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Japan: A Reinterpretation
by Patrick Smith
USA: Pantheon Books
In 1868, Japan abruptly transformed itself from a feudal
society into a modern industrial state. In 1945, the Japanese switched
just as swiftly from imperialism and emperor-worship to a democracy. Today,
argues Patrick Smith, Japan is in the midst of equally sudden and important
change.
Drawing on the voices of Japanese artists, educators,
leaders, and ordinary citizens, Smith reveals a "hidden history" that
challenges the West's focus on Japan as a successfully modernized country.
And it is through this unacknowledged history that he shows why the Japanese
live in a dysfunctional system that marginalizes women, dissidents, and
indigenous peoples; why the "corporate warrior" is a myth; and why the
presence of 47,000 American troops persists as a holdover from a previous
era. The future of Japan, Smith suggests, lies in its citizens' ability
to create new identities and possibilities for themselves, so creating
a nation where individual rights matter as much as collective economic
success.
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