Holy foolery in the life of Japan
Subtitle: a historical overview
By: Higuchi Kazunori ; translated by Waku Miller
Contributors: Miller, Waku; LTCB International Library Trust; Kokusai Bunka Kaikan (Tokyo, Japan)
Edition: 1st English ed.
Series: LTCB international library selection -- no. 37; LTCB international library selection -- no. 37.
Publisher: International House of Japan
Published: 2015
Place of publication: Tokyo
Language: eng
Number of pages: 219
ISBN-13: 9784924971400
Subjects: Civilization; Laughter; History; Laughter in literature
Description: "On the following pages, we will retrace the origins and evolution of holy foolery in Japan.  We will witness its near extinguishment through the process of modernization and globalization.  We will see why Japan needs holy foolery more than ever.  And we will identify contemporary traces that suggest a basis for optimism about laughter's possible resurgence."  from inside jacket cover.
Notes: At head of title: LTCB International Library Trust/International House of Japan.

Translation of: Warai no Nihon bunka : "oko no mono" wa doko e kieta no ka?.

Includes index.
Table of contents: title: The Origins of Laughter; title: The Gods, Laughter, and the Japanese; title: Divine Mysteries; title: Laughter amid the Evolution of Communities; title: Urbanization and Modernization; title: Globalization; title: Eminent Interpreters of Foolery; title: Natural Disasters and Transcendent Laughter