An innovative study, based on several years of living in inner city Yokohama. Stevens looks beyond stereotypes of conformity and homogeneity at what life is really like for the Japanese urban underclass, and for those who work with them.

Carolyn S. Stevens

Chapter 1 A purehabu with a view; Chapter 2 Kotobuki, the "land of longevity"; Chapter 3 The economy of welfare; Chapter 4 Taking action; Chapter 5 The human side; Chapter 6 Rituals "organized" and "disorganized"; Chapter 7 Helping out and holding back; Chapter 8 Conclusion;