Depression in Japan: Psychiatric Cures for a Society in Distress by Kitanaka, Junko

Depression in Japan: Psychiatric Cures for a Society in Distress

Since the 1990s, suicide in recession-plagued Japan has soared, and rates of depression have both increased and...
¥14,051 JPY
¥14,051 JPY
SKU: 9780691142050
Product Type: Books
Please hurry! Only 285 left in stock
Author: Junko Kitanaka
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Subtotal: ¥14,051
10 customers are viewing this product
Depression in Japan: Psychiatric Cures for a Society in Distress by Kitanaka, Junko

Depression in Japan: Psychiatric Cures for a Society in Distress

¥14,051

Depression in Japan: Psychiatric Cures for a Society in Distress

¥14,051
Author: Junko Kitanaka
Format: Paperback
Language: English

Since the 1990s, suicide in recession-plagued Japan has soared, and rates of depression have both increased and received greater public attention. In a nation that has traditionally been uncomfortable addressing mental illness, what factors have allowed for the rising medicalization of depression and suicide? Investigating these profound changes from historical, clinical, and sociolegal perspectives, Depression in Japan explores how depression has become a national disease and entered the Japanese lexicon, how psychiatry has responded to the nation's ailing social order, and how, in a remarkable transformation, psychiatry has overcome the longstanding resistance to its intrusion in Japanese life.

Questioning claims made by Japanese psychiatrists that depression hardly existed in premodern Japan, Junko Kitanaka shows that Japanese medicine did indeed have a language for talking about depression which was conceived of as an illness where psychological suffering was intimately connected to physiological and social distress. The author looks at how Japanese psychiatrists now use the discourse of depression to persuade patients that they are victims of biological and social forces beyond their control; analyzes how this language has been adopted in legal discourse surrounding "overwork suicide"; and considers how, in contrast to the West, this language curiously emphasizes the suffering of men rather than women. Examining patients' narratives, Kitanaka demonstrates how psychiatry constructs a gendering of depression, one that is closely tied to local politics and questions of legitimate social suffering.

Drawing upon extensive research in psychiatric institutions in Tokyo and the surrounding region, Depression in Japan uncovers the emergence of psychiatry as a force for social transformation in Japan.

Author: Junko Kitanaka
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 10/16/2011
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.10w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9780691142050

About the Author
Junko Kitanaka is an associate professor in the Department of Human Sciences at Keio University, Tokyo.

Returns Policy

You may return most new, unopened items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. We'll also pay the return shipping costs if the return is a result of our error (you received an incorrect or defective item, etc.).

You should expect to receive your refund within four weeks of giving your package to the return shipper, however, in many cases you will receive a refund more quickly. This time period includes the transit time for us to receive your return from the shipper (5 to 10 business days), the time it takes us to process your return once we receive it (3 to 5 business days), and the time it takes your bank to process our refund request (5 to 10 business days).

If you need to return an item, simply login to your account, view the order using the "Complete Orders" link under the My Account menu and click the Return Item(s) button. We'll notify you via e-mail of your refund once we've received and processed the returned item.

Shipping

We can ship to virtually any address in the world. Note that there are restrictions on some products, and some products cannot be shipped to international destinations.

When you place an order, we will estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. Depending on the shipping provider you choose, shipping date estimates may appear on the shipping quotes page.

Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based. The weight of any such item can be found on its detail page. To reflect the policies of the shipping companies we use, all weights will be rounded up to the next full pound.

Related Products

Recently Viewed Products