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日本新中产阶级（哈佛大学中日研究专家傅高义成名作！） (傅高义作品系列)
This classic study on the sociology of Japan remains the only in-depth treatment of the Japanese middle class. Now in a fiftieth-anniversary edition that includes a new foreword by William W. Kelly, this seminal work paints a rich and complex picture of the life of the salaryman and his family.
In 1958, Suzanne and Ezra Vogel embedded themselves in a Tokyo suburb, living among and interviewing six middle-class families regularly for a year. Tracing the rapid postwar economic growth that led to hiring large numbers of workers who were provided lifelong employment, the authors show how this phenomenon led to a new social class—the salaried men and their families. It was a well-educated group that prepared their children rigorously for the same successful corporate or government jobs they held. Secure employment and a rising standard of living enabled this new middle class to set the dominant pattern of social life that influenced even those who could not share it, a pattern that remains fundamental to Japanese society today.
In 1958, Suzanne and Ezra Vogel embedded themselves in a Tokyo suburb, living among and interviewing six middle-class families regularly for a year. Tracing the rapid postwar economic growth that led to hiring large numbers of workers who were provided lifelong employment, the authors show how this phenomenon led to a new social class—the salaried men and their families. It was a well-educated group that prepared their children rigorously for the same successful corporate or government jobs they held. Secure employment and a rising standard of living enabled this new middle class to set the dominant pattern of social life that influenced even those who could not share it, a pattern that remains fundamental to Japanese society today.
337 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1968
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101 people want to read
About the author
Ezra F. Vogel
43 books219 followersEzra Feivel Vogel was an American sociologist who wrote prolifically on modern Japan, China, and Korea. He was Henry Ford II Professor of the Social Sciences at Harvard University.
Vogel was born to a family of Jewish immigrants in 1930 in Delaware, Ohio. He graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1950 and received his Ph.D. from the Department of Social Relations in 1958 from Harvard.
After two years of field work in Japan, Vogel worked as an assistant professor at Yale University from 1960 to 1961, but returned to Harvard for post-doctoral work on Chinese language and history. He was appointed as a lecturer in 1964, later becoming a tenured professor; he remained at Harvard until his retirement.
Vogel was involved with several research centers during his career. He was director of Harvard's East Asian Research Center from 1972 to 1977 and chairman of the Council for East Asian Studies from 1977 to 1980. He also was director of the Program on US–Japan Relations at the Center for International Affairs from 1980 to 1987, and was named honorary director upon stepping down. He was director of the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies from 1973 to 1975 and from 1995 to 1999. He was founding director of the Asia Center (1997–1999).
Vogel retired on June 30, 2000.
Vogel was born to a family of Jewish immigrants in 1930 in Delaware, Ohio. He graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1950 and received his Ph.D. from the Department of Social Relations in 1958 from Harvard.
After two years of field work in Japan, Vogel worked as an assistant professor at Yale University from 1960 to 1961, but returned to Harvard for post-doctoral work on Chinese language and history. He was appointed as a lecturer in 1964, later becoming a tenured professor; he remained at Harvard until his retirement.
Vogel was involved with several research centers during his career. He was director of Harvard's East Asian Research Center from 1972 to 1977 and chairman of the Council for East Asian Studies from 1977 to 1980. He also was director of the Program on US–Japan Relations at the Center for International Affairs from 1980 to 1987, and was named honorary director upon stepping down. He was director of the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies from 1973 to 1975 and from 1995 to 1999. He was founding director of the Asia Center (1997–1999).
Vogel retired on June 30, 2000.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 15, 2013
probably there isn't any huge contradiction between rating a book a "4" and not feeling particularly inclined to recommend it to the casual reader. this is an academic treatise. thus, it is full of extremely dry statistics such as "72% of the households have a color TV" and "the average commute is 114 minutes long." Vogel separates a Tokyo bedroom community into "the salarymen" "the independent professionals" "workers and merchants" and then interviews in-depth the families to discover such surprising facts as that 14% of middle-aged Japanese women have learned to enjoy sexual intercourse. shocked, I tell you. shocked.
some of the appeal of this work, if it can be tracked down, is that it is of course to large degree a period piece of its own kind, lurching off into Margaret Mead style ethnography (much about "kinship relations" ha!), and then like counting the precise amount of minutes of foreplay. apparently the Japanese in 1968 had about 75% as much sexual intercourse as Americans. the gap has dramatically increased. (Americans are having more sex than in 1968; Japanese far less). also noteworthy as dated is the overall feel of the community itself-- the people are self-satisfied, secure, and confident about the future. the confidence, especially, has disappeared.
Japan, if I can characterie it today, is full of the feeling of "things closing down." if on the one hand we are--Americans, Japanese, Canadians, Chinese, Europeans, British, whatnot--think it's good that former Third World countries are now getting their act together and becoming international economic powerhouses, of course power in the end has a zero-sum quality to it as well, so there is a trace of wistfulness in 2013 Japan about the time when its dominance was so assured that there was no 'balance of importance' between them and continental Asians. in 1968 if you picked a random Japanese out of the country and a random Chinese out of his/her nation, the difference would be night and day: the Japanese would probably know Stendahl or at least Turgenev; the Chinese would be buck-toothed and fertilizing his rice paddy with human waste. today this same experiment carried out, well, with the statistically average Tokyo dweller and statistcally average Shanghai-ite would reveal the Chinese still noticeably poorer, unhealthier, laggard-- but the Shanghai's daughter would be enrolled in a two year college and so would the Tokyoite's. this is the erosion of privilege / power.
懐かしい! would exclaim most Japanese, I think, reading of the days when the three C's (cooler, car, air-conditioner?) gave way to the four T's (travel, Timex watch... uhhh I think I'm remembering the mnemonic wrong. but anyway, clearly this is a period piece. this captures a very special moment in time. Haruki Murakami wasn't even born yet ha. (actually he was...) so that's why we give 4 **** rating out of 5. captures a moment. captures sociology. actually goes deep, statistically, into the statistically average bedroom community. the relationships between in-laws. country families and town. the personality of the sociologist rarely intrudes, which is good and professional, and when there are moments, those are of a sort of light humor. (viz., "The Japanese by 1978, in my ten year followup, have learnt all the lessons from the Americans they need. The training--and the apprenticeship--are over." bwahahahah)
Anyway, I guess this is getting pretty long. but if you do find a copy, it's not totally out-dated or useless in explaining a significant percentage (still) of Japanese. a good read
some of the appeal of this work, if it can be tracked down, is that it is of course to large degree a period piece of its own kind, lurching off into Margaret Mead style ethnography (much about "kinship relations" ha!), and then like counting the precise amount of minutes of foreplay. apparently the Japanese in 1968 had about 75% as much sexual intercourse as Americans. the gap has dramatically increased. (Americans are having more sex than in 1968; Japanese far less). also noteworthy as dated is the overall feel of the community itself-- the people are self-satisfied, secure, and confident about the future. the confidence, especially, has disappeared.
Japan, if I can characterie it today, is full of the feeling of "things closing down." if on the one hand we are--Americans, Japanese, Canadians, Chinese, Europeans, British, whatnot--think it's good that former Third World countries are now getting their act together and becoming international economic powerhouses, of course power in the end has a zero-sum quality to it as well, so there is a trace of wistfulness in 2013 Japan about the time when its dominance was so assured that there was no 'balance of importance' between them and continental Asians. in 1968 if you picked a random Japanese out of the country and a random Chinese out of his/her nation, the difference would be night and day: the Japanese would probably know Stendahl or at least Turgenev; the Chinese would be buck-toothed and fertilizing his rice paddy with human waste. today this same experiment carried out, well, with the statistically average Tokyo dweller and statistcally average Shanghai-ite would reveal the Chinese still noticeably poorer, unhealthier, laggard-- but the Shanghai's daughter would be enrolled in a two year college and so would the Tokyoite's. this is the erosion of privilege / power.
懐かしい! would exclaim most Japanese, I think, reading of the days when the three C's (cooler, car, air-conditioner?) gave way to the four T's (travel, Timex watch... uhhh I think I'm remembering the mnemonic wrong. but anyway, clearly this is a period piece. this captures a very special moment in time. Haruki Murakami wasn't even born yet ha. (actually he was...) so that's why we give 4 **** rating out of 5. captures a moment. captures sociology. actually goes deep, statistically, into the statistically average bedroom community. the relationships between in-laws. country families and town. the personality of the sociologist rarely intrudes, which is good and professional, and when there are moments, those are of a sort of light humor. (viz., "The Japanese by 1978, in my ten year followup, have learnt all the lessons from the Americans they need. The training--and the apprenticeship--are over." bwahahahah)
Anyway, I guess this is getting pretty long. but if you do find a copy, it's not totally out-dated or useless in explaining a significant percentage (still) of Japanese. a good read
February 23, 2014
i doubt i'll ever have the patience to observe such boring stuff ... boring but important ... Kudos to anthropologists.
October 6, 2011
Just re-read this book. Upon first reading I found it so dry and general, and now I find it to be an incredible snapshot of the rising middle class in the early 1960s. I'm still curious about how Vogel feels comfortable making some of his generalized statements, but I'm very happy to have it as a kind of quasi-primary source.
February 25, 2010
This is a classic, and I was quite amused and amazed at how closely he observed Japanese families in the 1960s. It does give a feeling of "documenting" and objectifying, but it's a fun read actually.
May 7, 2019
当下自媒体舆论有一种声音认为，中国社会已如日本弥漫低欲望氛围。但是读过本书就会强烈感觉到，天朝仍停留在日本九十年代经济泡沫前的精神状态，只不过“嘴上说着不要，身体倒是挺诚实”罢了。尤其是书中对教育考试对家庭社会的影响和在之中的地位像极了当今的中国，反倒与现在“宽松世代”影响下的日本渐行渐远了。
May 15, 2020
《日本新中产阶级》（美）傅高义。
看到的是熟悉的生活
看到的是熟悉的生活
May 12, 2022
日本新中产阶级其实就是日本打工人🤭对国内的打工人很有借鉴意义。
February 4, 2012
A must read for anyone curious about the roots of modern Japanese culture.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews