| Japanese Numbers Game Contributor(s): Crump, T. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0415056098 ISBN-13: 9780415056090 Publisher: Routledge OUR PRICE: $47.45 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: January 1992 Annotation: An almost obsessional use of numbers characterizes Japanese popular culture. A wide variety of numerical formulas and strategies provide the means for explaining events and solving problems occurring in everyday life. These include such matters as the choice of the name for a child, ranking in almost any game or sport, the diagnosis and cure of illness, or the decision to accept a new job. "The Japanese Numbers Game" provides a general study of the whole field of Japanese popular numeracy. It introduces, in fascinating detail, a world of numbers in which fortune-telling, the abacus, games involving numbers as well as curious numerical names (of both people and places) illustrate a popular obsession with systems of counting, calculation, and forecasting. No understanding of Japanese popular culture is complete without some knowledge of the use of numbers by the Japanese. Thomas Crump's meticulous exploration of the cultural roots of these attitudes makes this book essentialfor students of anthropology and Japanese studies. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Anthropology - General - Social Science | Folklore & Mythology - Social Science | Ethnic Studies - General |
| Dewey: 398.356 |
| LCCN: 91010047 |
| Lexile Measure: 1480 |
| Series: Material Cultures |
| Physical Information: 0.56" H x 5.83" W x 8.27" (0.92 lbs) 224 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: An almost obsessional use of numbers characterizes Japanese popular culture. A wide variety of numerical formulae and strategies provide the means for explaining events and solving problems occurring in everyday life. These include such matters as the choice of the name for a child, ranking in almost any game or sport, the diagnosis and cure of illness or the decision to accept a new job. This text provides a general study of the field of Japanese popular numeracy. It introduces the reader to a world of numbers in which fortune-telling, the abacus and games involving numbers, as well as curious numerical names (of both people and places), illustrate the importance of systems of counting, calculation and forecasting. The study explores the cultural roots of attitudes towards numbers and makes suggestions about the contemporary implications of a culture in which mechanical numeracy (and number obsession) is general but the highest levels of academic mathematics still fall short of world standards. |
