The Chrysanthemum and the Sword (《菊与刀》) describes clearly how the Japanese lived and thought in the 1930s and 1940s. The book developed from research into Japanese society conducted for the American leadership, civilian and military, during the Second World War.
Benedict describes social customs and traditions found in Japan at the outbreak of WWII. For instance, Japanese love bathing and the eldest male gets to go first and women having their period go last; everyone uses the same water, but this is no worse than everyone sharing a pool because bathers wash before getting into the tub. Another tradition is that women usually control the family purse with the husbands handing over their wages to their wives and getting an allowance. This is still largely true today.
For over ten years I avoided this book because it was written by someone who had never been to Japan and also because I avoid books that "explain" the Japanese. So When I picked up a copy lying around at a coffee shop and began skimming, I was very surprised at how insightful it was. Benedict was unable to do her research in Japan because of the war, so she obtained all her material from interviews with Japanese POWs (战俘) and also with second generations Japanese-Americans in American concentration camps (集中营).
It is still worth reading today. Things have changed in Japan, as they have everywhere else in the world, but her people are still basically the same.
According to the passage, the book the Chrysanthemum and the Sword describes ______ .