Dogs and demons : tales from the dark side of Japan / Alex Kerr.
"In an ancient tale, a Chinese emperor asks his court painter about the easiest and most difficult subjects to paint. The painter replies, "Dogs are difficult, demons are easy." To Alex Kerr, a longtime resident expert and observer, Japan's "dogs" are the vital activiti...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
New York :
Hill and Wang,
2001.
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| Edition: | First edition. |
| Subjects: |
| Summary: | "In an ancient tale, a Chinese emperor asks his court painter about the easiest and most difficult subjects to paint. The painter replies, "Dogs are difficult, demons are easy." To Alex Kerr, a longtime resident expert and observer, Japan's "dogs" are the vital activities that sustain an ecologically and culturally responsible economy, while the expedient "demons" are the million-dollar boondoggles that have bulldozed and cemented over so much of Japan today.". "Dogs and Demons offers tales from the dark side of Japan's well-known modern accomplishments. For Japan's problems go far beyond its dire economic plight, beyond the failures of its banks and pension funds. And Kerr discusses subjects that are all too often disregarded in the Western press when the focus is on finance and business: Japan's endangered environment (seashores lined with concrete, roads leading to nowhere in the mountains), its "monument frenzy," the decline of its once magnificent cinema, the destruction of cities such as Kyoto and construction of drab new ones, the attendant collapse of its tourism industry."--BOOK JACKET. |
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| Item Description: | Includes index. |
| Physical Description: | xi, 432 pages ; 22 cm |
| ISBN: | 0809095211 9780809095216 0809039435 9780809039432 |