Please note: In order to keep Hive up to date and provide users with the best features, we are no longer able to fully support Internet Explorer. The site is still available to you, however some sections of the site may appear broken. We would encourage you to move to a more modern browser like Firefox, Edge or Chrome in order to experience the site fully.

Supporting your high street Find out how »
Everyday Things in Premodern Japan : The Hidden Legacy of Material Culture, Paperback / softback Book

Everyday Things in Premodern Japan : The Hidden Legacy of Material Culture Paperback / softback

Paperback / softback

Available to Order - This title is available to order, with delivery expected within 2 weeks

Description

Japan was the only non-Western nation to industrialize before 1900 and its leap into the modern era has stimulated vigorous debates among historians and social scientists.

In an innovative discussion that posits the importance of physical well-being as a key indicator of living standards, Susan B.

Hanley considers daily life in the three centuries leading up to the modern era in Japan.

She concludes that people lived much better than has been previously understood - at levels equal or superior to their Western contemporaries.

She goes on to illustrate how this high level of physical well-being had important consequences for Japan's ability to industrialize rapidly and for the comparatively smooth transition to a modern, industrial society.

While others have used income levels to conclude that the Japanese household was relatively poor in those centuries, Hanley examines the material culture - food, sanitation, housing, and transportation.

How did ordinary people conserve the limited resources available in this small island country?

What foods made up the daily diet and how were they prepared?

How were human wastes disposed of? How long did people live?Hanley answers all these questions and more in an accessible style and with frequent comparisons with Western lifestyles.

Her methods allow for cross-cultural comparisons between Japan and the West as well as Japan and the rest of Asia.

They will be useful to anyone interested in the effects of modernization on daily life.

Information

Save 20%

£27.00

£21.49

Available to Order - This title is available to order, with delivery expected within 2 weeks
Add to Basket
Sign in to add to wishlist
 
Free Home Delivery

on all orders

 
Pick up orders

from local bookshops

Information