Overview

As she describes the youth culture of Japan, Merry White draws comparisons with the interests and activities pursued by teenagers in the United States and the contrasting attitudes of adults in Japan and the U.S. towards adolescence. The result is both engrossing and enlightening.

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9780520089402

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In this exemplary cross-cultural study of teenagers in the U.S. and Japan, White ( The Japanese Educational Challenge) zeros in on the critical differences and similarities in the way these groups are socialized, contending that conflicting social mores cause much of the current perplexity in the two countries' relations. While some of the material has surface familiarity, White's in-depth examination of each group's schooling, friendships, family relations, sexuality, search for identity and feelings about their own and each others' countries is newly revealing. -- Publishers Weekly

"""In this exemplary cross-cultural study of teenagers in the U.S. and Japan, White (""The Japanese Educational Challenge) zeros in on the critical differences and similarities in the way these groups are socialized, contending that conflicting social mores cause much of the current perplexity in the two countries' relations. While some of the material has surface familiarity, White's in-depth examination of each group's schooling, friendships, family relations, sexuality, search for identity and feelings about their own and each others' countries is newly revealing.""--""Publishers Weekly"

An enterprising, somewhat impressionistic overview of contemporary adolescence in the US and Japan. White (Sociology/Boston University; The Japanese Educational Challenge, 1986, etc.) contrasts teenage years in the two cultures using a variety of measures based on firsthand observation and more formal sources of data. American and Japanese teenagers may seem superficially similar, she suggests, but their outlooks and daily behavior differ along with the ways they are perceived by the larger populations. In Japan, adolescence is not seen as problematic. Teenagers have less leisure time (the school year is 240 days), focus on the examination imperative, and tend to be viewed as dependent but bound for maturity and traditional Japanese life. In the US, teen is a four-letter word, characterized by assorted forms of rebellion and burdened by the mixed messages of just say no and just do it. Both groups find solace - and self-definition - in friendships; respond readily to questions about ideals and future plans; and are heavily influenced by marketing and the media. In Japan, market choices tend to reinforce tendencies to conform; in our larger, more diverse society, consumption tends to reinforce differences. Parents of American teenagers may be surprised to learn that Japanese adolescents spend even more time shopping than American teenagers do, primarily because smaller houses as well as custom discourage socializing at home. White repeats important concepts for her American readers (the discrepancy between tatemae - official form - and honne - true reality); includes less familiar but essential aspects of Japanese culture (the prevalence of manga - comic books - and magazines as sources of information); and emphasizes significant differences between the two student populations, including the tendency of Japanese teenagers to keep their sexual activities private ( the sexual relationship is no longer a taboo; what is taboo is the public recognition of the sexual relationship ). An instructive contrast of cultures, written in an almost casual style. (Kirkus Reviews)

Author Information

Merry White is Associate Professor of Sociology at Boston University and research associate at the Reischauer Institute, Harvard. She is the author of The Japanese Educational Challenge: A Commitment to Children (1987).

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