The Japanese Mind: Understanding Contemporary Japanese Culture / Roger J. Davies & Osamu Ikeno

RATINGS

Overall: 3.4/ 5 stars

Text Level:

Entertainment:

Self-Help:

Page Count: 280

Is this book right for me and my inmate?

Buy on: Amazon

The whole book title is “Understanding contemporary Japanese Culture.” To understand Japan’s current climate of people you must understand its past. Japan is an island that has never had conquest, it has only been ravaged by itself and its feudal societies. While I have enjoyed the company of many Japanese exchange students through the years, I could have used this book before hosting my first set of students> I was so clueless as how different a culture Japan is from the West. Even Japanese Americans have brought over the years and years of rooted traditions and became “iitoko-dori” which the book described as “adopting elements of foreign culture.” The entire book is written by student authors from the Ehime University and after each chapter the book introduces solutions as well as discussion activities for use in small groups. It’s hard to believe that Japanese culture was once dominated by the samurai for 150 years. I have been aware of the vertical cultures in Japan that the book highlight for quite some time as my students talk about them. Japan is a thousand times more of a polity country than any wester one is and respect is of the utmost pillar. Japanese modesty (Kenkyo) is also held to highest esteem and is appreciated. After reading this book, I am more on fire to visit the land of the rising sun.