Studying Japan: Handbook of Research Designs, Fieldwork and Methods

Studying Japan: Handbook of Research Designs, Fieldwork and Methods Edited by Nora Kottmann and Cornelia Reiher   Studying Japan is the first comprehensive guide on qualitative methods, research designs and fieldwork in social science research on Japan. More than 70 Japan scholars from around the world provide an easy-to-read overview on qualitative methods used in research on … Read more

An Affair with a Village

An Affair with a Village By Joy Hendry When doctoral student Joy Hendry first visited the Japanese village of Kurotsuchi in the 1970s, little could she have known that her relationship with the community there would span several decades, leading to the formation of lifelong friendships and a connection which endures to this very day. … Read more

Beyond Kawaii: Studying Japanese Femininities at Cambridge

Beyond Kawaii: Studying Japanese Femininities at Cambridge. edited by Brigitte Steger, Angelika Koch and Christopher Tso with contributions by Anna Ellis-Rees, Ellen Mann, Alexander Russell and Tianyi Vespera Xie About: Kawaii. The love of all things cute has become the dominant image of Japanese girls and women. Real Japanese women are, however, more complex. Some … Read more

Urban Migrants in Rural Japan

Urban Migrants in Rural Japan: Between Agency and Anomie in a Post-growth Society By Susanne Klien **Awarded 2020 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title in the US** Summary Offers an in-depth ethnography of paradigm shifts in the lifestyles and values of youth in post-growth Japan. Urban Migrants in Rural Japan provides a fresh perspective on theoretical notions … Read more

Women Managers in Neoliberal Japan

Women Managers in Neoliberal Japan: Gender, Precarious Labour and Everyday Lives By Swee-Lin Ho   Book Description This book, based on extensive original research, presents a detailed analysis of the varying opportunities and challenges experienced by Japanese women with professional careers, an important category of the population in Japan, whose lives remain little known. It … Read more

Family-Run Universities in Japan

Family-Run Universities in Japan: Sources of Inbuilt Resilience in the Face of Demographic Pressure, 1992-2030 By Jeremy Breaden and Roger Goodman   Book Description Globally, private universities enrol one in three of all higher education students. In Japan, which has the second largest higher education system in the world in terms of overall expenditure, almost … Read more

Masculinity and Body Weight in Japan: Grappling with Metabolic Syndrome

By Genaro Castro-Vázquez Book Description Drawing on the concept of the somatic self, Castro-Vázquez explores how Japanese men think about, express and interpret their experiences concerning body weight control. Based on an extensive ethnographic investigation, this book offers a compelling analysis of male obesity and overweight in Japan from a symbolic interactionism perspective to delve … Read more

Japan’s New Ruralities: Coping with Decline in the Periphery

By Wolfram Manzenreiter, Ralph Luetzeler and Sebastian Polak-Rottmann Japan’s New Ruralities presents a counterargument to the inevitable demise of rural society. Contrary to the dominant  negative perceptions, this book highlights the spatial dimension of power differences behind uneven development in contemporary Japan. Most chapters are fieldwork-based case studies on topics such as corporate farming, local energy … Read more