Male Circumcision in Japan - Hardcover

"In this study of a widely debated practice not normally associated with East Asia, Castro-Vazquez tracks the history, justifications, and changing cultural meanings of adult male circumcision in Japan. It is the first monograph-length examination of an unexpected trend that has largely been ignored by scholars. Wide-ranging and thoughtful, this book is a timely contribution to Japan studies, gender studies, and sexuality studies." - Laura Miller, Eiichi Shibusawa-Seigo Arai Endowed Professor of Japanese Studies and Professor of Anthropology, University of Missouri St. Louis, USA

"Situated in contemporary global theories of sexuality and Japanese studies, Male Circumcision in Japan presents original research on an often neglected medical procedure utilized by a small number of adult men in Japan. Especially welcome is the attention by Castro-Vázquez in his book on the Japanese sexual and gendered self to the range of experience, both among medical practitioners as well as among women, including mothers, each of whom holds a distinct opinion about this elective, cosmetic surgery for Japanese men." - Matthew Gutmann, Professor of Anthropology, Director of the Brown International Advanced Research Institutes (BAIRI), and Faculty Fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University, USA

“In a book that draws deftly from a range of scholars and theories, Castro-Vázquez invites us to consider the biomedicalization of the practice in the sociohistorical context of gender and sexual ideology in Japan. ... the book is an important contribution to the sociology of masculinity, of sexuality, of bodies, of medicine, and of knowledge and thus, a worthwhile read.” (Amanda Kennedy, Men and Masculinities, Vol. 20 (1), 2017)