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The rules of play : national identity and the shaping of Japanese leisure / David Leheny.

By: Material type: TextTextSeries: Cornell studies in political economyPublisher: Ithaca : Cornell University Press, [2003]Copyright date: ©2003Description: xiv, 188 pages : illustrations ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 0801440912
  • 9780801440915
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 306.480952 21
LOC classification:
  • GV125 .L43 2003
Contents:
Ch. 1. Guns, Butter, or Paragliding? -- Ch. 2. Leisure, Policy, and Identity -- Ch. 3. Prewar Leisure and Tourism as "Politics by Other Means" -- Ch. 4. Good and Bad Words in Japanese Leisure Policy in the 1970s -- Ch. 5. The Last Resorts of a Lifestyle Superpower -- Ch. 6. It Takes Ten Million to Meet a Norm -- Ch. 7. Failures of the Imagination.
Review: "The Japanese government seeks to influence the use of leisure time to a degree that Americans and Europeans would likely find puzzling. Through tourism-promotion initiatives, financing for resort development, and systematic research on recreational practices, the government takes a relentless interest in its citizens' "free time." David Leheny argues that material interests are not a sufficient explanation for such a large and consistent commitment of resources. In The Rules of Play, he reveals the link between Japan's leisure politics and its long-term struggle over national identity." "Since the Meiji Restoration, successive Japanese governments have stressed the nation's need to act like a "real" (that is, Western) advanced industrial power. As part of their express desire to catch up, generations of policymakers have examined the ways Americans and Europeans relax or have fun, then tried to persuade Japanese citizens to behave in similar fashion - while suddenly redefining these recreational choices as distinctively "Japanese."" "In tracing the development of leisure politics and the role of the state in cultural change, the author focuses on the importance of international norms and perceptions of Japanese national identity. Leheny regards globalization as a "failure of imagination" on the part of the policymakers. When they absorb lessons from Western nations, they aim for a future created elsewhere rather than envision a locally distinctive lifestyle for their fellow citizens."--BOOK JACKET.
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Holdings
Item type Current library Call number Copy number Status Date due Barcode
Book North Campus North Campus Main Collection 306.480952 LEH (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 1 Available A260166B

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Ch. 1. Guns, Butter, or Paragliding? -- Ch. 2. Leisure, Policy, and Identity -- Ch. 3. Prewar Leisure and Tourism as "Politics by Other Means" -- Ch. 4. Good and Bad Words in Japanese Leisure Policy in the 1970s -- Ch. 5. The Last Resorts of a Lifestyle Superpower -- Ch. 6. It Takes Ten Million to Meet a Norm -- Ch. 7. Failures of the Imagination.

"The Japanese government seeks to influence the use of leisure time to a degree that Americans and Europeans would likely find puzzling. Through tourism-promotion initiatives, financing for resort development, and systematic research on recreational practices, the government takes a relentless interest in its citizens' "free time." David Leheny argues that material interests are not a sufficient explanation for such a large and consistent commitment of resources. In The Rules of Play, he reveals the link between Japan's leisure politics and its long-term struggle over national identity." "Since the Meiji Restoration, successive Japanese governments have stressed the nation's need to act like a "real" (that is, Western) advanced industrial power. As part of their express desire to catch up, generations of policymakers have examined the ways Americans and Europeans relax or have fun, then tried to persuade Japanese citizens to behave in similar fashion - while suddenly redefining these recreational choices as distinctively "Japanese."" "In tracing the development of leisure politics and the role of the state in cultural change, the author focuses on the importance of international norms and perceptions of Japanese national identity. Leheny regards globalization as a "failure of imagination" on the part of the policymakers. When they absorb lessons from Western nations, they aim for a future created elsewhere rather than envision a locally distinctive lifestyle for their fellow citizens."--BOOK JACKET.

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