analytical tools from a wide spectrum of disciplines, this edited collection analyzes the role of the body in contemporary Japanese society, literature, and culture. The contributors explore the body as a site of transformation, growth, ritual, decay, and personal identity.