What do you think?
Rate this book
Japan Unbound: A Volatile Nation's Quest for Pride and Purpose
"Not since World War II has Japan faced a crisis like the one before it now. An apparently endless recession has weakened the foundations of the traditional family and severed the bond between Japan's corporations and employees. Unruly children turn classrooms into battlefields. Ultranationalist pride and xenophobia are celebrated in best-selling comic books and championed by media superstars including the governor of Tokyo. Upheavals across the society have significant ramifications for America. As the Japanese reject their traditions wholesale, they view their half-century-old connection to the United States with mounting skepticism." Nathan unveils the horrors of the Japanese school system. He goes inside a "career transition service" to witness the novel, nuanced rituals of job-hunting Japanese-style. He takes the pulse of ordinary citizens who are caught up in the country's many profound social shifts, agitprop pop culture, emerging feminism, environmentalism, teenage consumerism, entrepreneurship and more.
- GenresJapanHistoryNonfiction
271 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
6 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 12, 2017
I have long been acquainted with Prof. John Nathan by his translations in a three-story huge paperback, which I reluctantly bought from the 2005 Book Fair in Bangkok, written by an unknown Japanese author (to me then) named Kenzaburo Oe; the stories being entitled, "A Personal Matter," "The Silent Cry" and "Teach Us to Outgrow Our Madness" in which, of course, their overall 670 pages ultimately took time and patience for my hesitant readings, off and on, till I gradually knew and respected Mr Oe's literary fame and stature as the 1994 Nobel laureate in literature (the second Japanese after Mr Kawabata in the field of literature). That means my due respects and admiration to his fine translations from the Japanese originals, in other words, I regard him as one of the great translators who has kindly contributed to his readers from his Japanese proficiency. Without knowing how to read Japanese, I can read and understand Japanese novels by means of his English translations.
During my struggle, I read somewhere that he wrote a book on Japan viewing her as a modern country with some ongoing problematic issues supported by references and his interviews from many contemporary Japanese authorities. Since then I longed to read it since I would like to know his analyses and ideas as a Japanese translator and Professor of Japanese Cultural Studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara (back flap). I had never had any hope to have a copy, so it's my delight to come across this hardcover at the DASA BookCafe in Bangkok one day last month.
As a general overview, I would like to list its eight chapters and titles for you to taste before reading the real thing yourselves: 1) Monsters in the House: Japan's Bewildered Children, 2) The Family Crisis, 3) The Culture of Arithmetic, 4) The Entrepreneurs, 5) In Search of a Phantom, 6) The New Nationalism II: Institutionalizing Tradition, 7) Shintaro Ishihara: The Sun King, and 8) Yasuo Tanaka: The Trickster.
To continue ...
During my struggle, I read somewhere that he wrote a book on Japan viewing her as a modern country with some ongoing problematic issues supported by references and his interviews from many contemporary Japanese authorities. Since then I longed to read it since I would like to know his analyses and ideas as a Japanese translator and Professor of Japanese Cultural Studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara (back flap). I had never had any hope to have a copy, so it's my delight to come across this hardcover at the DASA BookCafe in Bangkok one day last month.
As a general overview, I would like to list its eight chapters and titles for you to taste before reading the real thing yourselves: 1) Monsters in the House: Japan's Bewildered Children, 2) The Family Crisis, 3) The Culture of Arithmetic, 4) The Entrepreneurs, 5) In Search of a Phantom, 6) The New Nationalism II: Institutionalizing Tradition, 7) Shintaro Ishihara: The Sun King, and 8) Yasuo Tanaka: The Trickster.
To continue ...
March 9, 2015
من المهم قراءة هذا الكتاب، إن كنت تريد أن تعرف حالة اليابان اليوم، وأين ستتجه في المستقبل. ويقول الباحث الأمريكي جون ناثان وهو مؤلف الكتاب الذي أنفق 45 سنة في دراسة ورصد وتحليل كل ما يتعلق بهذا البلد المهم "استطاع المجتمع الياباني في آخر 150 سنة أن يتعامل في الغالب بمرونة وكفاءة، مع كل الآثار الصعبة والقاسية لعمليات التحديث والتصنيع التي مرت به، بالإضافة للحروب التي خاضتها البلاد". ولكن ناثان يبين أيضاً أن اليابان تدفع في المقابل أثمان باهظة لكل التغيرات التي تطرأ على المجتمع الياباني، وعلى ثقافته وهويته.
ونتيجة لأن الأثمان أصبحت باهظة أكثر من أي وقت مضى، ولأن الطاقة الاستيعابية للمجتمع الياباني لم تعد تتحمل المزيد على ما يبدو فقد انفجرت العديد من الظواهر السلبية في قلب هذا المجتمع مثل :
• عودة القومية اليابانية المتشددة لتطل برأسها بقوة، وأصبح هذا واضحاً ليس فقط في تبني بعض زعماء الأحزاب السياسية لها، بل حتى في المنتجات الفنية والترفيهية مثل: رسوم المانغا التي أصبحت تتحدث عن التاريخ الياباني أثناء الحرب العالمية الثانية بلهجة ايجابية وفخورة
• التآكل التدريجي في القيم العائلية التقليدية التي يقوم عليها المجتمع الياباني، والتي أسست لاستقرار مجتمعي وثقافي ونفسي استفادت منه اليابان ككل، بما ذلك شركات القطاع الخاص
• التشتت الذي أصاب النظام التعليمي في اليابان، حيث لم يكتمل تحول هذا الانتقال من نظام تعليمي تقليدي يعتمد على الحفظ والانضباط الصارم، الى نظام اكثر حيوية، يتيح للقدرات والمواهب الفردية للطلاب
بأن تظهر للسطح
ولكن ناثان يشير في المقابل لعدة ظواهر ايجابية تصاحب هذه التحولات الاجتماعية والثقافية والنفسية الكبيرة في جسد اليابان، ومنها، ظهور فئة كبيرة من رجال ورواد الأعمال الشباب الذين يرتقب أن يكونوا المحرك الحيوي للاقتصاد الياباني في السنوات القادمة ويخصص مؤلف الكتاب فصلاً كاملاً للحديث عن هذه الفئة بكل احلامها وتحدياتها ومشاكلها وظروف نشأتها وقصص نجاحها وفشلها. كما أن الكاتب يخصص فصول أخرى للحديث عن القوى الاجتماعية التي تغير اليابان حالياً، مثل المهاجرين، والمرأة، والأقليات وغيرها.
ميزة هذا الكتاب، هي أننا نستطيع قراءته ومقارنة حالة اليابان المذكورة فيه، مع البلدان الشرقية الأخرى، التي تمر بنفس التحولات الاجتماعية والثقافية السريعة.
September 24, 2017
wow, this book actually shocks me and challenges many of my long held beliefs about Japan. Japan's always been a blackhole in my knowledge, it's a mysterious place of immense contradictions: hierarchy vs equality, extreme conformity vs creativity, bureaucracy vs efficiency, pacifism vs militarism, austerity vs consumerism. but i suspect maybe the attempt to generalize or characterize any society to fit in our familar framework/categories is a doomed endeavor.
John Nathan argues in this book that after the spectacular economic boom in the 1960s and 1970s and the collapse in the 1980s, Japanese society is struggling to find and affirm its identity. People have lost the sense of purpose when life long employment security is no longer guaranteed and the traditional family structure has been challenged, leading to widespread alienation and anxiety. there is a rising wave of neonationalism to look to the glory of the past to search for a sense of belonging and pride. as implied in the book, many Japanese feel that their country has always been the shadow of other giants, first the Chinese and now the Americans. many have advocated a break from American influence. the chapters on the crisis of Japan's education system and families are particularly interesting. every country thinks its way is the way of the world, but given the author's command of Japanese culture and literature, I wish he had offered a better attempt at explaining why the Japanese are so remarkably proud of their uniqueness/ superiority and anxious to define themselves.
Before reading this book, I wasn't aware of what the Japanese think of their actions in WWII. on the one hand, it is a wrong accusation that Japan tries to whitewash their crimes in the past, their history textbooks do acknowledge sex slavery, biological weapons, massacre and colonization. Japan has also issued apologies many times . on the other hand, Japan denied the responsibility of their Emperor during WWII (many say General Douglas MacArthur's preventing Emperor Hirohito prosecution was to blame), refused to pay compensation to many Korean women, and controversial official visits to Yasukuni Shrine will continue to cause more tension with its neighboring countries.
my impression from most of my Korean and Chinese friends is that they HATE the Japs (they would insist so even after admitting their personal experience with Japanese people is very positive). that resentment has no equivalent among vietnamese people towards the American or the French or the Chinese. I can't say for sure if Japan's genuinely remorseful but despite the inconsistency in their behavior, most Japanese are ridden with guilt. when the textbook controversy happened, the majority of the population protested against the distortions and cover-up of Japanese brutality. It looks like China is deliberately manipulating the nationalistic sentiment of its population towards Japan as a tool of leverage. partly because it can afford to do so. it's interesting to see how the relationship of these squabbling east asian brothers is going to unfold, esp when resources are becoming more scarce.
p.7: few societies are compelled to assert their uniqueness as loudly and insistently as the Japanese.
p16 by the late 1960s the company man, the cog in the wheel of Japan's emerging economic miracle, was feeling tired and vaguely disillusioned, ...he was beginning to wonder why life was affording him so little gratification
p17 in the 1970s and 1980s uncertainty about identity and purpose was forgotten in the euphoria of spectacular economic succcess
p28 statistics confirm a nationwide epidemic of juvenile crime. it is the youngest segment of the juvenile community, children between 11 and 15 who are increasingly the perpetrators of the most violent and perverted crimes
p31 anarchy was epidemic in elementary schools and spreading into secondary schools. many teachers admit that they have become physically or mentally ill.
p32 by the 1980s, as the postcollege job market constricted, students began to show signs of stress. educators were shaken by a wave of violence in middle schools and there was a rash of suicide by elementary and middle school children who had failed entrance exams. students have lost their motivation to perform and Japan's once vaunted achievement test scores have fallen to below America
p38 Teachers feel the threat of physical danger. Suspension and expulsion are taboo under any circumstances. classroom breakdown is only part of a larger crisis of anger and withdrawal.
p60 the salaryman more than acquiesced to the national mission to overtake the US: he devoted himself obsessively to his work, forgoing leisure time for himself and his family.
p74 layoffs were even under the most extreme circumstances unthinkable. in 1999, the president of a giant department store made headlines when he announced his company was abandoning the commitment to lifetime employment, a tradition that has been becoming endemic across Japanese business. in 1998, Japan’s suicide rate jumped 35%. the director of the mental health center estimates that some 5 million Japanese are contemplating suicide at any given moment. 80% of suicides are company men between 40 and 55.
p156 the textbook controversy and the political explosiveness of official visits to Yasukuni (war shrine) are manifestations of an ongoing tension between contrition about the war and the urgent need to look to the past for a source of pride and self certainty.
p165 a broad based popular movement to amend the constitution (Article 9 that prohibits belligerency) first appeared in the wake of Japan’s experience during the Gulf War. despite pressure applied by Washington, the Japanese goverment declined to join President Bush’s coalition. the result was a firestorm of international opprobrium. the US and other nations accused Japan of hiding behind the constitution as justification for buying its way out of an international commitment. Many Jpaanese were shocked, angry and deeply humiliated. the ratio of those in favor of amendment to those opposed consistently increases.
John Nathan argues in this book that after the spectacular economic boom in the 1960s and 1970s and the collapse in the 1980s, Japanese society is struggling to find and affirm its identity. People have lost the sense of purpose when life long employment security is no longer guaranteed and the traditional family structure has been challenged, leading to widespread alienation and anxiety. there is a rising wave of neonationalism to look to the glory of the past to search for a sense of belonging and pride. as implied in the book, many Japanese feel that their country has always been the shadow of other giants, first the Chinese and now the Americans. many have advocated a break from American influence. the chapters on the crisis of Japan's education system and families are particularly interesting. every country thinks its way is the way of the world, but given the author's command of Japanese culture and literature, I wish he had offered a better attempt at explaining why the Japanese are so remarkably proud of their uniqueness/ superiority and anxious to define themselves.
Before reading this book, I wasn't aware of what the Japanese think of their actions in WWII. on the one hand, it is a wrong accusation that Japan tries to whitewash their crimes in the past, their history textbooks do acknowledge sex slavery, biological weapons, massacre and colonization. Japan has also issued apologies many times . on the other hand, Japan denied the responsibility of their Emperor during WWII (many say General Douglas MacArthur's preventing Emperor Hirohito prosecution was to blame), refused to pay compensation to many Korean women, and controversial official visits to Yasukuni Shrine will continue to cause more tension with its neighboring countries.
my impression from most of my Korean and Chinese friends is that they HATE the Japs (they would insist so even after admitting their personal experience with Japanese people is very positive). that resentment has no equivalent among vietnamese people towards the American or the French or the Chinese. I can't say for sure if Japan's genuinely remorseful but despite the inconsistency in their behavior, most Japanese are ridden with guilt. when the textbook controversy happened, the majority of the population protested against the distortions and cover-up of Japanese brutality. It looks like China is deliberately manipulating the nationalistic sentiment of its population towards Japan as a tool of leverage. partly because it can afford to do so. it's interesting to see how the relationship of these squabbling east asian brothers is going to unfold, esp when resources are becoming more scarce.
p.7: few societies are compelled to assert their uniqueness as loudly and insistently as the Japanese.
p16 by the late 1960s the company man, the cog in the wheel of Japan's emerging economic miracle, was feeling tired and vaguely disillusioned, ...he was beginning to wonder why life was affording him so little gratification
p17 in the 1970s and 1980s uncertainty about identity and purpose was forgotten in the euphoria of spectacular economic succcess
p28 statistics confirm a nationwide epidemic of juvenile crime. it is the youngest segment of the juvenile community, children between 11 and 15 who are increasingly the perpetrators of the most violent and perverted crimes
p31 anarchy was epidemic in elementary schools and spreading into secondary schools. many teachers admit that they have become physically or mentally ill.
p32 by the 1980s, as the postcollege job market constricted, students began to show signs of stress. educators were shaken by a wave of violence in middle schools and there was a rash of suicide by elementary and middle school children who had failed entrance exams. students have lost their motivation to perform and Japan's once vaunted achievement test scores have fallen to below America
p38 Teachers feel the threat of physical danger. Suspension and expulsion are taboo under any circumstances. classroom breakdown is only part of a larger crisis of anger and withdrawal.
p60 the salaryman more than acquiesced to the national mission to overtake the US: he devoted himself obsessively to his work, forgoing leisure time for himself and his family.
p74 layoffs were even under the most extreme circumstances unthinkable. in 1999, the president of a giant department store made headlines when he announced his company was abandoning the commitment to lifetime employment, a tradition that has been becoming endemic across Japanese business. in 1998, Japan’s suicide rate jumped 35%. the director of the mental health center estimates that some 5 million Japanese are contemplating suicide at any given moment. 80% of suicides are company men between 40 and 55.
p156 the textbook controversy and the political explosiveness of official visits to Yasukuni (war shrine) are manifestations of an ongoing tension between contrition about the war and the urgent need to look to the past for a source of pride and self certainty.
p165 a broad based popular movement to amend the constitution (Article 9 that prohibits belligerency) first appeared in the wake of Japan’s experience during the Gulf War. despite pressure applied by Washington, the Japanese goverment declined to join President Bush’s coalition. the result was a firestorm of international opprobrium. the US and other nations accused Japan of hiding behind the constitution as justification for buying its way out of an international commitment. Many Jpaanese were shocked, angry and deeply humiliated. the ratio of those in favor of amendment to those opposed consistently increases.
August 21, 2007
Published in 2004, this book provides a thoughtful look at fairly recent issues concerning Japanese business, politics, youth and cultural identity since WWII, and primarily since the 1980s. The author is quite intimate with the culture and has enough connections (and fluency and cultural awareness) to land interviews with some important folks. While the author provides a well-written and educational piece, he also comes off as kind of cocky about his ability to “explain” Japanese identity. While this book opened my eyes to several crucial figures and ideas in Japan, it also left me skeptical of some of the author’s interpretations. Still, this is a worthwhile read that gave me some perspective regarding Japanese current affairs.
April 4, 2024
Is This An Overview?
Japan has been influenced by various cultures. Cultures with different values, which challenged their fusion. Tension formed between perceived unique traditional values, and the alternative values that are often foreign. Threatening Japanese identity, their sense of self. A cultural change that effects how people live. Changing how people behave, find meaning, and find belonging within school, family, work, society, and politics.
A society in which people tend to be willing to defer to the community. People found belonging being part of the community, but communities are becoming isolating experiences. The changing family structure and the traumatic school experiences, prevent people from building friendships and developing communication skills. School and working hard used to provide people with an appropriate work and rewards, but the state of the economy led to a loss of jobs, a lack of potential reward to look forward to. Various people are seeking differing ways to resolve the economic and social challenges facing Japan.
Caveats?
This book provides an introduction to the changing society in the late 20th century. For a deeper political, cultural, and historic understanding of Japan would require more research.
Japan has been influenced by various cultures. Cultures with different values, which challenged their fusion. Tension formed between perceived unique traditional values, and the alternative values that are often foreign. Threatening Japanese identity, their sense of self. A cultural change that effects how people live. Changing how people behave, find meaning, and find belonging within school, family, work, society, and politics.
A society in which people tend to be willing to defer to the community. People found belonging being part of the community, but communities are becoming isolating experiences. The changing family structure and the traumatic school experiences, prevent people from building friendships and developing communication skills. School and working hard used to provide people with an appropriate work and rewards, but the state of the economy led to a loss of jobs, a lack of potential reward to look forward to. Various people are seeking differing ways to resolve the economic and social challenges facing Japan.
Caveats?
This book provides an introduction to the changing society in the late 20th century. For a deeper political, cultural, and historic understanding of Japan would require more research.
November 17, 2024
It’s interesting to read a book written to explain current events 20 years later. A lot of it makes more sense now than it would have at the time.
And I am sad that even books written by people as knowledgeable as John Nathan contain simple errors, like saying Sakamoto Ryoma was from Kyushu.
And I am sad that even books written by people as knowledgeable as John Nathan contain simple errors, like saying Sakamoto Ryoma was from Kyushu.
November 25, 2017
Interesting read at least, but it did have some dry moments and I wish he would have expanded a few chapters. I feel like if you don't read the title you wouldn't know what this book was about.
October 13, 2011
Books like this one make me realize how clueless I was about Japanese politics while I was growing up in Japan, but I know that I probably enjoyed it more than the average reader because of the familiarity of the names and incidents that the author refers to, and the personal revelations that occurred throughout my reading of the book.
The author interviews an impressive array of thought leaders, politicians and celebrities of post-war Japan such as Ishihara Shintaro, Oe Kenzaburo and Tanaka Yasuo in a quest to demonstrate how and why the Japanese have lost of sense of identity and culture since their defeat in World War II. The book starts off with rather gruesome but interesting reflections on youth violence and the hikikomori phenomenon that has plagued Japanese society since the late 20th century, and uses this introduction to suggest that these atrocities have occurred due to the lack of cultural identity and pride that has been endemic in post-war Japan. I think it's a difficult leap to make because the "void" is so intangible, but the author does a great job in referencing fictional works, important news stories and political movements from both ends of the spectrum in order to articulate this sense of not having a strong cultural identity, purpose, or pride that sits at the root of Japanese society.
Despite the rather heavy material and at times depressing nihilistic views of Japanese society, it's an enjoyable, quick and interesting read. If you're at all familiar with Japanese culture and politics, I think you'll enjoy it.
The author interviews an impressive array of thought leaders, politicians and celebrities of post-war Japan such as Ishihara Shintaro, Oe Kenzaburo and Tanaka Yasuo in a quest to demonstrate how and why the Japanese have lost of sense of identity and culture since their defeat in World War II. The book starts off with rather gruesome but interesting reflections on youth violence and the hikikomori phenomenon that has plagued Japanese society since the late 20th century, and uses this introduction to suggest that these atrocities have occurred due to the lack of cultural identity and pride that has been endemic in post-war Japan. I think it's a difficult leap to make because the "void" is so intangible, but the author does a great job in referencing fictional works, important news stories and political movements from both ends of the spectrum in order to articulate this sense of not having a strong cultural identity, purpose, or pride that sits at the root of Japanese society.
Despite the rather heavy material and at times depressing nihilistic views of Japanese society, it's an enjoyable, quick and interesting read. If you're at all familiar with Japanese culture and politics, I think you'll enjoy it.
August 12, 2010
Published in 2004, this is a quick read with a good overview of the recent state of affairs in Japan. It allows the Western reader to begin to grasp the identity challenges arising in Japan, with some understanding of the historical context. The identity issues revolve around national pride, its relationship with the United States and with other Asian nations. It went into some depth on some of the recent main characters in Japanese politics and business. You can watch a 2004 Charlie Rose panel interview with the author that also goes over many of the major historical points here: http://www.charlierose.com/guest/view... (he is in the latter half).
The chapter on entrepreneurship starts and ends with quotes from a friend, Joi Ito, so that was kind of cool.
The chapter on entrepreneurship starts and ends with quotes from a friend, Joi Ito, so that was kind of cool.
January 1, 2012
A book of essays on Japan by a professor at UC Santa Barbara who has studied the country all his life. Some of the topics: Changes in Japanese family life. Behavior problems in the schools. The new Japanese workplace (without lifetime employment). Nationalism and the rise of the new right. Maverick political leaders.
January 14, 2013
Well-written and interesting, but very much attached to the political and economic context of the early 2000s, and I don't know how relevant it is anymore. Not something I'd recommend for someone who, like me, has an interest in contemporary Japan but needs an introduction.
January 7, 2016
It caught me by surprise! I totally learned a lot new things about modern Japan and dropped the idealistic view of an old Japan! It is well written and it just made me want to learn even more about this country and culture as it is nowadays.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews