1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910817361703321

Autore

LeBlanc Robin M. <1966->

Titolo

The art of the gut [[electronic resource] ] : manhood, power, and ethics in Japanese politics / / Robin M. LeBlanc

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Berkeley, : University of California Press, 2009

ISBN

1-282-36001-9

9786612360015

0-520-94505-0

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (251 p.)

Disciplina

320.952081

Soggetti

Masculinity - Political aspects - Japan

Men - Political activity - Japan

Political culture - Japan

Japan Politics and government 1989-

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Note on Names -- Preface -- Introduction: The Power Remainder -- 1. Breadwinners -- 2. The Inheritor -- 3. The Paradox of Masculine Honor -- 4. Cheating as a Democratic Practice -- 5. The Art of the Gut -- Conclusion: Salad and Cigarettes for Breakfast, or How to Find Democracy by Losing Your Sense of Perspective -- Notes -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

This beautifully written ethnography follows the lives of two very different Japanese men entering political life in two very different communities. One is the rural leader of a citizens' referendum movement, while the other hopes to succeed his father in a Tokyo ward assembly. Fast-paced and engrossing, The Art of the Gut puts the reader behind the scenes to hear speeches, attend campaign functions, and eavesdrop on late-night strategy sessions and one-on-one conversations. In her groundbreaking analysis, Robin M. Le Blanc explores the the two men's differing notions of what is expected of a "good" man and demonstrates how the fundamental desire to be good men constrains their political choices even as it encourages both to become ethical agents. The result is a vibrant and up-to-date picture



of politics in Japan today that also addresses masculine gender expectations in a male-dominated political world, the connection between gendered identity and ethical being, and the process by which men who are neither dominant nor marginal to their communities assert themselves both with and against power.