Animal Care in Japanese Tradition - (Asia Shorts) by W Puck Brecher (Paperback)

About the Book

This book provides a historical overview of Japan's relationship with animals from ancient times to the 1950s. Departing from existing scholarship on the subject, the book also connects Japan's much-maligned record of animal exploitation with its strong adherence to contextual, needs-based moral memory.

Book Synopsis

This volume provides an historical overview of Japan's relationship with animals from ancient times to the 1950s. Its analysis serves as a lens through which to scrutinize Japanese tradition and interrogate ahistorical claims about Japan's culturally endemic empathy for the natural world. Departing from existing scholarship on the subject, the book also connects Japan's much-maligned record of animal exploitation with its strong adherence to contextual, needs-based moral memory.

About the Author

W. Puck Brecher is Professor of History at Washington State University where he teaches courses on East Asia and specializes in early modern and modern Japanese social and cultural history. His past research projects have focused on Japanese thought, aesthetics, urban history, race, private spheres, autonomy, as well as contemporary environmental issues.