An Introduction to Japanese Society

by Yoshio Sugimoto

Overview

This provocative, insightful and highly accessible book offers a comprehensive examination of contemporary Japanese society. It challenges the dominant view that Japanese society is strongly characterised by 'groupism and homogeneity'. Covering a broad range of issues, such as the media, education, cultural diversity, power relations, gender and the family, from the perspective of an 'insider/outsider', Sugimoto's analysis is probing and comprehensive. This book is essential for students of Japan and for those seeking a general introduction.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781107386549
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	06/22/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Yoshio Sugimoto is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Social Inquiry at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia.

Table of Contents

List of Figures vi

List of Tables vii

Preface to the Third Edition x

Map of Japan xii

1 The Japan Phenomenon and the Social Sciences 1

2 Class and Stratification: An Overview 37

3 Geographical and Generational Variations 61

4 Forms of Work in Cultural Capitalism 88

5 Diversity and Unity in Education 124

6 Gender Stratification and the Family System 156

7 'Japaneseness', Ethnicity, and Minority Groups 189

8 Collusion and Competition in the Establishment 219

9 Popular Culture and Everyday Life 249

10 Civil Society and Friendly Authoritarianism 278

References 305

Index 326

Editorial Reviews

"Many introductory textbooks on Japan are spinelessly benign with pastiches of essentialist snapshots, but Sugimoto accepts the challenge of representing complexity. This welcome fourth edition, updated from the 1997 original … is evidence of how much his critical perspective has been cherished by generations of instructors and scholars."
L. Miller, Choice

From the Publisher