Ringo and mikan: deaf vs. Deaf in Japan

Abstract

Reviews the book, Deaf in Japan: Signing and the politics of identity by K. Nakamura (2006). The book under review is the first in English to provide detailed information on the history and social fabric of the deaf community, deaf education, and signing in Japan. As such, it deserves high praise, but there are also serious drawbacks. Due to space limitations, I will concentrate on those. Nakamura claims that deaf persons in Japan do not share a culture of their own, but rather identify themselves as Japanese first and deaf second. She draws parallels between the deaf and such minorities as Japan-born Koreans and returnees from abroad exposed to other languages. Nakamura interned for a year at the Japanese Federation for the Deaf while she was working on her dissertation, the basis of this book. The book is a valuable contribution to deaf studies and is worthy of close and critical reading. Even the information provided about positions I disagree with is valuable. However, those who have not been initiated to recent work on JSL and Japanese Deaf culture may wish to supplement it with works such as those recommended below. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved)