Fanning the Flames
(July 2004)
Fans and Consumer Culture in Contemporary Japan William W. Kelly - Editor
A fascinating look at fans of a variety of popular culture phenomena in Japan.
Fanning the Flames examines the worlds of fans in the exuberant and commercialized popular culture of contemporary Japan. The works collected here profile denizens of all-night rap clubs; sumo stable patrons; passionate fan clubs of a professional baseball team; enthusiasts of traditional rakugo storytelling; a club of middle-...(Read More)
A demographic and ethnographic exploration of how the aging Japanese society is affecting the family.
Incorporating qualitative and quantitative data and research methods from both demography and social anthropology, this book explores demographic trends in contemporary Japan's rapidly aging society. The contributors describe and analyze trends by addressing the ways in which demographic change is experienced in the con...(Read More)
A study of Japan's powerful teachers' unions, including an in-depth look at the schism of the largest union in 1989.
Providing an overview of the history of postwar teachers' unions in Japan, this book analyses the causes and effects of the 1989 schism of the largest union, the Japan Teachers' Union (Nikkyoso). Formed in 1947 during a period of great change for both the Japanese educational and political systems, this union has bee...(Read More)
Men of Uncertainty
(January 2001)
The Social Organization of Day Laborers in Contemporary Japan Tom Gill - Author
A fascinating exploration of the subculture of Japanese day laborers, whose lives depart radically from the traditions of stability Westerners associate with Japan.
Men of Uncertainty presents an unknown side of Japanese society--the world of Japan's day laborers (hiiyatoi rodosha), the urban labor markets where these men gather to find work (yoseba), and the cheap lodging districts where many of the...(Read More)
Taming Oblivion
(February 2000)
Aging Bodies and the Fear of Senility in Japan John W. Traphagan - Author
Examines the cultural construction of senility in Japan and the moral implications of dependent behavior for older Japanese.
Taming Oblivion examines the cultural construction of senility in Japan and the moral implications of dependent behavior for older Japanese. While the biomedical construction of senility-as-pathology has become increasingly the norm in North America, in Japan a folk category of senility exists known ...(Read More)
Provides a wealth of information about leisure activities in Japan including sports, travel, theater, music, games, and gambling.
The Culture of Japan as Seen through Its Leisure brings together scholars of various disciplines from around the globe to discuss different forms of leisure activities in past and present Japan, thus enriching our knowledge of Japanese culture. Arranged in five sections, the volume focu...(Read More)
Intergenerational Programs
(January 1998)
Support for Children, Youth, and Elders in Japan Matthew Kaplan - Author Atsuko Kusano - Author Ichiro Tsuji - Author Shigeru Hisamichi - Author
Provides a rarely-seen portrait of intergenerational programs in Japan, including an overview of similar programs in the United States, of growing interest as our population ages.
The "intergenerational programming concept," now garnering increased interest in America, has been applied to Japanese society as a strategy for maintaining intergenerational and cultural continuity in the face of social and demographic change...(Read More)
