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The Japanese Mind: Understanding Contemporary Japanese Culture
 
 
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The Japanese Mind: Understanding Contemporary Japanese Culture (Paperback)

by Roger Davies (Author), Osamu Ikeno (Author) "Ambiguity, or aimai, is defined as a state in which there is more than one intended meaning, resulting in obscurity, indistinctness, and uncertainty ..." (more)
3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
Price: £10.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Product details

  • Paperback: 280 pages
  • Publisher: Tuttle Publishing (Jun 2002)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0804832951
  • ISBN-13: 978-0804832953
  • Product Dimensions: 21 x 13.8 x 2.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 65,848 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #13 in  Books > Study Books > Undergraduate & Postgraduate > Arts & Humanities > Area Studies > Asian Studies
    #51 in  Books > History > Countries & Regions > Asia > East Asia > Japan

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Product Description

Product Description
In THE JAPANESE MIND, Roger Davies offers Westerners an invaluable key to the unique aspects of Japanese culture. Readers will gain a clear understanding of what really makes the Japanese, and their society, tick. Among the topics explored are: aimai (ambiguity), amae (dependence upon others' benevolence), chinmoku (silence in communication), gambari (perseverance), giri (social obligation), kenkyo (the appearance of modesty), zoto (gift giving), and much more.
Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
Ambiguity, or aimai, is defined as a state in which there is more than one intended meaning, resulting in obscurity, indistinctness, and uncertainty. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (3)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.1 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars nihonjinron -nothing useful, 4 Jul 2007
By R. Mayne "turning Japanese" (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I've lived in Japan for 5 years and speak the language fluently and quite frankly this book offers nothing but tired concepts and a trite superficial rehash of nihonjin-ron ideology, pleasant to Japanese right wingers and 'japanologists'.

The section on 'AMAE' offers nothing but direct quotes from Doi who's work, popular in the 1960s, is largly anecdotal and discredited.

Try Peter Dale's 'the myth of Japanese unique-ness' of Sugimoto's excellent 2003 book 'An introduction to Japanese society' which is based on scientific research and fact not silly notions of Japanese as a homogenous borg like organism that can be studied from afar and defined by a few 'key concepts'.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars well worth reading, 10 Dec 2003
I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book as it is very informative but yet in a very accessible way. The information is clear and presented in independent small chapters each related to a concept or an attitude, allowing the reader to select the topic he is interested in. In addition, as it is written jointly by Japanese students and a European citizen, it develops, both from the internal and external points of view, the details and explanations that we need to know in order to better understand behaviour and habits seemingly so remote from ours.
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25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly enlightening..., 20 Dec 2003
By J. M. Pemberton "quatermax" (Cyprus) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
As a European and ‘general reader’ I found the book gave a fascinating insight into what can at first appear to the layman to be a baffling and unfathomable culture, given extra credence by the fact that, as the introduction states, the information presented is from the perspective of the Japanese people themselves. The format allows for casual study as the chapters can be read in any order you wish.
I would consider this an invaluable guide for anyone visiting Japan and/or who wishes to better understand the complexities of Japanese customs and behaviour. No book could possibly explain all the intricate facets of Japanese society, and certainly not to everyone’s satisfaction, but ‘The Japanese Mind’ goes a long way toward doing so.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars A vague and cofusing introduction.
A superficial and vague account on the 'Japanese Mind'.
I think this book has a big potential to cofuse the uninformed reader.
Published 1 month ago by Doriana Ruesch

1.0 out of 5 stars Are "the Japanese" so "unique"?
Readers seeking to gain insight into Japanese lives, rather than read this kind of one-sided nihonjinron (theories of Japaneseness - a kind of propaganda that was fashionable in... Read more
Published on 13 Jun 2007 by Snikwas

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting intoduction to the unique character of the Japanese mind
This is a wonderful introduction to the peculiar thing that is being Japanese. Even some Japanese people find it hard to pin down what it is to be Japanese and what it means. Read more
Published on 29 Nov 2006 by Mr. A. Levicki

3.0 out of 5 stars A good start.
Although far from perfect, this book is a good introduction to Japanese thinking and behaviour. Each chapter mainly considers one concept, but a few are found in several parts... Read more
Published on 29 Oct 2006 by Didier Danillon

2.0 out of 5 stars Limited insight into japanese culture
I bought this book hoping that it would give a comprehensive, structured commentary into Japanese life and mindset. Read more
Published on 22 Jul 2005

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping
This is an amazing book. It really gets to the root of a number of issues relating to Japanese culture. Read more
Published on 7 Nov 2003 by jankensan

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