Japan: The Basics (2nd Edition)

Japan: The Basics is an engaging introduction to the culture, society, and global positioning of Japan.

Starting by looking at the common stereotypes, clichés, and tropes associated with Japan, this accessible introduction to the country is designed to arm readers with key skills and knowledge for their study of Japan.

This new edition covers topics including:

• How do we go about studying Japan?
• What can be learnt about Japan from looking at its transportation system?
• What is the impact of an aging society?
• What are the connections between popular culture and wider Japanese society?
• How does Japan respond to disasters?
• How are core values about identity formed and what are their implications?
• How did Japan respond to the COVID-19 pandemic?

With exercises, discussion points, and reflective questions throughout, Japan: The Basics is an ideal starting point for all those studying Japan.

The book is a part of Routledge’s The Basics series. The Basics is a highly successful series of accessible guidebooks which provide an overview of the fundamental principles of a subject area in a jargon-free and undaunting format. They are intended for readers coming to a subject for the first time which usually means a combination of students, particularly undergraduates or high school students, and general readers. Rather than trying to provide all the answers about Japan, it puts greater emphasis on trying to help provide new students of Japan with the right questions and ways of studying Japan.

Although the book may be considered a textbook, it also includes a lot of original research and is in many ways a culmination of all of my 47 visits to Japan up to 2023 rather than the result of a single project or one fieldwork trip. What is contained within this book is born from over 35 years of studying the country and the language. It has been shaped by own studies and by hearing the work of other academics at conferences and reading their books, chapters and articles. It is also inspired by the teaching that I have been doing for about 25 years.

• Details about the book at Routledge
• See details about “Japan: The Basics” on Amazon, Apple Books, and Barnes & Noble

Posts and Pages related to the 2nd Edition of Japan: The Basics:

• References in Japan: The Basics (2nd Edition)
• About the cover of the Second Edition
• The emoji on the cover of the Second Edition
• Photos in “Japan: The Basics” (2nd edition)
  • Figure 1.3: Modern and Traditional Side-by-Side
  • Figure 2.1: The Shibuya Scramble Crossing
  • Figure 2.2: A Shinkansen Passing Mount Fuji
  • Figure 2.4a: Space Pressures – Cat Cafe
  • Figure 2.4b: Spaces Pressures at Home
  • Figure 2.4c: Space Pressures – Fishing in Tokyo
  • Figure 3.1a: Hello Kitty Shinkansen
  • Figure 3.1b: Hello Kitty Shinkansen Food Motifs
  • Figure 3.1c: Hello Kitty Shinkansen Seats
  • Figure 3.2b: Kuraimāzu Hai Contents Tourism – Doai Station
  • Figure 3.2d: Kuraimāzu Hai Contents Tourism – Ichinokurasawa and Mount Tanigawa
  • Figure 3.3a: Contents Tourism in the Skies – Star Wars
  • Figure 3.3b: Contents Tourism in the Skies – Pokemon
  • Figure 4.1: Bathing Macaques
  • Figure 5.1a: New Year’s Rituals – Queuing at a Shrine
  • Figure 5.1b: New Year’s Rituals – Busy Shrine
  • Figure 5.2a: The Osutaka Pilgrimage – The Toronagashi
  • Figure 5.2b: The Osutaka Pilgrimage – Osutaka-no-One
  • Figure 5.2c: The Osutaka Pilgrimage – Personal Memorials
  • Figure 5.2d: The Osutaka Pilgrimage – Irei-no-Sono
  • Figure 5.3a: Aokigahara
  • Figure 5.3b: Aokigahara Jukai Sign
  • Figure 5.3c: Aokigahara – No Entry
  • Figure 5.3d: Aokigahara – The Importance of Life
  • Figure 5.3e: Aokigahara – Flowers
  • Figure 5.3f: Aokigahara – Debt Problems
  • Figure 5.3g: Aokigahara – Suicide Location?
  • Figure 5.3h: Aokigahara – Another Suicide Location?
  • Figure 5.5: Omotenashi
  • Figure 6.1: Hachikō and the Shibuya Scramble Crossing
  • Figure 6.2a: Barrier Free – Wheelchair Usage At Stations
  • Figure 6.2b: Barrier Free – Supporting the Deaf
  • Figure 6.2c: Barrier Free – Blindness
  • Figure 7.1a: National Sport – Sumo
  • Figure 7.2a: Nationalism on Display? Yasukuni Shrine’s Torii
  • Figure 7.2b: Nationalism on Display? Yasukuni Shrine
  • Figure 7.2c: Nationalism on Display? Yushukan
  • Figure 7.2d: Nationalism on Display? Protesting the Occupation of the Kuril Islands
  • Figure 7.3a: The Maritime Self Defence Force – JS Izumo
  • Figure 7.3b: The Maritime Self Defence Force – JS Akizuki and JS Suzunami
  • Figure 7.3c: The Maritime Self Defence Force Submarines
  • Figure 7.4: The A-bomb Dome
  • Figure 8.1a: Protecting Sanriku – Kamaishi
  • Figure 8.1b: Protecting Sanriku – Tsunami Evacuation Map
  • Figure 8.1d: Protecting Sanriku – Rikuzentakata
  • Figure 8.3a: Differing Languages on the Railways – Tokaido Shinkansen
  • Figure 8.3b: Differing Languages on the Railways – Tohoku Shinkansen
  • Figure 8.3c: Differing Languages on the Railways – Keikyu
  • Figure 8.4b: Tokyo 2020 Legacies – Ichinomiya, Chiba
• About some of the changes between the first and second edition
• About part of the approach to the book (’42 is the Answer, but what is the Question?’)
• One for All, All for One – an explanation about the name of one of the chapters in the book