Christopher P. Hood. Shinkansen: From Bullet Train to Symbol of Modern Japan

Abstract

In 1964, two events epitomized Japan's spectacular recovery and growth after World War II. One was the Tokyo Olympics, starting on October 10 of that year. The other was the opening of the Tōkaidō Shinkansen, a high-speed railway system connecting Tokyo and Osaka. Also known as the bullet train, it started operation on October 1, just in time for the Olympics. It later grew into the network of shinkansen covering most areas of Japan. Christopher Hood, Director of the Cardiff Japanese Studies Center, Cardiff University, has conducted a historical and sociological study of this transportation infrastructure. Hood's overall argument is that "the shinkansen has become a symbol of Japan," and that "the way it was established, [the way] the network has developed, how it is operated, and even the way it looks reflect many different aspects of Japanese society" (p. 1).Hood approaches the topic from a remarkably broad range of perspectives. After explaining the methodology for the study in Chapter 1, he provides a concise summary of the history of the shinkansen in Chapter 2. Then, in Chapter 3, Hood goes on to discuss the shinkansen against the background of Japanese culture. He examines how the Japan National Railways (JNR) determined the names of train services such as "Hikari" and "Kodama" and the names of stations, to what extent the shinkansen fits the criteria of beauty put forward by philosopher Yanagi Sōetsu, and how the shinkansen is represented in films, stamps, and television programs. In Chapter 4, Hood turns to Japan's political culture, assessing how and to what extent "pork-barrel" politics affected the construction of the shinkansen. Hood rightly points out that, even where politicians seemingly had strong influence in determining the route and the location of stations, technical/practical considerations were also always there. In Chapter 5, Hood takes up the financial issues, analyzing the cost of the shinkansen's construction and its profitability. Here he also discusses the impact that the shinkansen had on the national and regional economies. In Chapter 6, Hood focuses on what he calls the "software" of the shinkansen, namely East