Crafting Selves: Power, Gender, and Discourses of Identity in a Japanese Workplace

by Dorinne K. Kondo

"The ethnography of Japan is currently being reshaped by a new generation of Japanologists, and the present work certainly deserves a place in this body of literature. . . . The combination of utility with beauty makes Kondo's book required reading, for those with an interest not only in Japan but also in reflexive anthropology, women's studies, field methods, the anthropology of work, social psychology, Asian Americans, and even modern literature."—Paul H. Noguchi, American Anthropologist

"Kondo's work is significant because she goes beyond disharmony, insisting on complexity. Kondo shows that inequalities are not simply oppressive-they are meaningful ways to establish identities."—Nancy Rosenberger, Journal of Asian Studies

Genres: Anthropology, Japan, Nonfiction, Ethnography, Social Science, College, History

354 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Nadley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, if a little bit dense.

[Kerry Rayner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting look into the Japanese workplace and its discourse.

[Hen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this eons ago when I was writing an article about intersecting performance of race and gender in certain sociocultural constructs. Writing style stays safe within the genre of academic writing, though the author's ethnographic approach and intriguing case studies elevate the narrative to the realm of truly interesting.

[Alice Jennings · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is excellent. Got lots of quotes out of it, and my whole anthropology class swears by this book.

[Aria Overli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will be using this extensively in my thesis! Amazing book!

[Federica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved it. She's a great anthropologist.