This book examines the place of body pratices and the management of emotions in Japanese pre-schools. In particular, it looks at a number of key issues related to embodiment and to affects. Early childhood socialization is explored as a set of "body projects": a series of practices undertaken (over time) to design the body according to prevailing cultural definitions and images. The concept "body projects" offers the ability to understand how the body is, at one and the same time, a malleable material capable of being fashioned in a certain manner, an entity which represents social relations and notions, and an embodiment of affective attitudes and stances towards the world. This volume examines this set of themes by studying one institution of early childhood education: Katsura "Hoikuen" (day-care centre).