Message from rhitlin

January 31, 2010 at 5:03 am #29318

Anonymous

Guest

I attended a make-up session at Manhattan Beach. I thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Pitelka's presentation on Contemporary Japan. He mentioned while Japan had enjoyed dramatic economic growth and modernization after WWII, there has existed an undercurrent of dissatisfaction by some intellectuals in the path that Japan has taken, most notably, authors, Kawabata Yasunari and Mishima Yukio.

He further mentioned the phenomenon of "shut-ins" in Japan, a whole generation of young males who have basically shielded themselves from the broader Japanese society. A book which chronicles these "shut-ins," in Japanese called, hikikomori, is Shutting Out the Sun, by Michael Zielenzieger. This book provides a glimpse into how some aspects of modern Japan have stifled many of its younger citizens, and Zielenziege's research can be placed into the larger context of dissatisfaction among many Japanese that has characterized modern Japan. [Edit by="rhitlin on Jan 31, 1:24:31 PM"][/Edit]
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