Japan: A Nation In Search Of Itself

The name alone evokes modernity: dials, lights and numbers. The ancient civilization, with its Shinto priests and fragile poems, is more closely associated with all that is new in our times than any place on earth. Even the New World, now graying at the temples, regularly peers east to assess the future, to note where today's advances are going for finishing touches. For its part, the zealous student-nation, famous for raiding others' inspirations, has all but run out of models. The model is itself. Looking outward, Japan sees what it has become since Hiroshima: a source of fury and wonder to...

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