Japan

A Reinterpretation

Nonfiction, Travel, Asia, Japan, History, Asian
Cover of the book Japan by Patrick Smith, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Patrick Smith ISBN: 9780307789723
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group Publication: March 30, 2011
Imprint: Vintage Language: English
Author: Patrick Smith
ISBN: 9780307789723
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication: March 30, 2011
Imprint: Vintage
Language: English

The 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.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The 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.

More books from Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

Cover of the book The Magical Chorus by Patrick Smith
Cover of the book In an Antique Land by Patrick Smith
Cover of the book Follies of God by Patrick Smith
Cover of the book The Anatomy of Violence by Patrick Smith
Cover of the book The Heart Goes Last by Patrick Smith
Cover of the book J.M.W. Turner by Patrick Smith
Cover of the book Malraux by Patrick Smith
Cover of the book The Jewish War by Patrick Smith
Cover of the book Mindwise by Patrick Smith
Cover of the book Burns: Poems by Patrick Smith
Cover of the book Toward Commitment by Patrick Smith
Cover of the book The Lady in the Lake by Patrick Smith
Cover of the book Robinson: Poems by Patrick Smith
Cover of the book Jazz by Patrick Smith
Cover of the book Remember Ben Clayton by Patrick Smith
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy