About Author

John W. Traphagan is a professor of religious studies and in the program in Human Dimensions of Organizations at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is also Mitsubishi Fellow in Religious Studies. He holds a PhD from the University of Pittsburgh, an MAR from Yale University, and a BA from the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Dr. Traphagan’s previous books on Japan include Taming Oblivion: Aging Bodies and the Fear of Senility in Japan and The Practice of Concern: Ritual, Well-Being, and Aging in Rural Japan.