Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
What role does consumption play in Japanese lives that are more than study, work, and shopping? How have those lives changed since World War II as Japan has wrestled with the meaning of white-collar careers, increasing independence for women, changing family values, a shrinking birth rate, and an aging population? Japan's first think tank devoted to the study of consumer behaviour was created to answer these questions. In this book, an anthropologist reads its research, exploring Japan through the eyes of Japanese researchers and discovering patterns of change that are both uniquely Japanese and shared by consumers in other advanced industrial nations.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 269-272) and index.
Table of Contents
Material conditions -- Emotional responses -- That 'typical Japanese', the baby boomer salaryman -- Women spread their wings -- Ideal couples and other choices -- What's happening to the children? -- Growing old in an aging Japan -- Real places, imaginary spaces -- Putting Japan in perspective.