Re-Made in Japan: Everyday Life and Consumer Taste in a Changing Society

In this curious collection of scholarly papers, graduate students and professors from various universities (all but two are American) examine the impact of the West on Japanese customs. An essay on the proliferation of Japanese homes for the elderly highlights changes in traditional filial piety; another piece investigates the impact of international fashion on Japanese designers and shoppers, noting that the kimono has fallen into such disuse that classes are now taught on how to wear and fold it. Two articles look at Japanese tourists in Hawaii: one describes in sober detail the difficulties faced by a Honolulu restaurant's French-trained chef's struggles to devise a menu appealing to them; a second profiles their honeymoon spending sprees, complete with lists of typical purchases. The Japanese fad for Argentine tango, most Japanese's adoption of meat in their diets, new drinking ethics and the compromises necessary to make Tokyo Disneyland a success are all intrinsically interesting subjects, although this volume treats the trivial and the significant with equally grave academic fervor. ( Sept. )