My Account Wish List
Advanced Search
Print - Close Window
www.greenwood.com/catalog/BGR0197.aspx
All Greenwood Products
Culture and Customs of Japan
Noriko Kamachi
ISBN: 0-313-36077-4
ISBN-13: 978-0-313-36077-0
224 pages
Greenwood Press
Publication: 10/30/2008
List Price: $20.00 (UK Sterling Price: £13.95)
Availability: Print on demand
Media Type: Paperback
Also Available: Hardcover
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • A broad and useful overview of Japanese culture....The scholarly but accessible text is succinct and clear.
    —School Library Journal     00/00/00
  • Komachi's selection of topics and explanations are a good, readable (junior high and above) introduction to the vanishing world of Japanese traditional culture.
    —American Reference Books Annual     00/00/00
Description: Their society has been changing rapidly in modern times, yet for most Japanese, cultural traditions retain their importance in daily life. This volume highlights those traditional Japanese elements in modern society, providing an engaging examination of religious rituals, classic and modern literature, performing arts, fine arts and handicrafts, housing, clothing, women's roles and family life, holidays and festivals, and social customs. The book gives students a deeper understanding of Japan beyond popular stereotypes of an Asian economic powerhouse.

Japan has undergone a radical transformation in the twentieth century. A highly traditional society has been supplanted by a high-tech one while retaining significant vestiges of the past. Culture and Customs of Japan captures the essence of the ordered Japanese experience in all its many facets. An introductory chapter provides a brief overview of the land, people, language, and history of Japan. Then a chapter on thought and religion illuminates Buddhism, Shinto, and how religion is incorporated into daily life. The book goes on to detail the riches of Japanese literature, performing arts such as kabuki, noh, and puppetry, and fine arts like calligraphy, ikebana (flower arranging), and chanoyu (tea ceremony). Architecture, cuisine, clothing, and the changing dynamics of women, marriage, and family are examined, along with leisure activities and entertainment such as sumo wrestling, martial arts, and manga (comics). A final chapter on social customs, including giftgiving and business protocol, rounds out this portrait of everyday life in contemporary Japan.
Table of Contents:
  • Preface
    Chronology of Japanese History
    Introduction
    Thought and Religion
    Literature
    Art
    Housing and Architecture
    Cuisine
    Clothing
    Women, Marriage, and Family
    Holidays, Festivals, and Annual Events
    Leisure Activities and Entertainment
    Social Customs and Lifestyle
    Glossary
    Index
About the Author: NORIKO KAMACHI is Professor of history at the University of Michigan, Dearborn. She is the author of Reform in China (1981) and Japanese Studies of Modern China since 1953 (1975).
LCC Class: 952
All rights reserved. Copyright © 1999-2009 ABC-CLIO
130 Cremona Dr., Santa Barbara, CA 93117 805-968-1911