Handbook of Japanese Popular Culture

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Description

A handbook which provides a convenient and efficient guide to the prevalent ways of life, recreations and artistic creations of contemporary Japan. It is designed for the general reader, as well as the specialist in Japanese culture. The areas explored are those that have proven to be of durable interest to the Japanese, such as sports, science fiction and popular music, as well as passing fads and fancies.

Reviews

"Born out of an editor's inability to find a suitable book for teaching the subject, this is a welcome title. The Handbook includes articles on life-style and popular culture in urban Japan, popular architecture, new religions, the performing arts manzai and rakugo, popular film, television, sports, popular music, comics, science fiction, and mystery literature, and ends with an excellent concluding chapter. Contributors are both Japanese and American. Japanese sources are heavily cited throughout. The semantic differences between the Japanese and American concepts of the term popular culture' present a problem, as traditional, folk, mass, and public culture, as well as fashions and fads, are often hardly distinguishable in the Japanese context. . . . [T]his is a fine contribution in a field where works in English are seriously lacking. . . . Recommended for research and/or large university libraries."-Choice
. . . That the contributors think individually about the meaning and uses of popular culture considerably enriches this volume. . . . the editors see their volume as "a touchstone for specialists." It is designed for teachers, all of its authors are academics, and it is not intended as an interpretative book. It is a companion volume in an academic series and contains sections on reference works and research collections.-The Japan Times
Born out of an editor's inability to find a suitable book for teaching the subject, this is a welcome title. The Handbook includes articles on life-style and popular culture in urban Japan, popular architecture, new religions, the performing arts manzai and rakugo, popular film, television, sports, popular music, comics, science fiction, and mystery literature, and ends with an excellent concluding chapter. Contributors are both Japanese and American. Japanese sources are heavily cited throughout. The semantic differences between the Japanese and American concepts of the term popular culture' present a problem, as traditional, folk, mass, and public culture, as well as fashions and fads, are often hardly distinguishable in the Japanese context. . . . [T]his is a fine contribution in a field where works in English are seriously lacking. . . . Recommended for research and/or large university libraries.-Choice
Handbook of Japanese Popular Culture is an admirable effort to survey and introduce the popular culture of a culture quite different from that of the Western countries. Essays examine TV, architecture, religions, SF, comics, etc. . . . I found the book a most welcome addition to the (in America separate) field. . . .-CAST/Communication Booknotes
." . . That the contributors think individually about the meaning and uses of popular culture considerably enriches this volume. . . . the editors see their volume as "a touchstone for specialists." It is designed for teachers, all of its authors are academics, and it is not intended as an interpretative book. It is a companion volume in an academic series and contains sections on reference works and research collections."-The Japan Times
"Handbook of Japanese Popular Culture is an admirable effort to survey and introduce the popular culture of a culture quite different from that of the Western countries. Essays examine TV, architecture, religions, SF, comics, etc. . . . I found the book a most welcome addition to the (in America separate) field. . . ."-CAST/Communication Booknotes

Author Bio

RICHARD GID POWERS is Professor of History and American Studies at the City University of New York's College of Staten Island. He is the editor of the Journal of International Popular Culture and has edited many publications in the fields of American and international popular culture. HIDETOSHI KATO is Professor of Sociology at the University of the Air in Chiba, Japan. BRUCE STRONACH is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Merrimack College.