Research Catalog

Details

Description

1. xvi, 352 pages : illustrations (chiefly color); 24 cm.

Summary

1. "History is not one story, but many. In Rethinking Japan's Modernity, M. William Steele takes a new look at the people, places, and events associated with Japan's engagement with modernity, starting with American Commodore Matthew Perry's arrival in Japan in 1853. In many cases, this new look derives from visual sources, such as popular broadsheets, satirical cartoons, ukiyo-e and other woodblock prints, postcards, and photographs. The book illustrates the diverse, and sometimes conflicting, perceptions of people who experienced the unfolding of modern Japan. It focuses both on the experiences of people living the events "at that time" and on the reflections of people looking back. Also included are three new primary translations, two of them by Japan's pioneer Westernizer, Fukuzawa Yukichi, and another a harsh rebuttal of Fukuzawa's "encouragement of learning." These and other stories show how Japanese views of modernity evolved over time. Each chapter is prefaced with a short introduction to the topic covered and historiographical approach taken, allowing the chapter to stand alone as well as support the overall goal of the book -- to inform and challenge our understanding of the links between Japan's past, present, and future."--

Series statement

1. Harvard East Asian monographs ; 473

Uniform title

1. Harvard East Asian monographs ; 473.

Subject

1. Fukuzawa, Yukichi, 1835-1901 -- Political and social views
2. Fukuzawa, Yukichi, 1835-1901
3. 1853-1999
4. Japanese literature -- Translations into English
5. Civilization, Modern -- 20th century
6. Japanese literature
7. Civilization, Modern
8. Political and social views
9. Japan -- History -- Restoration, 1853-1870
10. Japan -- History -- Restoration, 1853-1870 -- Sources
11. Japan -- History -- Meiji period, 1868-1912
12. Japan -- History -- Meiji period, 1868-1912 -- Sources
13. Japan -- History -- 1912-1945
14. Japan -- History -- 1912-1945 -- Sources
15. Japan

Genre/Form

1. History.
2. Sources.
3. Translations.

Contents

1. Pacific Vistas: California and the Opening of Japan -- Apocalypse Now: A Bottom-Up View of the Years 1853 to 1868 -- Fukuzawa Yukichi, "A Petition on the Subjugation of Chōshū -- That Terrible Year 1868: Satirical Cartoons and the End of an Era -- Negotiating Modernity: Sada Kaiseki and the Movement against Imported Goods -- Mantei Ōga, Sparrows at the Gates of Learning: A Spirited Debate -- Katsu Kaishū: Looking Back at the Restoration -- Fukuzawa Yukichi, On Fighting to the Bitter End -- When East and West Meet: Japan's Mingei Movement -- Nationalisms and the Anglo-Japanese Alliance -- "To Help Our Stricken Brothers": The Great Tōhoku Famine of 1905-1906 -- Postcards from Hell: Glimpses of the Great Kantō Earthquake -- Looking Back on the Enlightenment: Kume Kunitake and World War I

Call number

1. JFE 25-259

Note

1. Includes material previously published in English or Japanese.

Bibliography (note)

1. Includes bibliographical references and index.

Language (note)

1. English, with some text in Japanese.

Author

1. Steele, M. William, 1947- author.

Title

1. Rethinking Japan's modernity : stories and translations / M. William Steele.

Publisher

1. Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Asia Center, 2024.

Copyright date

1. ©2024

Type of content

1. text

Type of medium

1. unmediated

Type of carrier

1. volume

Series

1. Harvard East Asian monographs ; 473
2. Harvard East Asian monographs ; 473.

Bibliography

1. Includes bibliographical references and index.

Language

1. English, with some text in Japanese.

Chronological term

1. 1853-1999

LCCN

1. 2024001363

Other standard identifier

1. 40032402134

ISBN

1. 9780674297562 hardcover
2. 0674297563 hardcover

Research call number

1. JFE 25-259