Japan at the Millennium

Japan at the Millennium
Author: David W. Edgington
Publisher: UBC Press
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2003
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780774808996

Japan today is at an important historical juncture. Buffeted in recent years by rapid economic, social, and political change, yet still very much steeped in custom and history, the nation has become an amalgam of the traditional and the modern. As a result, the country has become increasingly difficult to categorize: How are we to represent today's Japan effectively, and fairly predict its future? This critical, multi-disciplinary collection explores the convergence of past and future in contemporary Japan. Contributors comment on a wide range of economic, socio-cultural, and political trends--such as the mobilization of Japanese labour, the burgeoning Ainu identity movement, and the shifting place of the modern woman--and conclude that despite the rapid changes, many of the traditional facets of Japanese society have remained intact, institutional change, they assert, is unlikely to occur quickly, and Japan must find alternate ways to adjust to twenty-first-century pressures of global competition and interdependence. A pleasure to read, this broad volume will be welcomed by upper-level undergraduates, graduates, and specialists in Japanese studies.

Growing Democracy in Japan

Growing Democracy in Japan
Author: Associate Chair and Director of Graduate Programs Brian Woodall
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
Total Pages: 301
Release: 2014-06-19
Genre: Cooking
ISBN: 0813145023

Kentucky native and national tastemaker Duncan Hines (1880--1959) published his first cookbook, Adventures in Good Cooking, in 1939 at the age of fifty-nine. This best-selling collection featured recipes from select restaurants across the country as well as crowd-pleasing family favorites, and it helped to raise the standard for home cooking in America. Filled with succulent treats, from the Waldorf-Astoria's Chicken Fricassee to the Oeufs a la Russe served at Antoine's Restaurant in New Orleans to Mrs. Hines's own Christmas Nut Cake, this book includes classic recipes from top chefs and home cooks alike. Featuring a new introduction by Hines biographer Louis Hatchett and a valuable guide to the art of carving, this classic cookbook serves up a satisfying slice of twentieth-century Americana, direct from the kitchen of one of the nation's most trusted names in food. Now a new generation of cooks can enjoy and share these delectable dishes with family and friends.

Tokachi Millennium Forest

Tokachi Millennium Forest
Author: Dan Pearson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2021-03
Genre:
ISBN: 9781999734541

Twenty years ago, Dan Pearson was invited to make a garden at the 240- hectare Tokachi Millennium Forest in Hokkaido, Japan. Part of the intention was to entice city dwellers to reconnect with nature and improve land that had been lost to intensive agriculture, and this was achieved along with much more. By tuning into the physical and cultural essence of the place and applying a light touch in terms of cultivation, this world class designer has created a remarkable place which has its heart in Japan's long-held respect for nature and its head in contemporary ecological planting design. The bold, uplifting sweep of the Meadow Garden mixes garden plants with natives while the undulating landforms of the Earth Garden bring sculptural connection with the mountains beyond. Under the skillful custodianship of Midori Shintani, the garden has evolved beautifully to reflect principles that lie at the heart of Japanese culture: observation of seasonal changes, practical tasks carried out with care and an awareness of the interconnectedness of all living things. This beautiful, instructive book allows us all to experience something of the Tokachi effect, gain expert insights into how to plant gardens that feel right for their location, and reconnect with the land and wildlife that surround us.

Millennial Monsters

Millennial Monsters
Author: Anne Allison
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2006-06-30
Genre: Antiques & Collectibles
ISBN: 0520245652

Millennial Monsters explores the global popularity of Japanese consumer culture--including manga (comic books), anime (animation), video games, and toys--and questions the make-up of fantasies nand capitalism that have spurred the industry's growth.

Middle Kingdom and Empire of the Rising Sun

Middle Kingdom and Empire of the Rising Sun
Author: June Teufel Dreyer
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 479
Release: 2016
Genre: History
ISBN: 0195375661

"Japan and China have been rivals for more than a millennium. Until the late nineteenth century, China was the more powerful, while Japan took the upper hand in the twentieth century. Now, China's resurgence has emboldened it as Japan perceives itself falling behind, exacerbating long-standing historical frictions ... Dreyer argues that recent disputes should be seen as manifestations of embedded rivalries rather than as issues whose resolution would provide a lasting solution to deep-standing disputes"--Jacket.

The Origins of Japan’s Medieval World

The Origins of Japan’s Medieval World
Author: Jeffrey P. Mass
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Total Pages: 556
Release: 1997
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780804743792

This pioneering collection of 15 essays argues that Japan's medieval age began in the 14th century rather than the 12th, and marks the beginning of a fundamentally new debate about how Japan's lengthy classical period finally ended.

The Making of Modern Japan

The Making of Modern Japan
Author: Marius B. Jansen
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 933
Release: 2009-07-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 0674039106

Magisterial in vision, sweeping in scope, this monumental work presents a seamless account of Japanese society during the modern era, from 1600 to the present. A distillation of more than fifty years’ engagement with Japan and its history, it is the crowning work of our leading interpreter of the modern Japanese experience. Since 1600 Japan has undergone three periods of wrenching social and institutional change, following the imposition of hegemonic order on feudal society by the Tokugawa shogun; the opening of Japan’s ports by Commodore Perry; and defeat in World War II. The Making of Modern Japan charts these changes: the social engineering begun with the founding of the shogunate in 1600, the emergence of village and castle towns with consumer populations, and the diffusion of samurai values in the culture. Marius Jansen covers the making of the modern state, the adaptation of Western models, growing international trade, the broadening opportunity in Japanese society with industrialization, and the postwar occupation reforms imposed by General MacArthur. Throughout, the book gives voice to the individuals and views that have shaped the actions and beliefs of the Japanese, with writers, artists, and thinkers, as well as political leaders given their due. The story this book tells, though marked by profound changes, is also one of remarkable consistency, in which continuities outweigh upheavals in the development of society, and successive waves of outside influence have only served to strengthen a sense of what is unique and native to Japanese experience. The Making of Modern Japan takes us to the core of this experience as it illuminates one of the contemporary world’s most compelling transformations.

Pikachu's Global Adventure

Pikachu's Global Adventure
Author: Joseph Tobin
Publisher: Duke University Press
Total Pages: 307
Release: 2004-02-05
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0822385813

Initially developed in Japan by Nintendo as a computer game, Pokémon swept the globe in the late 1990s. Based on a narrative in which a group of children capture, train, and do battle with over a hundred imaginary creatures, Pokémon quickly diversified into an array of popular products including comic books, a TV show, movies, trading cards, stickers, toys, and clothing. Pokémon eventually became the top grossing children's product of all time. Yet the phenomenon fizzled as quickly as it had ignited. By 2002, the Pokémon craze was mostly over. Pikachu’s Global Adventure describes the spectacular, complex, and unpredictable rise and fall of Pokémon in countries around the world. In analyzing the popularity of Pokémon, this innovative volume addresses core debates about the globalization of popular culture and about children’s consumption of mass-produced culture. Topics explored include the origins of Pokémon in Japan’s valorization of cuteness and traditions of insect collecting and anime; the efforts of Japanese producers and American marketers to localize it for foreign markets by muting its sex, violence, moral ambiguity, and general feeling of Japaneseness; debates about children’s vulnerability versus agency as consumers; and the contentious question of Pokémon’s educational value and place in school. The contributors include teachers as well as scholars from the fields of anthropology, media studies, sociology, and education. Tracking the reception of Pokémon in Japan, the United States, Great Britain, France, and Israel, they emphasize its significance as the first Japanese cultural product to enjoy substantial worldwide success and challenge western dominance in the global production and circulation of cultural goods. Contributors. Anne Allison, Linda-Renée Bloch, Helen Bromley, Gilles Brougere, David Buckingham, Koichi Iwabuchi, Hirofumi Katsuno, Dafna Lemish, Jeffrey Maret, Julian Sefton-Green, Joseph Tobin, Samuel Tobin, Rebekah Willet, Christine Yano

Japan After Japan

Japan After Japan
Author: Tomiko Yoda
Publisher: Duke University Press
Total Pages: 460
Release: 2006-10-04
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780822338130

Scholars of history, anthropology, literature, and film explore the transformations in Japanese politics, culture, and society since Japans recession of the early 1990s.

Patriots and Redeemers in Japan

Patriots and Redeemers in Japan
Author: George M. Wilson
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 217
Release: 1992
Genre: History
ISBN: 0226900924

Like the French Revolution, the Meiji Restoration transformed a whole society. Japan was never the same after 1868. The meaning of the events that led to the restoration has therefore profoundly concerned historians, but most Western accounts probe only the dimension of political leadership, largely ignoring the common people. In this book, George Wilson argues that the restoration was a total national event--a revolution to redeem the whole realm of Japan--accomplished by samurai and commoners alike. This study foregrounds the classic contest of agency versus structure, focusing on the actors in Meiji Restoration history rather than the institutions through which they acted. Wilson argues that the samurai who triumphed sought not only the patriotic goal of defending the realm against the external threat of Western imperialism but also the redemptive goal of rescuing the realm from the bakufu's failures. The common people no less than the samurai elite wanted to save Japan in its time of troubles. According to Wilson, redemption complemented patriotism as a motive for both the elite and the general public, contributing a double force to Japan's rising nationalism.