A Cultural History of Late Meiji Japan
Title | A Cultural History of Late Meiji Japan PDF eBook |
Author | Alistair Swale |
Publisher | Springer Nature |
Pages | 224 |
Release | 2023-11-30 |
Genre | History |
ISBN | 3031436466 |
Scholarship on Japan’s development from the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century has, perhaps quite understandably, been dominated by attention given to Japan’s emergence as a world power through a succession of military conflicts, and the burgeoning of a modern literary canon. This book argues that the emergence of empire and high culture needs to be more thoroughly integrated with an awareness of popular culture in urban life, a culture that at times exhibited a less than whole-hearted enthusiasm for the trappings of 'civilization', - a culture that was, in a sense, ‘decadent’. It integrates coverage of popular culture across diverse media and platforms, accentuating the emergence of new modern forms that evolved from the inter-relation between textual, visual and performative traditions such as kōdan and gidayū. The commentary is seasoned with reference to contemporary narratives, aiming to capture more ‘on the street’ perceptions of momentous events such as war and natural disasters, as well as the more arcane or curious media sensations of the moment. These included exposés of scandalous conduct in high places, new fads in popular entertainments and riveting stories of human interest whether it be crime or tragedies of modern urban living.
The Imperial Museums of Meiji Japan
Title | The Imperial Museums of Meiji Japan PDF eBook |
Author | Alice Yu-Ting Tseng |
Publisher | |
Pages | 304 |
Release | 2008 |
Genre | Architecture |
ISBN |
It was not until Japan's opening to the West during the Meiji period (1868-1912) that terms for "art" (bijutsu) and "art museum" (bijutsukan) were coined. The Imperial Museums of Meiji Japan documents Japan's unification of national art and cultural resources to forge a modern identity influenced by European museum and exhibition culture. Japan's Imperial Museums were conceived of as national self-representations, and their creation epitomized the Meiji bureaucracy's mission to engage in the international standards and practices of the late nineteenth century. The architecture of the museums, by incorporating Western design elements and construction methods, effectively safeguarded and set off the nation's unique art historical lineage. Western paradigms and expertise, coupled with Japanese resolve and ingenuity, steered the course of the museums' development. Expeditions by high-ranking Japanese officials to Europe and the United States to explore the burgeoning world of art preservation and exhibition, and throughout Japan to inventory important cultural treasures, led to the establishment of the Imperial Museums in the successive imperial cities of Nara, Kyoto, and Tokyo. Over the course of nearly four decades, the English architect Josiah Conder, known as "the father of modern Japanese architecture," and his student Katayama Tokuma, who became the preeminent state architect, designed four main museum buildings to house the national art collection. These buildings articulated the museums' unified mission to preserve and showcase a millennium-long chronology of Japanese art, while reinforcing the distinctive historical and cultural character of their respective cities. This book is the first English-language study of the art, history, and architecture of Japan's Imperial Museums, the predecessors of today's national museums in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Nara. The Imperial Museums of Meiji Japan examines the museums' formative period and highlights cross-cultural influences that enriched and complicated Japan's search for a modern yet historically grounded identity.
The Meiji Restoration
Title | The Meiji Restoration PDF eBook |
Author | Robert Hellyer |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Pages | 301 |
Release | 2020-05-07 |
Genre | Business & Economics |
ISBN | 1108478050 |
This volume examines the Meiji Restoration through a global history lens to re-interpret the formation of a globally-cast, Japanese nation-state.
China and Japan in the Late Meiji Period
Title | China and Japan in the Late Meiji Period PDF eBook |
Author | Urs Matthias Zachmann |
Publisher | Routledge |
Pages | 251 |
Release | 2010-10-30 |
Genre | History |
ISBN | 1134017197 |
Demonstrates the close relation between Japan’s changing international status and the thought process behind this by focusing on the public discussion on China and China politics during the interwar years 1895-1904. Winner of the JaDe Prize 2010 awarded by the German Foundation for the Promotion of Japanese-German Culture and Science Relations
The Culture of the Meiji Period
Title | The Culture of the Meiji Period PDF eBook |
Author | Daikichi Irokawa |
Publisher | Princeton University Press |
Pages | 352 |
Release | 1985 |
Genre | Art |
ISBN | 9780691000305 |
The description for this book, The Culture of the Meiji Period, will be forthcoming.
Civilization and Monsters
Title | Civilization and Monsters PDF eBook |
Author | Gerald A. Figal |
Publisher | Duke University Press |
Pages | 310 |
Release | 1999 |
Genre | History |
ISBN | 9780822324188 |
Discusses the representation/role of the supernatural or the "fantastic" in the construction of Japanese modernism in late 19th and early 20th century Japan.
Japan's Modern Myths
Title | Japan's Modern Myths PDF eBook |
Author | Carol Gluck |
Publisher | Princeton University Press |
Pages | 432 |
Release | 1985 |
Genre | History |
ISBN | 9780691008127 |
Ideology played a momentous role in modern Japanese history. Not only did the elite of imperial Japan (1890-1945) work hard to influence the people to "yield as the grasses before the wind," but historians of modern Japan later identified these efforts as one of the underlying pathologies of World War II. Available for the first time in paperback, this study examines how this ideology evolved. Carol Gluck argues that the process of formulating and communicating new national values was less consistent than is usually supposed. By immersing the reader in the talk and thought of the late Meiji period, Professor Gluck recreates the diversity of ideological discourse experienced by Japanese of the time. The result is a new interpretation of the views of politics and the nation in imperial Japan.