Product Description

The Human Tradition in Modern Japan is a collection of short biographies of ordinary Japanese men and women, most of them unknown outside their family and locality, whose lives collectively span the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Their stories present a counterweight to the prevailing stereotypes, providing students with depictions of real people through the records they have left-records that detail experiences and aspirations.

The Human Tradition in Modern Japan offers a human-scale perspective that focuses on individuals, reconstitutes the meaning of people's experiences as they lived through them, and puts a human face on history. It skillfully bridges the divides between the sexes, between the local and the national, and between rural and urban, as well as spanning crucial moments in the history of modern Japan.

The Human Tradition in Modern Japan is an excellent resource for courses on Japanese history, East Asian history, and peoples and cultures of Japan.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #939463 in Books
• Published on: 2002-01-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 241 pages

Review
"...an antidote to the perpetuation of the myth of ‘the Japanese’ as a peculiarly homogenous, harmonious, and culture-bound people." -- —John W. Dower, author of Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II

“....illustrates the themes of ‘big history’ through the flesh-and-blood experiences of real people. The writing is lively and accessible.” -- –James L. Huffman Professor of History Wittenberg University

Customer Reviews

Revealing and recommended study of Japanese social history.
Ably edited by Anne Walthall (Professor of Japanese history at the University of California, Irvine), The Human Tradition In Modern Japan by is an assemblage of short biographies of ordinary Japanese men and women, most of whom were not well-known outside their home area, spanning the seventeenth through twentieth centuries. Highly recommended for readers with an interest in Japanese history and culture, The Human Tradition In Modern Japan approaches Japanese history and society in a different light, as it debunks commonly myths in the United States about Japan being an entirely "homogenous" society, and successfully presents life in Japan as people really lived it from the 17th to the 20th centuries.

Wonderful Look at the Japanese People
I read this book for a Japanese History class. The book covers from 1600 to about 1990 the lives of famous and ordinary Japanese men and women. It was refreshing to read about how the political side of history has impacted people and society. Highly recommended!