Description
Book SynopsisSince its early days of mass production in the 1850s, the sewing machine has been intricately connected with the global development of capitalism. This title traces the machine's journey into and throughout Japan, where it not only transformed manners of dress, but also helped change patterns of daily life, class structure, and the role of women.
Trade Review"The book will excite readers interested in material culture, gender and socioeconomic change... A brilliant portrait of modernizing Japan." -- M. William Steele/International Christian University Social Science Japan Jrnl "Gordon asks questions and draws connections that less ambitious studies of business or society alone cannot achieve ... [he] reinvigorates the history of the sewing machine and suggests that there is much more to learn about this extremely significant piece of household technology." -- Anna Johns H-Net
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface Introduction Part One: Singer in Japan 1. Meiji Machines 2. The American Way of Selling 3. Selling and Consuming Modern Life 4. Resisting Yankee Capitalism Part Two: Sewing Modernity in War and Peace 5. War Machines at Home 6. Mechanical Phoenix 7. A Nation of Dressmakers Conclusion Appendix: Some Notes on Time-Use Studies Notes Select Bibliography Index
