The foundations of Japan

The author draws on four and a half years of residence and extensive rural journeys to present a sociological portrait of countryside life, focusing on small-holdings, peasant families, land tenure, local institutions and cooperative practice. Detailed observations of farming methods, village ceremonies, schools, temples, markets and administrative bodies are used to analyse how agricultural economy, social custom and moral values underpin wider national ambitions and foreign relations, and to suggest lessons for rural reconstruction and comparative agricultural policy.