Working Out in Japan: Shaping the Female Body in Tokyo Fitness Clubs. By Laura Spielvogel. (Durham and London, Duke University Press, 2003. Pp. xii + 250, ISBN 0-8223-3049-0)

Adapted from Spielvogel’s doctoral dissertation, Working Out in Japan is based on thirteen months of fieldwork conducted in two Tokyo health clubs in 1995. Spielvogel asserts, “the dual focus of this book… is the tension between the local and the ideological or, in this case, the grounded practices of the club and the larger constructions of beauty, health and leisure” (6). Indeed, throughout the text, the author manages to effectively problematize issues of health and fitness in Japanese culture within the context of health clubs. Spielvogel immediately confesses her biases and personal connection to this work, which she admits likely assisted her greatly in completing the research in the first place. Her certification and previous experience as a fitness instructor in the U.S.A. paved the way for her to gain access, through paid employment, to two Japanese fitness clubs: one in downtown Tokyo, the other in the suburban, or “bedroom community” of Chiba. This skill and training begat a reciprocal relationship, whereby Spielvogel conducted extensive fieldwork with almost no limitations in these clubs, the clubs boasting a Western instructor with “American” steps and routines. Indeed, the author’s balance between employee and researcher, as a Westerner living in the Far East, is revealed throughout the book, as Spielvogel incorporates Japanese words and phrases to help explain Japanese ideology. Further, she ofttimes compares Japan to the United States as a means of using “the long-standing and complicated relationships between these cultural paradigms to underlie and inform my understanding of the discipline and display of the female body in contemporary Japan” (5). Aside from the fact that the health club movement in Japan was largely influenced by increased popularity of aerobics in the United States, and the two are thus easily contrasted, Spielvogel uses comparisons sparingly and effectively. While at first glance this book might appear to merely replicate previous studies of women and body image, Spielvogel uses her fieldwork within health clubs not just as a backdrop for her arguments, but as the locus of the discussion. Her examination of the physical layout, duties of employees, and activities of patrons are at the heart of this study, indeed identifying the complexities of everyday life at the health club within larger ideologies of health and beauty. As such, Spielvogel does achieve her stated goals. Spielvogel’s introduction clearly and concisely outlines her personal and theoretical approaches. Initially providing statistics to illustrate socioeconomic and gender factors in fitness clubs in Japan, Spielvogel proceeds to quantitative analysis and an introduction to her theoretical and methodological approaches. The author also discusses the two locations of her fieldwork, emphasizing the differences in clientele and attitude in the downtown core versus the suburban setting. Finally, she introduces Japanese attitudes towards health and fitness. Particularly interesting is her discussion of health, or genki, in Japan. This term means, “not only to be in good physiological health but to be well-adjusted, enthusiastic, self-sufficient, and passionate” (22). Health clubs in Japan therefore aim to fulfill those needs in their patrons, by not only providing a place to work out, but also entertainment and lifestyle activities, such as dances, weekend events, and even canteens with beer and ice-cream for post-workout indulgences. Finally, Spielvogel establishes notions of sexuality, beauty and the female body, and how further chapters will link these ideas with the aims and realities of health clubs. The first chapter is dedicated to the history of aerobics in Japan, and this is where the most direct comparisons to the U.S.A. are made. Subtitled “The Sexy American Import”, Spielvogel contextualizes the rise in popularity of health clubs in Japan by discussing militarization …