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Title: The Chrysanthemum and the Sword : Patterns of Japanese Culture by Ruth Benedict ISBN: 0-395-50075-3 Publisher: Mariner Books Pub. Date: 26 June, 1989 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.8 (10 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: No longer accurate (if it ever was)
Comment: While "Chrysanthemum" was embraced as appropriate fare in the immediate post-war era, it has lost nearly all applicability in recent times. Benedict's observations (which were made, incidentally, without her setting foot on Japanese soil) are simply inaccurate when restaged in the setting of the modern international world order. Furthermore, never does she succeed in explaining the origins of the somehow "uniquely unique" Japanese "culture."
A much more thorough, insightful, and, therefore, controversial study of the entire Japanese power system and how it directly shapes culture in Japan was written by Karel van Wolferen in 1988. Though 13 years can be considered an eternity in the shifting background of international politics, van Wolferen's commentary rings eerily true to this day.
Benedict's "Chrysanthemum" must be read for a historical perspective on the misfires of anthropologists; it does not, however, carry my strong recommendation on the basis of its content.
Rating: 4
Summary: Good introduction to Japanese culture
Comment: Anyone who wishes to seriously study Japanese civilization and culture should read this book which is considered a classic, seminal text on the subject. It introduced insights into Japanese culture that are now old hat but were fresh and new to American minds when the book was first published. Although the book is a bit dated as more anthropologists have studied the subject and have been able to conduct field research - which Benedict did not do -, scholars in the field still refer to Benedict's work, so its still worth reading if you want to be fully versed in the literature and discourse. However, if you're entirely new to studying Japanese culture and civilization, this is very readable and a wonderful beginning since Benedict wrote about her Japanese interviewees with real insight and the desire to truly understand the Japanese. Just keep in mind, that this book should be supplemented with other, more recent texts, particularly ones in which the anthropologists actually did conduct field research.
Rating: 5
Summary: Japanese now and then
Comment: Since this book was written 1946 , Japanese have changed and so the same as American. I was surprised to notice Japanese Mrs. Benedict analyzed are those of my parentfs generation and American she referred are my generation. In other words in these 54 years Japanese metamorphosed into American of 54 years ago. American now , in my opinion, more skeptical about their own value system and a little more sensitive about the comparativeness of peoplefs way of thinking including the standard of judgments. People do change and this doesnft mean Mrs. Benedict work is out of date. She shows us how to see and examine the behavior and mindset of different cultures. What kind of information should be collected, and how to gauge and examine those information in order to construct plausible edifice of theory.
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Title: Japanese Society (Center for Japanese and Korean Studies) by Chie Nakane ISBN: 0520021541 Publisher: University of California Press Pub. Date: February, 1972 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: Patterns of Culture by Ruth Benedict, Margaret Mead ISBN: 0395500885 Publisher: Mariner Books Pub. Date: 26 June, 1989 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Japanese Patterns of Behavior by Takie Sugiyama Lebra ISBN: 0824804600 Publisher: University of Hawaii Press Pub. Date: September, 1976 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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Title: The Enigma of Japanese Power : People and Politics in a Stateless Nation by Karel Van Wolferen ISBN: 0679728023 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 10 June, 1990 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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Title: The Anatomy of Dependence by Takeo Doi ISBN: 4770028008 Publisher: Kodansha International Pub. Date: March, 2002 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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