Personal, Portable, Pedestrian: Mobile Phones in Japanese Life (MIT Press) - Exploring Japanese Culture & Technology Through Mobile Devices

Keitai is defined as “a snug and intimate technological tethering, a personal device for supporting communication that are a constant, lightweight, and mundane presence in everyday life” (Mizuko Ito), in other words a mobile phone. In 1970’s there was a spark of increase in keitai use in Japan and many parts of the world such as the United States. “Personal, Portable, Pedestrian” written by Mizuko Ito, Daisuke Okabe, and Misa Matsuda analyzes the underlying cause for quick popularity of keitai use in Japan and focuses on how and why the impact mobile phones in Japan has made such a significant change in Japan’s cultural and social aspect of life. Keitai has not only influenced the younger generation but also has altered the definition of privacy, shined a light on the importance of connections, and the importance of personalization.The novel exemplifies an issue with mobile phones that is happening in Japan and it encourages people to step out of their comforts and immerse themselves into issues other cultures are facing in order to broaden their perspectives of issues happening around the world. The novel provides very detailed information about the integration and role keitai plays in the Japanese culture, however, the novel’s style of writing falls into the writings similar to those of a scientific text book, because the novel does not take the opportunity to elaborate and analyze deeper into the main ideas, thus failing to successfully conclude each point established. The novel leaves the readers confused because rather than choosing to wrap up the main purpose of the novel, the author instead choose to introduce an entirely new topic about the effects of keitai. The authors’ encourages readers to take the information learned from this novel into a more global context but the lack of direct global relevance, makes it difficult to find a personable connection with the context and the purpose of the novel. Overall, I would not recommend this novel for a scholarly reading but for people who are interested in learning about the history of a modern issue happening in the Japanese culture.