 | Financial Euphoria, Consumer Culture, and Literature of 1980s Japan: Dreams of the Bubble Economy Subjects: Area Studies; Humanities; Language & Literature; Asian Studies; History; Literature; Japanese Studies; Asian History; Contemporary History 1945-; Social & Cultural History; Interdisciplinary Literary Studies; Literary History; Literature by Geographic Area; Literature by Period; This book is an interdisciplinary study of Japan during the 'Bubble-era' of the 1980s, which explores consumer experiences under the drastic socio-economic upheavals of the time. Drawing its analysis from media sources, popular literary works, and government reports, the book articulates how the late 1980s calibrated consumer demands, lifestyles, and perceptions of money. Through an examination of the qualitative effects of 'Bubble money' on consumers, the book illuminates the festive ambience of social life and metaphorical portrayals of the economic euphoria in popular literature. Moreover, through observations of human behaviours in consumption, the book reveals that consumers' psychosomatic experiences and self-consciousness reflect outlandish egocentrism in comparison to the post-Bubble decades. Featuring sources of Japanese media and literature which have yet to be translated for an English audience, this book will be a valuable resource for students and scholars of modern Japanese society, Asian literature and media. Ikuho Amano is Associate Professor of Japanese at the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA. |
