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"One of the most important contributions of this book is its compelling portrait of the various itinerants within, and often without, early-modern Japan's status system. Even though the topic is a rather serious one, Howell reveals a refreshing sense of humor and an original approach. This is a pleasure to read."—Brett L. Walker, author of The Conquest of Ainu Lands "David Howell's immersion in contemporary Japanese scholarship is evident on every page of this masterful book. A probing work of great erudition."—Kären Wigen, author of The Making of a Japanese Periphery
In this pioneering study, David L. Howell looks beneath the surface structures of the Japanese state to reveal the mechanism by which markers of polity, status, and civilization came together over the divide of the Meiji Restoration of 1868. Howell illustrates how a short roster of malleable, explicitly superficial customs—hairstyle, clothing, and personal names— served to distinguish the "civilized" realm of the Japanese from the "barbarian" realm of the Ainu in the Tokugawa era. Within the core polity, moreover, these same customs distinguished members of different social status groups from one another, such as samurai warriors from commoners, and commoners from outcasts.
Japan's stunning metamorphosis from an isolated feudal regime to a major industrial power over the course of the nineteeth and early twentieth centuries has long fascinated and vexed historians. In this study, David L. Howell looks beyond the institutional and technological changes that followed Japan's reopening to the West to probe the indigenous origins of Japanese capitalism.
"In this study, David L. Howell looks beneath the surface structures of the Japanese state to reveal the mechanism by which markers of polity, status, and civilization came together over the divide of the Meiji Restoration of 1868. Howell illustrates how a short roster of malleable, explicitly superficial customs - hairstyle, clothing, and personal names - served to distinguish the "civilized" realm of the Japanese from the "barbarian" realm of the Ainu in the Tokugawa era. Within the core polity, moreover, these same customs distinguished members of different social status groups from one another, such as samurai warriors from commoners, and commoners from outcastes." "In addition to examin...
This major new reference work presents an accessible and innovative survey of the latest developments in the study of early modern Japan. The period from about 1580 to 1877 saw the reunification of Japan after a long period of civil war, followed by two and a half centuries of peace and stability under the Tokugawa shogunate, and closing with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, which laid the foundation for a modern nation-state. With essays from leading international scholars, this volume emphasizes Japan's place in global history and pays close attention to gender and environmental history. It introduces readers to recent scholarship in fields including social history, the history of science and technology, intellectual history, and book history. Drawing on original research, each chapter situates its primary source material and novel arguments in the context of close engagement with secondary scholarship in a range of languages. The volume underlines the importance of Japan in the global early modern world.
A memoir of Ainu life over five hundred years ago, before Japanese invasions nearly killed off this indigenous society. No written records remain, other than Japanese observations, but the author has relied on surviving oral accounts and extensive study of anthropological and archeological discoveries to construct a representative woman's life story.
Japan at Nature’s Edge is a timely collection of essays that explores the relationship between Japan’s history, culture, and physical environment. It greatly expands the focus of previous work on Japanese modernization by examining Japan’s role in global environmental transformation and how Japanese ideas have shaped bodies and landscapes over the centuries. The immediacy of Earth’s environmental crisis, a predicament highlighted by Japan’s March 2011 disaster, brings a sense of urgency to the study of Japan and its global connections. The work is an environmental history in the broadest sense of the term because it contains writing by environmental anthropologists, a legendary Jap...
Why should you ultimately deploy your financial assets at death in a way that you never would have while you were alive? Entrusted: Building a Legacy That Lasts explains why today's model for estate planning today is fundamentally flawed, especially for higher net worth individuals and families, and how it can be fixed