Wearing cultural styles in Japan : concepts of tradition and modernity in practice / edited by Christopher S. Thompson and John W. Traphagan.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Thompson, Christopher, 1962-

Traphagan, John W.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social change--Japan.

Social change.

Culture and globalization--Japan.

Culture and globalization.

Japan--Social conditions--1945-.

Japan.

Japan--Civilization--1945-.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (230 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, c2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This groundbreaking collection examines the regional dynamics of state societies, looking at how people use the concepts of urban and rural, traditional and modern, and industrial and agricultural to define their existence and the experience of living in contemporary Japanese society. The book focuses on the Tohoku (Northeast) region, which many Japanese consider rural, agrarian, undeveloped economically, and the epitome of the traditional way of life. While this stereotype overstates the case—the region is home to one of Japan's largest cities—most Japanese contrast Tohoku (everything traditional) with Tokyo (everything modern). However, the contributors show how various regional phenomena—internationalization, lacquerware production, farming, enka (modern Japanese ballads), women's roles, and professional dance —combine the traditional, the modern, and the global. Wearing Cultural Styles in Japan demonstrates that while people use the dichotomies of urban/rural and traditional/modern in order to define their experiences, these categories are no longer useful in analyzing contemporary Japan.

Contents:

""Wearing Cultural Styles in Japan""; ""Illustrations""; ""Acknowledgments""; ""Part I. The Political Economy of Social Change in To�hoku Japan""; ""1. The Practice of Tradition and Modernity in Contemporary Japan""; ""2. The Social Impact of Rural�Urban Shift: Some Akita Examples""; ""3. Rice Revolutions and Farm Families in To�hoku: Why Is Farming Culturally Centraland Economically Marginal?""; ""Part II. Wearing Tradition and Wearing Modernity: Negotiating Paths of Social Change""; ""4. Young Women Making Lives in Northeast Japan""; ""5. Negotiating Internationalization in Kitasawa""

""6. Preserving the Ochiai Deer Dance: Tradition and Continuity in a To�hoku Hamlet""""7. Heartbreak�s Destination: To�hoku in the Poetic Discourse of Enka""; ""8. Tradition and Modernity Merged in Tsugaru Nuri Lacquerware: Perspectives of Preservation and Promotion, Production and Consumption""; ""9. Epilogue: To�hoku: A Place""; ""Contributors""; ""Name Index""; ""A""; ""B""; ""C""; ""D""; ""E""; ""F""; ""G""; ""H""; ""I""; ""J""; ""K""; ""L""; ""M""; ""N""; ""O""; ""P""; ""R""; ""S""; ""T""; ""U""; ""V""; ""W""; ""Y""; ""Subject Index""; ""A""; ""B""; ""C""; ""D""; ""E""; ""F""

""G""""H""; ""I""; ""J""; ""K""; ""L""; ""M""; ""N""; ""P""; ""R""; ""S""; ""T""; ""U""; ""V""; ""W""; ""Y""

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

9780791482100

0791482103

9781423773481

1423773489

OCLC:

69242535