Imagined Families, Lived Families: Culture and Kinship in Contemporary Japan

by Akiko Hashimoto (editor), John W. Traphagan (Editor)

The Japanese family is at a crossroads of demographic change and altered cultural values. While the population of children has been shrinking and that of elders rising, attitudes about rights and responsibilities within the family have changed significantly. The realities of life in postmodern society have shaped both the imagined family of popular culture and the lived experience of Japanese family members. Imagined Families, Lived Families takes an interdisciplinary approach toward these dramatic changes by looking at the Japanese family from a variety of perspectives, including media studies, anthropology, sociology, literature, and popular culture. The contributors look at representations of family in manga and anime, outsider families and families that must contend with state prosecution of political activists, the stereotype of the absolute Japanese father, and old age and end-of-life decisions in a rapidly aging society with changing family configurations.

Genres: Japan

188 pages, Hardcover

First published December 4, 2008

About the author

Akiko Hashimoto is Associate Professor of Sociology and Asian Studies at the University of Pittsburgh.

Reviews

[Rafael Munia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Albeit the book advertises itself as a "interdisciplinary" look into the subject, I would say that this is more of an "non-disciplinary" look into the subject at hand.
The chapters read more like field reports, consisting of merely descriptive accounts of the subjects they take rather than theorizing those findings into something bigger and more relevant.
If that is your thing, than perhaps this can be an interesting book. Some of the subjects taken are quite interesting and not so often discussed in English available books.
But then again, if you are looking to expand on discussions regarding Culture, Kinship, and Family, this might not be worth your time.

[Felipe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, this collection was both poorly edited and rather unbalanced in terms of content. I would really only recommend the introduction for a decent overview, and then Napier's chapter, which is admittedly more literary than anthropological, and should be read as such.

Also, whoever designed that damn cover should be fired. Not one chapter in this volume deals with youth or youth culture; indeed it sways far more towards the elderly (which isn't a bad thing, of course, but false advertising is false advertising!).