Wiley-Blackwell A Companion to the Anthropology of Japan (Wiley Blackwell Companions to Anthropology)

Product Description This book is an unprecedented collection of 29 original essays by some of the world’s most distinguished scholars of Japan. Covers a broad range of issues, including the colonial roots of anthropology in the Japanese academy; eugenics and nation building; majority and minority cultures; genders and sexualities; and fashion and food cultures Resists stale and misleading stereotypes, by presenting new perspectives on Japanese culture and society Makes Japanese society accessible to readers unfamiliar with the country Review "This groundbreaking symposium will serve scholars well as a reference volume ... Challenging yet accessible, this is essential stock for all academic libraries, and for reference libraries with any interest in disciplines spanned or in Far East Studies. Blackwell Companions are setting an admirable standard as they blaze new trails." Reference Reviews "This is a handsomely produced volume in the recently launched Blackwell series of companions to the major fields of anthropology. ... Well-written and comprehensively documented." Ethnic and Racial Studies“Despite the magnitude of the task, Robertson has succeeded in this collection. Taken together, these 29 original chapters provide historical and theoretical grounding across a range of subjects. The diverse approaches taken here offer insight into a great variety of cultural aspects and social players, but articulate a ‘Japan’ that eludes any claims of homogeneity.” Steffi Richter, Universität Leipzig “This Companion provides amazingly wide coverage on contemporary Japan. What's more, it challenges the very idea of anthropology in interesting ways. Although written by experts in the field, it will be of such great interest to students and others new to the field that it may well spark the imagination of the next Ruth Benedict in the making.” Kazue Muta, Osaka University “A Companion to the Anthropology of Japan is a rich collection by Japanese and international researchers that demystifies Japanese culture and society. Challenging static and ahistorical perceptions of Japan, it ranges widely across space and time to provide an innovative and critical study of minorities, gender, culture, education, family, ritual, citizenship, and more.” Mark Selden, Binghamton and Cornell Universities "This is without doubt a creative, informative, and conscientiously argued book from which anthropologists and other students of Japan will have much to learn." Current Anthropology From the Inside Flap A Companion to the Anthropology of Japan is an unprecedented collection of original essays by some of the field’s most distinguished scholars of Japan which, taken together, offer a comprehensive overview of the field. Aiming to retire stale and misleading stereotypes, the authors present new perspectives on Japanese culture and society – past and present – in accessible language. A Companion to the Anthropology of Japan covers a broad range of issues, controversies, and everyday practices, including the unacknowledged colonial roots of anthropology in the Japanese academy; legacies of nationalist research; eugenics and nation-building; majority and minority cultures; class and status; genders and sexualities; urban spectacle and rural 'undevelopment'; domestic, corporate, and educational ideologies and practices; the mass media, leisure, and 'infotainment' industries; women’s and men’s sports; fashion and food cultures; ideas of nature, life, and death; new and folk religions; and science and biotechnology.Collectively, these chapters not only demonstrate Japan’s significance for anthropological research but also help make Japanese society accessible to readers unfamiliar with the country. A Companion to the Anthropology of Japan is a reference volume for scholars, but is also designed to serve as a primary text for courses in anthropology and sociology, history, and Japan and East Asian Studies. From the Back Cover