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

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Steele, M. William, 1947- author.

Series:

Harvard East Asian monographs ; 473.

Harvard East Asian monographs ; 473

Language:

English

Japanese

Subjects (All):

Fukuzawa, Yukichi, 1835-1901--Political and social views.

Fukuzawa, Yukichi.

Japanese literature--Translations into English.

Japanese literature.

Civilization, Modern--20th century.

Civilization, Modern.

Japan--History--Restoration, 1853-1870.

Japan.

Japan--History--Restoration, 1853-1870--Sources.

Japan--History--Meiji period, 1868-1912.

Japan--History--Meiji period, 1868-1912--Sources.

Japan--History--1912-1945.

Japan--History--1912-1945--Sources.

Physical Description:

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

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Asia Center, 2024.

Language Note:

English, with some text in Japanese.

Summary:

"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."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

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

Notes:

Includes material previously published in English or Japanese.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780674297562

0674297563

OCLC:

1427657014

Publisher Number:

40032402134