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The Resource Japan and the shackles of the past, R. Taggart Murphy

Japan and the shackles of the past, R. Taggart Murphy

Creator
Author
Summary
  • "A penetrating overview of Japan, from a historical, social, political, economic, and cultural perspective"--
  • "Japan is one of the world's wealthiest and most technologically advanced nations, and its rapid ascent to global power status after 1853 remains one of the most remarkable stories in modern world history. Yet it has not been an easy path; military catastrophe, political atrophy, and economic dysfunction have made regular appearances from the feudal era to the present. A quarter-century ago, Tokyo's stock exchange was even bigger than New York's, and the Japanese industrial juggernaut was thought to be unsurpassable. Now, Japan is seen as a has-been with a sluggish economy, an aging population, dysfunctional politics, and a business landscape dominated by yesterday's champions. Though it is supposed to be America's strongest ally in the Asia-Pacific region, it has almost entirely disappeared from the American radar screen. In Japan and the Shackles of the Past, R. Taggart Murphy places the current troubles of Japan in a sweeping historical context, moving deftly from early feudal times to the Tokagawa era and finally to the modern age that began with the Meiji Restoration. Combining fascinating analyses of Japanese culture and society over the centuries with hard-headed accounts of Japan's numerous political regimes, Murphy not only reshapes our understanding of Japanese history, but of Japan's place in the contemporary world. He concedes that Japan has indeed been out of sight and out of mind in recent decades, but he contends that this is already changing. Political and economic developments in Japan today risk upheaval in the pivotal arena of Northeast Asia; Murphy argues that parallels with Europe on the eve of the First World War are not misplaced. America's half-completed effort to remake Japan in the late 1940s is unraveling, and the American foreign policy and defense establishment is directly culpable for what has happened. The one apparent exception to Japan's malaise is the vitality of its pop culture, but it's actually no exception at all; rather, it provides critical clues to what is going on now. Murphy shares insights into everything from Japan's politics and economics to the texture of daily life, gender relations, the changing business landscape, and both popular and high culture. He places particular emphasis on the story of the fraught, quasi-pathological relationship between the United States and Japan, arguing that it is central to understanding Japan today--and to the prospects for continued American global hegemony"--
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
xxvii, 443 pages
Note
Formerly CIP
Contents
  • Introduction: Does Japan Still Matter?
  • Part One. Past
  • Japan Before the Edo Period
  • The Incubation of the Modern Japanese State
  • Restoration to Occupation
  • Appendix: The Meiji Leaders
  • The Miracle
  • The Institutions of High-speed Growth
  • Consequences (Intended and Otherwise)
  • Part Two. Present
  • Economy and Finance
  • Business
  • Social and Cultural Change
  • Politics
  • Appendix: Important Political Figures of Postwar Japan
  • Japan and the World
Isbn
9780199845989
Instance
Label
Japan and the shackles of the past
Title
Japan and the shackles of the past
Statement of responsibility
R. Taggart Murphy
Creator
Author
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
  • "A penetrating overview of Japan, from a historical, social, political, economic, and cultural perspective"--
  • "Japan is one of the world's wealthiest and most technologically advanced nations, and its rapid ascent to global power status after 1853 remains one of the most remarkable stories in modern world history. Yet it has not been an easy path; military catastrophe, political atrophy, and economic dysfunction have made regular appearances from the feudal era to the present. A quarter-century ago, Tokyo's stock exchange was even bigger than New York's, and the Japanese industrial juggernaut was thought to be unsurpassable. Now, Japan is seen as a has-been with a sluggish economy, an aging population, dysfunctional politics, and a business landscape dominated by yesterday's champions. Though it is supposed to be America's strongest ally in the Asia-Pacific region, it has almost entirely disappeared from the American radar screen. In Japan and the Shackles of the Past, R. Taggart Murphy places the current troubles of Japan in a sweeping historical context, moving deftly from early feudal times to the Tokagawa era and finally to the modern age that began with the Meiji Restoration. Combining fascinating analyses of Japanese culture and society over the centuries with hard-headed accounts of Japan's numerous political regimes, Murphy not only reshapes our understanding of Japanese history, but of Japan's place in the contemporary world. He concedes that Japan has indeed been out of sight and out of mind in recent decades, but he contends that this is already changing. Political and economic developments in Japan today risk upheaval in the pivotal arena of Northeast Asia; Murphy argues that parallels with Europe on the eve of the First World War are not misplaced. America's half-completed effort to remake Japan in the late 1940s is unraveling, and the American foreign policy and defense establishment is directly culpable for what has happened. The one apparent exception to Japan's malaise is the vitality of its pop culture, but it's actually no exception at all; rather, it provides critical clues to what is going on now. Murphy shares insights into everything from Japan's politics and economics to the texture of daily life, gender relations, the changing business landscape, and both popular and high culture. He places particular emphasis on the story of the fraught, quasi-pathological relationship between the United States and Japan, arguing that it is central to understanding Japan today--and to the prospects for continued American global hegemony"--
Member of
Summary
Japan is one of the world's wealthiest and most technologically advanced nations, and its rapid ascent to global power status after 1853 remains one of the most remarkable stories in modern world history. Yet it has not been an easy path; military catastrophe, political atrophy, and economic dysfunction have made regular appearances from the feudal era to the present. In Japan and the Shackles of the Past, R. Taggart Murphy places the current troubles of Japan in a sweeping historical context. Combining fascinating analyses of Japanese culture and society over the centuries with hard-headed accounts of Japan's numerous political regimes, Murphy not only reshapes our understanding of Japanese history, but of Japan's place in the contemporary world
Storyline
Writing style
http://library.link/vocab/ext/novelist/bookUI
10389425
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Murphy, R. Taggart
Dewey number
952
Illustrations
  • illustrations
  • maps
Index
index present
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/resourcePreferred
True
Series statement
What everyone needs to know
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Social change
  • Japan
  • Japan
  • Japan
  • Japan
  • Japan
Target audience
adult
http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/titleRemainder
what everyone needs to know
Label
Japan and the shackles of the past, R. Taggart Murphy
Instantiates
Publication
Note
Formerly CIP
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 409-420) and index
Carrier category
volume
Content category
  • text
  • still image
  • cartographic image
Contents
Introduction: Does Japan Still Matter? -- Part One. Past -- Japan Before the Edo Period -- The Incubation of the Modern Japanese State -- Restoration to Occupation -- Appendix: The Meiji Leaders -- The Miracle -- The Institutions of High-speed Growth -- Consequences (Intended and Otherwise) -- Part Two. Present -- Economy and Finance -- Business -- Social and Cultural Change -- Politics -- Appendix: Important Political Figures of Postwar Japan -- Japan and the World
Control code
000052761126
Dimensions
25 cm.
Extent
xxvii, 443 pages
Isbn
9780199845989
Isbn Type
(hardback : alkaline paper)
Lccn
2014013756
Other physical details
illustrations, map
System control number
(OCoLC)876466860
Label
Japan and the shackles of the past, R. Taggart Murphy
Publication
Note
Formerly CIP
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 409-420) and index
Carrier category
volume
Content category
  • text
  • still image
  • cartographic image
Contents
Introduction: Does Japan Still Matter? -- Part One. Past -- Japan Before the Edo Period -- The Incubation of the Modern Japanese State -- Restoration to Occupation -- Appendix: The Meiji Leaders -- The Miracle -- The Institutions of High-speed Growth -- Consequences (Intended and Otherwise) -- Part Two. Present -- Economy and Finance -- Business -- Social and Cultural Change -- Politics -- Appendix: Important Political Figures of Postwar Japan -- Japan and the World
Control code
000052761126
Dimensions
25 cm.
Extent
xxvii, 443 pages
Isbn
9780199845989
Isbn Type
(hardback : alkaline paper)
Lccn
2014013756
Other physical details
illustrations, map
System control number
(OCoLC)876466860

Subject

Genre

Member of

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