false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182489258m/1283910.jpg 1283910 1 <p> Modern Japan offers us a view of a highly developed society with its own internal logic. Eiko Ikegami makes this logic accessible to us through a sweeping investigation into the roots of Japanese organizational structures. She accomplishes this by focusing on the diverse roles that the samurai have played in Japanese history. From their rise in ancient Japan, through their dominance as warrior lords in the medieval period, and their subsequent transformation to quasi-bureaucrats at the beginning of the Tokugawa era, the samurai held center stage in Japan until their abolishment after the opening up of Japan in the mid-nineteenth century. </p><p> This book demonstrates how Japan's so-called harmonious collective culture is paradoxically connected with a history of conflict. Ikegami contends that contemporary Japanese culture is based upon two remarkably complementary ingredients, honorable competition and honorable collaboration. The historical roots of this situation can be found in the process of state formation, along very different lines from that seen in Europe at around the same time. The solution that emerged out of the turbulent beginnings of the Tokugawa state was a transformation of the samurai into a hereditary class of vassal-bureaucrats, a solution that would have many unexpected ramifications for subsequent centuries. </p><p> Ikegami's approach, while sociological, draws on anthropological and historical methods to provide an answer to the question of how the Japanese managed to achieve modernity without traveling the route taken by Western countries. The result is a work of enormous depth and sensitivity that will facilitate a better understanding of, and appreciation for, Japanese society. </p> 1272957 25 3 1997 The Taming of the Samurai: Honorific Individualism and the Making of Modern Japan total:11|5:1|4:4|3:4|2:2| 11 37 21 1 4 0 false false Thu Feb 21 07:13:44 -0800 2008 Thu Feb 21 09:12:51 -0800 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Thu Nov 19 01:49:54 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 19 01:49:54 -0800 2009 2 0 false false Wed May 13 16:44:02 -0700 2009 Wed May 13 16:44:02 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Thu Apr 23 19:20:07 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 23 19:20:07 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Mar 14 20:39:09 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 16 10:07:25 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Mar 01 04:08:12 -0800 2009 Sun Mar 01 04:08:12 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sat Jan 24 07:06:24 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 24 07:06:24 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sun Dec 28 18:56:47 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 28 20:56:49 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Tue Nov 25 14:35:07 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 25 14:35:23 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Tue Sep 30 16:15:43 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 30 16:15:43 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Sun Jun 15 17:45:43 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 15 17:46:02 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Sun May 25 18:06:57 -0700 2008 Sun May 25 18:06:57 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Sun Apr 27 09:13:43 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 27 09:13:43 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 17:30:49 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 01 17:30:49 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Sun Dec 16 10:00:55 -0800 2007 Sun Dec 16 10:00:55 -0800 2007 0 0 false false Sat Dec 08 23:11:30 -0800 2007 Sat Dec 08 23:11:44 -0800 2007 0 0 false false Sun Dec 02 21:38:51 -0800 2007 Sun Dec 02 21:38:51 -0800 2007 3 0 false false Wed Oct 03 00:57:35 -0700 2007 Wed Oct 03 00:57:33 -0700 2007 Wed Oct 03 00:57:33 -0700 2007 2 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Thu Sep 27 11:44:56 -0700 2007 Thu Sep 27 11:45:05 -0700 2007 3 0 false false Thu Jul 12 16:00:52 -0700 2007 Thu Jul 12 16:00:52 -0700 2007 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=1283910