The enigma of Japanese power

The enigma of Japanese power by Karel van Wolferen Download PDF EPUB FB2

Although Van Wolferen balances his account by highlighting what he regards as positive Japanese traits, including thrift, respect for elders, industriousness, and self-control, The Enigma of Japanese Power remains a controversial text in the nation it assays to describe with discomforting by: The Enigma Of Japanese Power book.

Read 23 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. Few Americans have examined carefully the nation whose 4/5(23). When this book was published it was attacked by the Japanese "power structure" as "Japan bashing".

5 years later what he wrote in this book was accepted as "true" and he was a best selling writer IN summarize the key point: power in Japan tends towards absolute power unfettered by laws or "western ideals" of truth and The enigma of Japanese power book The enigma of Japanese Power Paperback – January 1, by Karel Van Wolfern (Author) out of 5 stars 30 ratings.

See all 11 formats and editions Hide other /5(30). The Enigma of Japanese Power Karel Van Wolferen, Author, Karel Van Wolferen, Author Knopf Publishing Group $ (p) ISBN More By and About This Author.

Open Library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. The enigma of Japanese power by Karel Van Wolferen,A.A.

Knopf edition, in Cited by: By a Dutch correspondent with 20 years in Japan, this book is the latest in a long tradition of attempts to explain that country—to Americans in particular.

It does so in a unique and devastating way. Van Wolferen believes that the difficulties of mutual incomprehension arise mainly from the nature of Japan's postwar structure. Japanese culture, he says, not to mention its economic power, is.

The nub of this book is that Japan really is an unfair trade parmer—but can’t help it. The author, a Dutch journalist who has spent most of the last 25 years in Japan, confirms what most Americans already believe: The Japanese are in fact subsidizing their exports abroad, while Author: Hal Gordon.

The Enigma of Japanese Power: People and Politics in a Stateless Nation Karel Van Wolferen, Author, Karel Van Wolferen, Author, Marty Ashner, Editor Vintage Books USA. Ultimately, for all its strengths, what's disturbing about The Enigma of Japanese Power is that it presents important truths about Japan in way that appeals to our worst instincts.

Politicians like Richard Gephardt will love this book: By casting Japan as national economic conspiracy, it makes the case for U.S. protectionism look good. the enigma of japanese power. Okay so i finally read karel van wolferen's enigma of japanese power. this book seems like a completely elaborated and articulated version of a liberal critique of japan that usually takes the form of incomplete memes, anecdotes and whispers.

Japanese culture, he says, not to mention its economic power, is the product of that structure--a political set-up that arose primarily from a perfection of prewar and wartime techniques designed to achieve two central and related aims--control of the Japanese themselves and Author: Karel Van Wolferen.

Karel van Wolferen’s book, The Enigma of Japanese Power, which ponders the first question, emphatically answers no. Van Wolferen, a Dutch-born journalist, knows a great deal about Japan. He has lived in the country for many years, speaks the language fluently.

Bibliography: p. [] The enigma of Japanese power: people and politics in a stateless nationPages: After several exhausting weeks struggling to read and digest "The Enigma of Japanese Power," this reviewer is inclined to proclaim the author a brilliant chronicler of Japan, then punch him.

About The Enigma of Japanese Power. A full-scale examination of the inner workings of Japan’s political and industrial system.

Review: The Enigma of Japanese Power: People and Politics in a Stateless Nation User Review - Arjen - Goodreads.

If you want to understand Japan and the Japanese this book is a must read Read full review4/5(2). Open Library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. The enigma of Japanese power by Karel Van Wolferen,Macmillan edition, in English The enigma of Japanese power ( edition) | Open Library.

Karel Van Wolferen has 13 books on Goodreads with ratings. Karel Van Wolferen’s most popular book is The Enigma of Japanese Power: People and Politic. It investigates the “enigma of Japanese power” in the Middle Ages, focusing on the period from the late 11th to the late 14th centuries.

Yet this book has very little to do with religion. Buy The Enigma of Japanese Power 1st Vintage Books Ed by Wolferen, (ISBN: ) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders/5(14).

why one particular book was so van Wolferen resents his identification with just one of his numerous books, but The Enigma of Japanese Power will likely be his testament. When it appeared init had the effect of a bombshell, but not because it said anything truly ‘new’.

Lack of Decisive Government: In his book "The Enigma of Japanese Power," van Wolferen observed that Japan “has no steering wheel” (hence, the real governing power in Japan is an enigma). Van Wolferen argued that power is dispersed among so many different entities and agencies that no one person or agency can actually govern the country.