It's an exciting, human portrait of a modernizing Japan going to war and thereby staking its very existence on a desperate bid for glory in East Asia.
During Shiba Ryōtarō’s lifetime, his books regularly became best-sellers. Clouds above the Hill, now in its 20th printing, has sold 18 million copies. The novel is currently being serialized in a lavish production on Japanese television.
Shiba devoted an entire decade of his life to this extraordinary blockbuster, which features Japan's emergence onto the world stage by the early years of the twentieth century.
The translation will be published in four volumes. The first two are out now, and volumes 3 and 4 will be published in November 2013.
Download the Cloudes above the Hill leaflet.
For more information about these titles, please feel free to email Kathryn.Reavill@tandf.co.uk
India is the largest film producing country in the world and its output has a global reach. After years of marginalisation by academics in the Western world, Indian cinemas have moved from the periphery to the centre of the world cinema in a comparatively short space of time.
Today Bollywood actor Jackie Shroff is visiting Bradford (UK) to celebrate the 100 years of Indian Cinema since the release of Raja Harishchandra.
Jackie Shroff, who has starred in around 150 films and this year celebrates 30 years since the release of his own breakthrough film Hero (Subhash Ghai, 1983), will visit the National Media Museum, where the film is being screened.
To coincide with this monumental birthday, we have just published the Routledge Handbook of Indian Cinemas. Combining a historical and thematic approach, the Handbook discusses how Indian cinemas need to be understood in their historical unfolding as well as their complex relationships to social, economic, cultural, political, ideological, aesthetic, technical and institutional discourses. The thematic section provides an up-to-date critical narrative on diverse topics such as audience, censorship, film distribution, film industry, diaspora, sexuality, film music and nationalism.
The Handbook provides a comprehensive and cutting edge survey of Indian cinemas, discussing Popular, Parallel/New Wave and Regional cinemas as well as the spectacular rise of Bollywood. It is an invaluable resource for students and academics of South Asian Studies, Film Studies and Cultural Studies.
This inter-disciplinary handbook on the South Asian diaspora brings together contributions by leading scholars and rising stars on different aspects of its history, anthropology and geography, as well as its contemporary political and socio-cultural implications. The Handbook is split into five main sections, with chapters looking at mobile South Asians in the early modern world before moving on to discuss diaspora in relation to empire, nation, nation state and the neighbourhood, and globalisation and culture.
Contributors highlight how South Asian diaspora has influenced politics, business, labour, marriage, family and culture. This much needed and pioneering venture provides an invaluable reference work for students, scholars and policy makers interested in South Asian Studies.
The study of the history of Southeast Asia is still growing, evolving, deepening and changing as an academic field. Over the past few decades historians have added nuance to traditional topics such as Islam and nationalism, and created new ones, such as gender, globalization and the politics of memory. The Routledge Handbook of Southeast Asian History looks at the major themes that have developed in the study of modern Southeast Asian history since the mid-18th century.
Contributions by experts in the field are clustered under three major headings - Political History, Economic History, and Social and Cultural History – and chapters challenge the boundaries between topics and regions. Alongside the rise and fall of colonialism, topics include conflict in Southeast Asia, tropical ecology, capitalism and its discontents, the major religions of the region, gender, and ethnicity.
The Handbook provides a stimulating introduction to the most important themes within the subject area, and is an invaluable reference work for any student and researcher on Southeast Asia and Asian and World history.
Browse the titles below to see what other handbooks we have coming up in 2013/4!
]]>Both catalogs are available online; all you need to do is follow the links below.
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The aim of the two sides is ultimately to reach an agreement across goods, services and investment, eliminating tariffs, non-tariff barriers and covering other trade-related issues, such as public procurement, regulatory issues, competition and sustainable development.The Federal Association of the German Footwear and Leather Goods Industry (HDS/L) has stressed the importance of keeping footwear within the negotiation package. For more information on the talks, visit the European Commission website here.
EU-Japan Relations presents a comprehensive overview of EU-Japan relations from 1970 to the present. It charts developments over the period, analyses key specific areas of importance to the relationship, and concludes by assessing how the relationship is likely to develop going forward. Throughout, the book discusses the factors on both sides which motivate the relationship, including Japan’s concern to secure markets for its advanced industrial products, and the factors motivating current negotiations for a deeper and more comprehensive economic and cooperative partnership.
We are proud to showcase the latest interdisciplinary research on North and South Korea in our Routledge Advances in Korean Studies series. Why not take a look?
Alternatively, browse some of our new, forthcoming and bestselling titles below!
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Jeremy North, Managing Director of Routledge Books, says: "The Books of the Month selection is individual and quirky. The books are chosen to display the wonderful range of our publishing; to highlight interesting design and production challenges; and to reflect recent acquisitions. Or just because they catch the eye in some way."
This month, two Area Studies titles have made it into the Books of the Month List:
Routledge Handbook of Modern Israel
Organised thematically, a full range of topics are discussed, including:
•Politics and international relations
•The foundation of the Israeli state
•The birth and development of the Israeli economy
•Israeli culture
•Israel’s role in the Middle East
Bringing together more than thirty notable contributors from across the globe, this Handbook sheds light on the multifaceted reality of modern Israel in order to better understand, beyond clichés, this complex society.
"In the highly unusual category, you’ll see a Japanese epic novel in two volumes – Clouds Above the Hill. This is one of the most notable and successful works of fiction in Japan in the last 100 years, which we are publishing in English for the first time."
An epic portrait of Japan in crisis, it combines graphic military history and highly readable fiction to depict an aspiring nation modernizing at breakneck speed. Best-selling author Shiba Ryotaro devoted an entire decade of his life to this extraordinary blockbuster, which features Japan's emerging onto the world stage by the early years of the twentieth century.
Volume I describes the growth of Japan’s fledgling Meiji state, a major "character" in the novel. We are also introduced to our three heroes, born into obscurity, the brothers Akiyama Yoshifuru and Akiyama Saneyuki, who will go on to play important roles in the Japanese Army and Navy, and the poet Masaoka Shiki, who will spend much of his short life trying to establish the haiku as a respected poetic form.
Anyone curious as to how the "tiny, rising nation of Japan" was able to fight so fiercely for its survival should look no further. Clouds above the Hill is an exciting, human portrait of a modernizing nation that goes to war and thereby stakes its very existence on a desperate bid for glory in East Asia.
Routledge Asian Studies publish high quality research monographs, key textbooks, supplementary reading and reference works across all disciplines throughout humanities and social sciences, and covers all regions of Asia. We continue to actively commission books so please do get in touch with any ideas, questions or feedback you have.
We are particularly keen to consider proposals for textbooks on Chinese history, gender and sexuality in Asian history, the environmental history of Asia and the history of race and ethnicity in Asia which would be suitable for use on undergraduate and postgraduate courses at universities across the world.
If you would be interested in writing or editing a textbook on any aspect of these topics or have an idea for a new Asian Studies textbook please contact: Leanne Hinves: Leanne.Hinves@tandf.co.uk
Why not browse our Asian Studies Textbook Catalog?
For more information about how to submit a book proposal, have a look at our Information for Authors page.
]]>This year we have two new four-volume collections coming out: Social Transformation in China and Gender and Japanese Society. Order your copies today!
Why not browse all the bestselling backlist titles in the series here?
Why not take a look at our Critical Concepts in Asian Studies flyer?
What are the socio-cultural transformations accompanying China’s economic transition?
What are the experiences and responses of people who have gone through these social changes?
What are the theoretical implications for social scientists who study social and economic development?
The aim of this new four-volume collection is to address some of the pertinent questions raised by the difference in ordinary people’s experience of China’s economic modernisation. Social Transformation in China answers these questions by collecting essential and cutting-edge scholarship to reflect and capture experiences of socio-cultural transformations in China. Topics covered include the issues around work, the restructuring of state enterprises, unemployment, changes in welfare provisions, migration and women workers’ experiences; the family, such as love and marriage, one-child policy, and ageing; the cultural domain including topics on media and consumption; the emergence of civil society, including topics on religion and non-government organizations.
Given China’s ever growing economic influence, and sheer population size, there is an increasing demand from the rest of the world to understand Chinese society and its rapid economic modernisation. By collecting the work of leading figures on China from disciplines such as Sociology, Anthropology, Social Policy, Cultural Studies and Political Sciences, this set will not only appeal to researchers and students in Chinese Studies but also more widely to academics and policymakers who are concerned with the social impact of economic development.
Gender and Japanese Society has been compiled and introduced by D. P. Martinez, the editor of an acclaimed four-volume anthology on Modern Japanese Culture and Society (Routledge, 2007). This new title is a collection of classic and the very best cutting-edge scholarship on themes and issues around gender in historical and contemporary Japan. Fully indexed and with a comprehensive introduction newly written by the editor, which carefully situates the collected material in its intellectual context, Gender and Japanese Society is an essential reference work. It is destined to be welcomed by scholars and students as a vital research resource.
Browse the rest of the titles in this series below.
Holi was originally a festival that celebrated fertile land and a good harvest. It is a time to enjoy spring's abundant colors and to say farewell to winter.
The main day, Holi, also known as Dhuli in Sanskrit, or Dhulheti, Dhulandi or Dhulendi, is commemorated by people showering each other in scented powder.
In the light of the Holi celebrations in India, we have become particularly excited about our upcoming textbook publication, The Modern Anthropology of India by Peter Berger and Frank Heidemann.
This accessible textbook provides a critical overview of the ethnographic work done in India since 1947 and assesses the history of research in each region, thus serving as a practical and comprehensive guide to the main themes dealt with by ethnographers. It highlights key analytical concepts and paradigms that came to be of relevance in particular regions in the recent history of research in India, and which possibly gained a pan-Indian or even trans-Indian significance.
Filling a significant gap in the literature, the book is an invaluable resource to students and researchers in the field of Indian anthropology/ethnography, regional anthropology and postcolonial studies. It is also of interest to students of South Asian studies in general as it provides an extensive and critical overview of regionally based ethnographic activity undertaken in India.
Why not request your own complimentary exam copy?
Routledge offer a large selection of titles on India and Hinduism. Why not email kathryn.reavill@tandf.co.uk with your specific interests to find out more and receive a bespoke list of suggested titles?
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What are the main challenges to doing business in China?
There are many. First, the legal system though improving somewhat, is weak. It is difficult to have contracts and laws enforced in many parts of China. Second, the government still maintains control of about 35% of the economy. And this 35% is the core of the economy. Most importantly they control the banking system, so they decide who gets capital. That is why it can be said they do not have capitalism in China. Third, the government is the main player in the business system. If you do business in China, you do business with the government. They are involved in myriad ways. Fourth, the government has created rules that benefit their own state-owned companies (SOE) at the expense of others. Fourth, intellectual property rights (IPR) are not safe in China. This is especially bad for foreign businesses with advanced technology. Fifth, there is a culture of relationships in China, where who you know is more important than laws and rules. This again involves the government, but it involves everyone. Families rule. Helping you family is most important over other relationships and commitments. Professional cultures is just beginning. Sixth, there is wide-spread government corruption. The people who do best in society are government officials. Much of this is through bribery, kickbacks, etc. Corruption is systemic. The government is fighting it sort of but the problem is so big it will take a generation or two if they really put their back into it, which is far from clear.
What would you say was the most damaging cultural assumption that American and Chinese executives bring to the table when doing business with each other?
They do not trust each other. The Chinese remember the “century of shame” when Western countries invaded China. Stealing from foreigners is almost sport. The Chinese have a sense of inferiority from being so far behind the West. Though that is changing as their tremendous success continues. The two cultures cannot understand each other. “Yes” for the Chinese means “I’ll think about it”, while Westerners think yes means agreement. They cannot read each other’s body language or facial expressions. Chinese are indirect, American are direct. This easily leads to misunderstanding. The Chinese do not think long-term. They do not trust their own government. They want to make money and get out, literally out of the country. Americans have long-range plans.
Could you briefly summarize the intellectual property rights in China and how this relates to collaboration with American businesses?
The Chinese did not have a law for private property until 1984. Laws since then are not always enforced even when they exist. The Chinese do not have a history of IPR. They for thousands of years had a traditional society, which meant imitating role models was the norm. In other words, copying others was the norm. Confucius or one of his disciples said, “To steal a book is an elegant offense”. They really do not have a deep sense of IP. Also they have a more communal society than the West, so they naturally favor the importance of the community as a source of innovation, which puts them at odds with the West. Even when the courts find Chinese companies guilty of IP violations, the penalties are so small they are not a deterrent.
What prompted you to write this book?
My fascination with Chinese culture, the great changes in Chinese society, and the contrasts with the West. I wanted to understand what kind of social-political-economic system was developing in China and what role will it play in the world.
Are there any anecdotes from the researching and writing process that you would like to share with us?
On the first day in Shanghai, my family got lost and wandered into a restaurant. We must have looked like we were from outer space. The whole staff of the place including the cooks came out to watch us eat. They were amazed that we could use chopsticks. I asked for soy sauce for the rice in every way imaginable. They had no idea what I wanted.
I saw a picture in a book store of a Mandarin from the 19th century. He had a 17 inch fingernail on one finger. A sign of his exalted status, he did no physical labor. This system was in place for 2000 years up to the beginning of the 20th century. It still casts a shadow over government-society relations.
I could go on forever.
Who would you recommend read this book?
Social scientists interested in China. Business professors interested in China. Executives who do business with China or plan to. This latter audience is important I think. Once I get my copies I will be giving them to executives and will have much more feedback from them in a few months. Basically I am an anthropologist with a strong interest in ethics, especially how culture and ethics are related. My book focuses on how American and Chinese business cultures interact. It is a qualitative (interpretive) book. Much of it can be understood and appreciated by a general educated public. I think government officials who work with China will appreciate the book. A big part of the book deals with government and business-government relations. I have heard from a business professor in Hong Kong and one in Singapore. They both expressed very strong interest in the book. I think the book will draw strong interest in places like that, e.g. Taiwan and Japan too.
If you could encourage readers to take away one thing from this book, what would it be?
The Chinese have a great and often misunderstood culture. There is much to learn from it.
How can this book be used to inform business practice in a practical sense?
It is very practical to understand a little about Chinese culture and institutions, to understand the person and context you are dealing with. This would significantly lower miscommunications and inappropriate expectations.
The March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan plunged the country into a state of crisis. As the nation struggled to recover from a record breaking magnitude 9 earthquake and a tsunami that was as high as thirty-eight meters in some places, news trickled out that Fukushima had experienced meltdowns in three reactors. These tragic catastrophes claimed some 20,000 lives, initially displacing some 500,000 people and overwhelming Japan's formidable disaster preparedness.
This book brings together the analysis and insights of a group of distinguished experts on Japan to examine what happened, how various institutions and actors responded and what lessons can be drawn from Japan’s disaster. The contributors, many of whom experienced the disaster first hand, assess the wide-ranging repercussions of this catastrophe and how it is already reshaping Japanese culture, politics, energy policy, and urban planning.
Read the review by The Japan Times here.
Order your complimentary e-inspection copy here.
View the rest of the titles in the Nissan Institute/Routledge Japanese Studies series here.
]]>Why not take a look at our Routledge Research on Gender in Asia series?
Women’s Day originated as a Socialist political event in Eastern Europe and Russia (the Soviet bloc) but gradually the day became more global and as a result partially lost its political overtones. For some, the day has become simply an occasion for men to express their love for women whilst in other regions the original political and human rights theme designated by the United Nations runs strong, and political and social awareness of the struggles of women worldwide are remembered.
Have a look below at the diverse selection of titles we have exploring the role of women in Russia, Eastern Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Join in the discussions about International Women's Day on March 8th on our Asian Studies Twitter and also our Middle East Studies Twitter.
]]>Since the end of the Cold War, significant attention has focussed on the issue of nuclear deterrence and in particular whether formal nuclear security guarantees from nuclear weapons states to non-nuclear weapons states involving the possible use of nuclear weapons have a place in the twenty-first century global strategic landscape. Growing support for nuclear disarmament in the US and elsewhere has seen serious doubts being raised about the ongoing utility of extended nuclear deterrence.
Asia, the US and Extended Nuclear Deterrence provides the first detailed analysis of the way in which extended nuclear deterrence operates in contemporary Asia. It addresses the following key questions: What does the role of extended nuclear deterrence in Asia tell us about the broader role of extended nuclear deterrence in the contemporary international system? Is this role likely to change significantly in the years ahead? O’Neil uses a theoretical and historical framework to analyse the contemporary and future dynamics of extended nuclear deterrence in Asia and challenges many of the existing orthodox perspectives on the topic.
Providing a new perspective on debates surrounding extended nuclear deterrence, this book will be of interest not only to students and scholars of Asian politics, international relations and security studies, but also to policy makers and professionals.