基本説明
This is a lively discussion of Japanese popular culture from an anthropological perspective.
Full Description
Dolores Martinez heads an international team of scholars in this lively discussion of Japanese popular culture. The book's contributors include Japanese as well as British, Icelandic and North American writers, offering a diversity of views of what Japanese popular culture is, and how it is best approached and understood. They bring an anthropological perspective to a broad range of topics, including sumo, karaoke, manga, vampires, women's magazines, soccer and morning television. Through these topics - many of which have never previously been addressed by scholars - the contributors also explore several deeper themes: the construction of gender in Japan; the impact of globalisation and modern consumerism; and the rapidly shifting boundaries of Japanese culture and identity. This innovative study will appeal to those interested in Japanese culture, sociology and cultural anthropology.
Contents
Introduction: the worlds of Japanese popular culture: gender shifting boundaries and global cultures D. P. Martinez; 1 Sumo in the popular culture of contemporary Japan Yamaguchi Masao; Part II. The Male Domain: 2 Transformational magic: some Japanese super-heroes and monsters Tom Gill; 3 Akira postmodernism and resistance Isolde Standish; 4 Japan's empty orchestras: echoes of Japanese culture in the performance of karaoke Bill Kelly; Part III. The Female Domain: 5 Vampries psychic girls flying women and sailor scouts: four faces of the young female in Japanese popular culture Susan Napier; 6 Japanese women's magazines: the language of aspiration Keiko Tanaka; 7 Nonchan's dream: NHK morning serialised television novels in the 1980s Paul Harvey; Part IV. Shifting Boundaries: 8 Je t'aime moi non plus: media stories of bliss and mixed blessings in marriages between the 'inside' and the 'outside' in Japan Halldór Stefánsson; 9 The cult of Oguricap: or how women changed the social value of Japanese horse-racing Nagashima Nobuhiro; 10 Soccer shinhatsubai: what are Japanese consumers making of the J League? Jonathan Watts.
