Japan's Minorities: The illusion of homogeneity (Sheffield Centre for Japanese Studies/Routledge Series) [Paperback]

Michael Weiner (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 17, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0415152186 | ISBN-13: 978-0415152181 | Edition: 1

Provides clear historical introductions to the six principal ethnic minority groups in Japan, including the Ainu, Chinese, Koreans and Okinawans, and discusses their place in contemporary Japanese society.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Japan's Minorities: The Illusion of Homogeneity puts the lie to Japanese assertions of racial purity by providing an excellent overview of the subject Asian Thought and Society.

About the Author

Michael Weiner is Professor of Modern Japanese History and Director of International Studies at Soka University of America

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (January 17, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415152186
• ISBN-13: 978-0415152181
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,492,202 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars better with time, April 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Japan's Minorities: The illusion of homogeneity (Sheffield Centre for Japanese Studies/Routledge Series) (Paperback)

I read this book as an undergrad, and was impressed overall with the clarity and sensitivity of the writing. Though I admit to being less than interested in some of the topics covered, and to being somewhat cold to the loads of statistical data brought in in some places, I especially find now that Michael Weiner's introduction and chapter on "The Invention of Identity," and Millie Creighton's excellent article "Soto Others and Uchi Others" reverberate more with time. Weiner provides a great summary of the history of the making of "Japan" as we think of it today, and I find myself going back to it often as I read other books.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fascinating though incomplete, March 16, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Japan's Minorities: The illusion of homogeneity (Sheffield Centre for Japanese Studies/Routledge Series) (Hardcover)

As a member of a minority group in Japan whose existence was unexplored by the contributing authors, I was somewhat dismayed upon reading my copy. The topics addressed in this book made for fascinating reading. One would hope that future editions would include a chapter,or perhaps more than a passing reference to the problems of the Konketsuji, or mixed race groups of Japan, whose members include some of those whom the Japanese most despise and who face some of the more insidious forms of discrimination in Japan.