Product Description

This entertaining and endlessly surprising book takes us on an exploration into every aspect of Japanese society from the most public to the most intimate. A series of meticulous investigations gradually uncovers the multi-faceted nature of a country and people who are even more extraordinary than they seem. Our journey encompasses religion, ritual, martial arts, manners, eating, drinking, hot baths, geishas, family, home, singing, wrestling, dancing, performing, clans, education, aspiration, sexes, generations, race, crime, gangs, terror, war, kindness, cruelty, money, art, imperialism, emperor, countryside, city, politics, government, law and a language that varies according to whom you are speaking. Clear-sighted, persistent, affectionate, unsentimental and honest – Alan Macfarlane shows us Japan as it has never been seen before.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #94550 in Books
• Published on: 2008-07-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Review
"'Intelligent and engaging... an excellent book for anyone with an interest in Japanese culture.' Sunday Telegraph 'An elegantly arranged narrative that takes in everything from the mythical roots of sumo to the ubiquity of Shinto shrines.' The Times 'An engaging and well-informed analysis of Japanese culture and society... Readers fresh to Japanese studies will find something fascinating on every page; those more familiar with writing on Japan will appreciate the smaller details, many born of Macfarlane's rich comparative insights.' Independent 'He triumphantly decodes this enigmatic country.' Japan Times"

Glasgow Herald
`On his journey through Japanese society, he encounters subjects from the most public to the most intimate and uncovers a nation that is even more extraordinary than he first thought.'

The Independent
`...an engaging and well-informed analysis of Japanese culture and society.'

Customer Reviews

Enchanted modernity
An inspiring and engaging account of perhaps the only `modern' society that remains an enchanted world. Macfarlane not only provides persuasive answers to enigmas about Japan that have baffled generations of foreign commentators, but also demonstrates the necessity of changing the very questions that have been asked about Japan. His notion of an integrated, `enchanted' world is a striking one that seems to constitute a significant shift from other paradigms of `modern' nations, avoiding deeply ingrained binaries between East/West, natural/supernatural, among others.

In his _We Have Never been Modern_, Bruno Latour critiques the way in which we `moderns' have so eagerly polarized and separated different elements of our world: technology, nature, kinship, people, objects . . . Macfarlane's study of Japan goes beyond Latour, offering a convincing vision of a different kind of modernity.

Reading the book, one cannot escape the impression that it has been as lovingly and intricately crafted as Japanese lacquer-ware, painstakingly worked and re-worked to the highest degree of artistry. Filled with keen and often surprising observations, the book is a true pleasure to read. Even after one has emerged from _Japan_, it continues to invite re-reflection and repeated journeys into the looking glass.

"A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma"
Churchill's quotation on Russia is perhaps more appropriately addressed to Japan. For those of us who love the country, and the people, you will know that Japan presents a constant lifelong learning journey full of magical surprises, and not without frustration, when one discovers that what one thought one knew, suddenly seems different.

The last book, until this new offering by Alan Macfarlane, that took me on such a journey was published in 1917, namely the observations made by the zoologist Edward S. Morse between 1877 and 1883, post Meiji Restoration.The Japan that he described in such detail is still recognisable today and his detailed commentary helps one to understand the origins of much of what may be called the essence of Japan. However his book is best appreciated by those who already know Japan well through many visits and much interaction.

Alan Macfarlane's book importantly goes beyond observations. As a historian and world leading anthropologist at Cambridge University he has developed a truly unique perspective from a lifetime of studying cultures. In this book he has touched the elusive soul of Japan and presented it in a manner that is both intellectually provocative and penetratingly revealing. It offers the less well informed reader a chance to understand the myriad facets of the Japanese people from the comfort of your own sitting room. His engaging style is learned, yet easy to understand and full of subtle nuances that tinkle across the piano keys of the mind.

I challenge anyone to read this book and remain unfascinated by Japan and untempted to make a visit. At the very least you will have been taken on an unforgettable journey.

Mutual understanding between the people of different nations smoothes the effect of tectonic plate movements between civilisations that historically, and currently, have lead to conflict on the one hand and development of humanity on the other. At the very least this book helps us understand more about Japan than any other book since Morse.

Alan's lasting contribution to learning and civilisation has come from many books that he has written, available on Amazon, and this book is another great masterpiece. Read this and be prepared to be enlightened, amused and intrigued. Then go on and read his other books.....your perspective on life will never be the same.

NOTE: Examples of Alan Macfarlane's anthropological work can be found on www.digitalhimalaya.com or YouTube

Brilliant but too much anthropological jargon
Alan Macfarlane's analysis of the utter otherness of Japan and how we are lured into thinking the differences are not there is masterly. So many things make much more sense in the light of his scholarship. However, given that this is not supposed to be a technical anthropology book, his otherwise fascinating work is marred by the presence of far too much unexplained opaque anthropological jargon. This could so easily have been avoided; the book might have ended up thicker, but it would have been all the better for that.