Women and martial art in Japan

Bibliographic Information

Women and martial art in Japan

Kate Sylvester

(ASAA women in Asia series / editor, Louise Edwards, 57)

Routledge, 2023

  • : hbk

Available at  / 7 libraries

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Note

Includes bibliographical references and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

This book, based on extensive original research, examines the practice by women in a university sport setting of kendo, the Japanese martial art which, using bamboo swords as well as protective armour, and descended from traditional swordsmanship, instils in its practitioners, besides physical skills, societal values of etiquette and resilience as well connecting them to a "traditional" outlook, which includes a gendered cultural identity. The book therefore illustrates an unexplored example of identity construction in Japan, one which legitimises women's sport experiences within a male-centric physical culture, unpacks the notion of "tradition" in kendo and unravels its stultifying control over women's kendo participation, and discusses the androgenicity of women's participation to highlight its subversive potential to develop women as leaders in sport, politics, and other fields which continue to be very male dominated in Japan.

Table of Contents

List of figures List of tables Acknowledgements Glossary 1 Examining culture through the body 2 Shared humanity and embodied ethnography 3 Legitimising martial women 4 Tradition gendering bodies 5 Women's club culture: Building resilience 6 Conclusion: The future of sport for women in Japan Index

by "Nielsen BookData"

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