Japan's New Middle Class: The Salary Man and His Family in a Tokyo Suburb

Japan’s New Middle Class: The Salary Man and His Family in a Tokyo Suburb by Ezra F. Vogel is a landmark sociological study that captures the rise of white-collar life in postwar Japan. Drawing on immersive fieldwork in the suburban community of “Mamachi” between 1958 and 1960, Vogel examines the everyday rhythms, aspirations, and anxieties of the sarari man and his family. He situates their lives within the broader transformation of Japanese society—from the devastation of war and scarcity...