Everyday Things in Premodern Japan The Hidden Legacy of Material Culture by Susan B. Hanley 9780520922679 0520922670

Everyday Things in Premodern Japan The Hidden Legacy of Material Culture Susan B. Hanley – Ebook Instant Download/Delivery ISBN(s): 9780520922679, 0520922670

Product details:

• ISBN 10: 0520922670
• ISBN 13: 9780520922679
• Author: Susan B. Hanley 

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.

Table contents:

CHAPTER ONE The Level of Physical Well-Being in Tokugawa Japan
CHAPTER TWO Housing and Furnishings
CHAPTER THREE A Resource-Efficient Culture
CHAPTER FOUR A Healthful Lifestyle
CHAPTER FIVE Urban Sanitation and Physical Well-Being
CHAPTER SIX Demographic Patterns and Well-Being
CHAPTER SEVEN Stability in Transition From the Tokugnwn Period to the Meiji Period
CHAPTER EIGHT Physical Well-Being A Comparative Perspective

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