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Author Leheny, David Richard, 1967-

Title The rules of play : national identity and the shaping of Japanese leisure / David Leheny
Published Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2003

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Description 1 online resource (xiv, 188 pages) : illustrations
Series Cornell studies in political economy
Cornell studies in political economy.
Contents Guns, butter, or paragliding? -- Leisure, policy, and identity -- Prewar leisure and tourism as "politics by other means" -- Good and bad words in Japanese leisure policy in the 1970s -- The last resorts of a lifestyle superpower -- It takes ten million to meet a norm -- Failures of the imagination
Summary "The Japanese government seeks to influence the use of leisure time to a degree that Americans and Europeans would likely find puzzling. Through tourism-promotion initiatives, financing for resort development, and systematic research on recreational practices, the government takes a relentless interest in its citizens' "free time." David Leheny argues that material interests are not a sufficient explanation for such a large and consistent commitment of resources. In The Rules of Play, he reveals the link between Japan's leisure politics and its long-term struggle over national identity."
"Since the Meiji Restoration, successive Japanese governments have stressed the nation's need to act like a "real" (that is, Western) advanced industrial power. As part of their express desire to catch up, generations of policymakers have examined the ways Americans and Europeans relax or have fun, then tried to persuade Japanese citizens to behave in similar fashion - while suddenly redefining these recreational choices as distinctively "Japanese.""
"In tracing the development of leisure politics and the role of the state in cultural change, the author focuses on the importance of international norms and perceptions of Japanese national identity. Leheny regards globalization as a "failure of imagination" on the part of the policymakers. When they absorb lessons from Western nations, they aim for a future created elsewhere rather than envision a locally distinctive lifestyle for their fellow citizens."--Jacket
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Print version record
Subject Leisure -- Government policy -- Japan
Leisure -- Economic aspects -- Japan
SPORTS & RECREATION -- Sociology of Sports.
Leisure -- Economic aspects
Leisure -- Government policy
Freizeitpolitik
Geschichte
Freizeit
Wirtschaft
Recreatie.
Overheidsbeleid.
Nationale identiteit.
Japan
Japan
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9781501731891
1501731890