Mirror of Modernity: Invented Traditions of Modern Japan (Twentieth Century Japan: The Emergence of a World Power) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0520206215 ISBN 13: 9780520206212

Publisher: University of California Press, 1998

Synopsis

This collection of essays challenges the notion that Japan's present cultural identity is the simple legacy of Japan's premodern and insular past. Building on the pathbreaking historical analysis of British traditions, The Invention of Tradition, sixteen American and Japanese scholars examine "age-old" Japanese cultural practices, ranging from judo to labor management, and show these to be largely creations of the modern era.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

"This book forces a rethinking of the contentional dichotomy between tradition and modernity. The authors argue provocatively that much of Japanese 'tradition' is a modern invention."—Gail Lee Bernstein, author of Haruko's World

"Sure to stimulate debate in the field of Japanese studies, this important work deftly historicizes the origins of such 'traditional practices' as judo or Japanese-style management."—Peter Duus, author of The Abacus and the Sword

From the Back Cover:

"This book forces a rethinking of the contentional dichotomy between tradition and modernity. The authors argue provocatively that much of Japanese 'tradition' is a modern invention." (Gail Lee Bernstein, author of Haruko's World)

About this edition

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0520206215
• ISBN 13: 9780520206212
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 300
• Editor: Vlastos Stephen