Concepedia

TLDR

Japanese ethnography is being reshaped by a new generation of scholars, and this work is positioned as essential reading for those interested in Japan, reflexive anthropology, women's studies, and related fields, emphasizing complexity beyond disharmony. Kondo demonstrates that inequalities serve not only as oppression but also as meaningful mechanisms for identity formation. No additional information.

Abstract

ethnography of Japan is currently being reshaped by a new generation of Japanologists, and the present work certainly deserves a place in this body of literature. . . The combination of utility with beauty makes book required reading, for those with an interest not only in Japan but also in reflexive anthropology, women's studies, field methods, the anthropology of work, social psychology, Asian Americans, and even modern literature.--Paul H. Noguchi, American Anthropologist Kondo's work is significant because she goes beyond disharmony, insisting on complexity. Kondo shows that inequalities are not simply oppressive-they are meaningful ways to establish identities.--Nancy Rosenberger, Journal of Asian Studies