I went to Japan for the first time in 2007, on a business trip. I read this book after I'd visited. I wish I'd read it before! It's not a practical guide or anything like that but it does get beneath the surface and help to explain the culture. I found it helped to develop my "feel" for the place. Very thoughtful treatment.
One to avoid (Rating 1 of 5)
» G. M. Morris
Ignore the sycophantic reviews here, this book tries to pass off many fantasies and inaccuracies as fact.
Macfarlane has done a little bit or research, visited Japan only 6 times in sixteen years and spoken to a few Japanese people and then thinks he can write a book about Japan. It reminds me of a chap who once wrote an newspaper article detailing the uniqueness of Japan, based upon a conversation he had with me at a party (having never been there himself).
Japan is a fascinating country, but if you really want to learn more then I would suggest perhaps going there, reading up on the history, reading the literature, study the culture, learn the language, speak to the people and maybe even live there.
What really goads me about this book, and thus leads me to write this review, is that fact that he has tried to present the information as though it's fact and not just his and a few of his Japanese friends fanciful musings.
Brilliant but too much anthropological jargon (Rating 4 of 5)
» Thinking Allowed
Alan Macfarlane's analysis of the utter otherness of Japan and how we are lured into thinking the differences are not there is masterly. So many things make much more sense in the light of his scholarship. However, given that this is not supposed to be a technical anthropology book, his otherwise fascinating work is marred by the presence of far too much unexplained opaque anthropological jargon. This could so easily have been avoided; the book might have ended up thicker, but it would have been all the better for that.
Enchanted modernity (Rating 5 of 5)
» M. Hsieh
An inspiring and engaging account of perhaps the only `modern' society that remains an enchanted world. Macfarlane not only provides persuasive answers to enigmas about Japan that have baffled generations of foreign commentators, but also demonstrates the necessity of changing the very questions that have been asked about Japan. His notion of an integrated, `enchanted' world is a striking one that seems to constitute a significant shift from other paradigms of `modern' nations, avoiding deeply ingrained binaries between East/West, natural/supernatural, among others.
In his _We Have Never been Modern_, Bruno Latour critiques the way in which we `moderns' have so eagerly polarized and separated different elements of our world: technology, nature, kinship, people, objects . . . Macfarlane's study of Japan goes beyond Latour, offering a convincing vision of a different kind of modernity.
Reading the book, one cannot escape the impression that it has been as lovingly and intricately crafted as Japanese lacquer-ware, painstakingly worked and re-worked to the highest degree of artistry. Filled with keen and often surprising observations, the book is a true pleasure to read. Even after one has emerged from _Japan_, it continues to invite re-reflection and repeated journeys into the looking glass.
"A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma" (Rating 5 of 5)
» Stefan Kosciuszko
Churchill's quotation on Russia is perhaps more appropriately addressed to Japan. For those of us who love the country, and the people, you will know that Japan presents a constant lifelong learning journey full of magical surprises, and not without frustration, when one discovers that what one thought one knew, suddenly seems different.
The last book, until this new offering by Alan Macfarlane, that took me on such a journey was published in 1917, namely the observations made by the zoologist Edward S. Morse between 1877 and 1883, post Meiji Restoration.The Japan that he described in such detail is still recognisable today and his detailed commentary helps one to understand the origins of much of what may be called the essence of Japan. However his book is best appreciated by those who already know Japan well through many visits and much interaction.
Alan Macfarlane's book importantly goes beyond observations. As a historian and world leading anthropologist at Cambridge University he has developed a truly unique perspective from a lifetime of studying cultures. In this book he has touched the elusive soul of Japan and presented it in a manner that is both intellectually provocative and penetratingly revealing. It offers the less well informed reader a chance to understand the myriad facets of the Japanese people from the comfort of your own sitting room. His engaging style is learned, yet easy to understand and full of subtle nuances that tinkle across the piano keys of the mind.
I challenge anyone to read this book and remain unfascinated by Japan and untempted to make a visit. At the very least you will have been taken on an unforgettable journey.
Mutual understanding between the people of different nations smoothes the effect of tectonic plate movements between civilisations that historically, and currently, have lead to conflict on the one hand and development of humanity on the other. At the very least this book helps us understand more about Japan than any other book since Morse.
Alan's lasting contribution to learning and civilisation has come from many books that he has written, available on Amazon, and this book is another great masterpiece. Read this and be prepared to be enlightened, amused and intrigued. Then go on and read his other books.....your perspective on life will never be the same.
NOTE: Examples of Alan Macfarlane's anthropological work can be found on www.digitalhimalaya.com or YouTube
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