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 | | Tokugawa Village Practice: Class, Status, Power, Law (Philip E.Lilienthal Books) by Herman Ooms ISBN-10: 9780520202092 ISBN-10: 0-520-20209-0 ISBN-13: 9780520202092 ISBN-13: 978-0-520-20209-2 Hardcover 1996-06-11 University of California Press Find Lowest Price |
Editorials | ||
Product Description In contrast to modern Japanese citizens, during the Tokugawa period (1600-1868) villagers frequently resorted to lawsuits to settle conflicts. Herman Ooms uses colorful, skillfully analyzed case studies to trace the evolution of class and status conflicts through lawsuits and petitions in villages. Inspired by the work of Max Weber and Pierre Bourdieu, this exploration of social and legal history illuminates the texture and detail of village life, focusing on relations to authority. Opening with a story of an angry peasant woman's lifelong struggle against village authority (a story involving murder and revenge), Ooms highlights the role played by obscure historical actors including local elites, commoners, women, and outcastes. He also discusses the important role lineages played in village politics and examines the origins of discrimination against Japan's burakumin, or outcastes. | ||
Reviews | ||
Truly an excellent book, not always easy, but enlightning! Ooms has a background in philosophy and uses it to support explanations of the power mechanisms in the Tokugawa era. In his explanations of these power mechanisms he frequently refers to western philosophers (for example Bourdieu) who are not known for any studies of Japan and shows thereby that what went on in the Tokugawa era is quite intelligible for anyone, regardless of their cultural background. In other words, he gives short shrift to the Japanese myth of uniqueness and racial harmony. I can't imagine anyone being a better writer about the Tokugawa era (and probably about Japan in general!). | ||