The Japanese consumer: an alternative economic history of modern Japan

要旨

The Japanese Consumer claims to be an alternative economic history of modern Japan. I don?t think it is. It is an account of the place of consumption in the everyday life of the Japanese population, drawn largely from a rich scholarship that has become available in English during the last two decades. Japan specialists will most probably be familiar with the studies Francks utilized in this publication. For scholars unfamiliar with scholarship on Japan, however, and for the popular reader in particular, this book will definitely prove very refreshing, providing a thorough and informative overview of the development of Japanese consumption practices from early-modern times to the present. Does it contribute to the field, open up new grounds, offer interesting research possibilities? I dare to say it does not. A major contribution of this volume is in neatly summarizing existing scholarship, which will prove useful in undergraduate teaching. The Japanese Consumer is structured chronologically. The two chapters that follow the introduction set the stage for the book by describing the world of consumption in Japan before the influx of technologies, goods and fashions from the West. Chapter two portrays the commercial culture of the great cities, with the particular focus on the city of Edo (present-day Tokyo), while chapter three depicts frugal life in the countryside. The main sources for these two chapters include the multi-volume classic Cambridge History of Japan and acclaimed monographs such as Servants, Shophands and Laborers in the Cities of Tokugawa

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