Alternative Histories of Development in Japan and East Asia

This book examines the history of development in East Asia in terms of material change and human-nature relations from the perspectives of people living in Asia in modern and pre-modern periods. By challenging the reader to “unthink” what modern development is, each chapter offers a case study which discovers and reconstructs indigenous forms of knowledge and local practice related to material change. In doing so, the book illuminates the point where modern notions of development emerged and thu