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Making Common Sense of Japan (Pitt Series in Policy and Institutional Studies) Paperback – October 15, 1993

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Steven R. Reed (Author)
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5 out of 5 stars 2 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Series: Pitt Series in Policy and Institutional Studies
  • Paperback: 200 pages
  • Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press; 1 edition (October 15, 1993)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0822955105
  • ISBN-13: 978-0822955108
  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,179,745 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 starsEssential reading for those interested in studying Japan
By Richard Eriksson on January 4, 2000
Format: Paperback
Various movies, books, and other sources have contributed to an "eroticisation" of Japanese, its people and its culture. Steven R. Reed, in his book, Making Common Sense of Japan, sets out to dispel common myths about Japanese culture some Americans still cling to.
In the first chapter, he sets out his framework by which asking whether Japan is a unique nation, and his conclusion on this may startle Americans: only when the United States is eliminated from comparison Japan is not unique. In fact, he says, it has much in common with Western European countries, with similar sizes of population and land space and that they are industrialized democracies. It is America, not Japan that is unique, in that it has a large population, land mass, and huge crime rate.
The second chapter tackles the question of culture. Reed looks at why people act they way they do, and de-emphasizes rationality (this is a sticking point for rational-choice theorists, who would have a rather technical criticism of his analysis), and dispels the notion of a mystical explanation of culture. Reed's conceptualizes culture in terms of "common sense", which is simply the knowledge gained by experience. He says that too much about a country is attributed to its culture, and for this he gives the example of the use of umbrellas. Upon visiting Japan, he found it odd that many Japanese would open their umbrellas when there was a mist, and quickly attributed it to their culture (they are "wimps" or "conformist"). He found, that after walking for a short period during a mist, that umbrellas were actually quite practical, because he found that walking in a mist made the shoulders of his suit very wet.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsIs Japan really so unique? This puts that thought in doubt!
By Calvin Isenor on February 16, 2015
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
An excellent argument that much of Japan's so-called "cultural uniqueness" is simply a synthesis of logical adjustments to the local environment in an environment and history far removed from the western experience. Further analysis of what happens in theory versus in practice also helps to bridge the perceived divide in how the Japanese and the Westerner think.

Well-written, excellently argued, and filled with oft-humorous but always informative anecdotes, Reed makes an excellent case for removing Japan's cultural and economic outlier status.
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