Christopher Goto-Jones

What piqued your interest in this?

I grew up in Tamil Nadu, India.

Culturally, we share strong sense of honor-shame with Japan.

Most People in the West, might know it through words, but they won't know how it feels.

This work by Christopher is a superb introduction to Contemporary Japan.

This reflects, my previous readings from Andrew Gordon, a more thorough detailed work on Japan.

Why do you recommend Japan History?

In Tamil Nadu, we don't learn much about Japan.

Most Popular phrases are, they work hard, their society is advanced.

Funny jokes like, all Japanese make their own clocks.

I'd wish, Tamil People are familiar with narrative of Japanese Modernization.

This would help, Tamil People to absorb good institutional ideas.

It's quite intriguing, fascinating to learn about Japanese Society.

And, also being familiar with their Modernization.

Tamil People can learn, how not to have identity crises?

Tamil People can learn, how to preserve their culture?

Perhaps, Tamil people can learn good things from all?

We would enter global stage.

Do you recommend any other work?

Patrick Smith, a Western Journalist, had lived in Japan, China and India.

He spent time decades observing, comparing West, and these three countries.

We had friendly discussion on this topic.

In his work, he asks the following:

“What does it mean to be Modern?”

“Can Asia understand itself without referring to the West?”

He gives an, Essay narrative in, Somebody Else's Century: East and West in a Post-Western World.

I found his essays were accurate, as I constantly reflect East and West.

Finally, If you looking for a thorough, scholarly work on Japan.

I would recommend this:

Andrew Gordon, A Modern History of Japan: From Tokugawa Times to the Present.

I read Andrew Gordon's work on my plane ride from Tuticorin to Delhi, to San Francisco.

Deus Vult,
Gottfried… (mehr)

Another very impressive book from this series. Goto-Jones hit just the right note for me, not making assumptions about prior knowledge, nor weighing the book down with unwanted detail. Most importantly, I felt like there was a strong thread of... not exactly argument I suppose, but narrative, through the book that held the sections together into a coherent whole. I was struck by how much the tensions of identity in Japan (as he describes them) seem to parallel discussions in the UK about what British identity actually means, with no Empire and with old traditions and communities fading through time, cultural change and the pressure of capitalism.… (mehr)