Japans Modern Myth

Author : Carol Gluck
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691232679
Total Pages : 428 pages
Book Rating : 4.76/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Japan's Modern Myths written by Carol Gluck and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2021-07-13 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Author : Roy Andrew Miller
Publisher : Weatherhill, Incorporated
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 336 pages
Book Rating : 4.67/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Japan's Modern Myth written by Roy Andrew Miller and published by Weatherhill, Incorporated. This book was released on 1982 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This text analyzes the Japanese psyche through the Japanese language, and the myths and misconceptions that have been built around it.

Author : Joshua Frydman
Publisher : Thames & Hudson
ISBN 13 : 0500777349
Total Pages : 291 pages
Book Rating : 4.43/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Japanese Myths written by Joshua Frydman and published by Thames & Hudson. This book was released on 2022-04-07 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a smart and succinct guide to the rich tradition of Japanese mythology, from the earliest recorded legends of Izanagi and Izanami, their divine offspring and the creation of Japan, to medieval tales of vengeful ghosts, through to the modern-day reincarnation of ancient deities as the heroes of mecha anime. While many around the world love Japans cultural exports, few are familiar with Japans unique mythology - enriched by Shinto, Buddhism and regional folklore. Mythology remains a living, evolving part of Japanese society, and the ways in which the people of Japan understand their myths are very different today even from a century ago, let alone over a millennium into the past. Offering much more than any competing overview of Japanese mythology, The Japanese Myths not only retells the ancient stories but also considers their place within the patterns of Japanese religions, culture and history, helping readers to understand the deep links between past and present in Japan, and the ways these myths live and grow. Joshua Frydman takes the very earliest written myths in the Kojiki and the Nihonshoki as his starting point, and from there traces Japans mythology through to post-war State Shinto, the rise of the manga industry in the 1960s, J-horror and modern-day myths. Reinventions and retellings of myth are present across all genres of contemporary Japanese culture, from its auteur cinema to renowned video games such as Okami. This book is for anyone interested in Japan, as knowing its myths allows readers to understand and appreciate its culture in a new light.

Author : John S. Brownlee
Publisher : UBC Press
ISBN 13 : 0774842547
Total Pages : 269 pages
Book Rating : 4.49/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Japanese Historians and the National Myths, 1600-1945 written by John S. Brownlee and published by UBC Press. This book was released on 2011-11-01 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Japanese Historians and the National Myths, John Brownlee examines how Japanese historians between 1600 and 1945 interpreted the ancient myths of their origins. Ancient tales tell of Japan's creation in the Age of the Gods, and of Jinmu, a direct descendant of the Sun Goddess and first emperor of the imperial line. These founding myths went unchallenged until Confucian scholars in the Tokugawa period initiated a reassessment of the ancient history of Japan. These myths lay at the core of Japanese identity and provided legitimacy for the imperial state. Focusing on the theme of conflict and accommodation between scholars on one side and government and society on the other, Brownlee follows the historians' reactions to pressure and trends and their eventual understanding of history as a science in the service of the Japanese nation.

Author : Mark J. McLelland
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1135791309
Total Pages : 276 pages
Book Rating : 4.08/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Male Homosexuality in Modern Japan written by Mark J. McLelland and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2005-07-08 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is the first to look at the wide range of contrasting images of the gay male body in Japanese popular culture, both mainstream and gay, and relate these images to the experience of an interview sample of Japanese gay men. In so doing, it touches on a number of important issues, including whether there can be a universal 'gay identity' and whether or not strategies developed for increasing gay and lesbian visibility in western countries are appropriate to the social situation in Japan

Author : J.K. Jackson
Publisher : Flame Tree Collections
ISBN 13 : 9781839648892
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.99/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Japanese Myths & Legends written by J.K. Jackson and published by Flame Tree Collections. This book was released on 2022-04-12 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gorgeous Collector's Edition. Legends of the Sea, Bells, Mirrors and Tea, Japanese mythology is delightful and enigmatic, full of spirits, gods and legendary creatures. It draws on Buddhist and Shinto traditions to explain the nature of the world of the island of Japan, the mystical Mount Fuji and the heavenly status of the long line of emperors. The warrior class of the imperial court, and the natural spirits of the countryside represent parallel and interdependent aspects of Japanese society, explored through ancient legend and folklore. Flame Tree Collector's Editions present the foundations of speculative fiction, authors, myths and tales without which the imaginative literature of the twentieth century would not exist, bringing the best, most influential and most fascinating works into a striking and collectable library. Each book features a new introduction and a Glossary of Terms.

Author : Yoshiko Okuyama
Publisher : Lexington Books
ISBN 13 : 0739190938
Total Pages : 263 pages
Book Rating : 4.37/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Japanese Mythology in Film written by Yoshiko Okuyama and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2015-04-09 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A cyborg detective hunts for a malfunctioning sex doll that turns itself into a killing machine. A Heian-era Taoist slays evil spirits with magic spells from yin-yang philosophy. A young mortician carefully prepares bodies for their journey to the afterlife. A teenage girl drinks a cup of life-giving sake, not knowing its irreversible transformative power. These are scenes from the visually enticing, spiritually eclectic media of Japanese movies and anime. The narratives of courageous heroes and heroines and the myths and legends of deities and their abodes are not just recurring motifs of the cinematic fantasy world. They are pop culture’s representations of sacred subtexts in Japan. Japanese Mythology in Film takes a semiotic approach to uncovering such religious and folkloric tropes and subtexts embedded in popular Japanese movies and anime. Part I introduces film semiotics with plain definitions of terminology. Through familiar cinematic examples, it emphasizes the myth-making nature of modern-day film and argues that semiotics can be used as a theoretical tool for reading film. Part II presents case studies of eight popular Japanese films as models of semiotic analysis. While discussing each film’s use of common mythological motifs such as death and rebirth, its case study also unveils more covert cultural signifiers and folktale motifs, including jizo (a savior of sentient beings) and kori (bewitching foxes and raccoon dogs), hidden in the Japanese filmic text.

Author : Jun'ichi Isomae
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1134949014
Total Pages : 224 pages
Book Rating : 4.14/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Japanese Mythology written by Jun'ichi Isomae and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-08 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Before the westernisation of Japan, mythological events were treated as national history. Two key documents have contributed to this history, both written over 1300 years ago: 'Kojiki', the Tale of Old Age, and 'Nihonshoki', the Chronicle of Japanese History. Both the Imperial Court and the general public searched for the origin of their identity in these documents, which took on the central and sacred role of scripture. Through the act of commentary and interpretation, the sacred books connected interpreters to their historical origins, authenticating where they came from, the emergence of the Japanese archipelago, and the uniqueness of the Japanese people. 'Japanese Mythology' explores the nation's attraction to this act of historical grounding and the varying identities that emerged during different historical periods. The study reveals that, rather than having any clear and unified substance, Japanese mythology has always been the result of a nostalgic desire to retrieve historical origins.

Author : Juliet Piggott
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780600021131
Total Pages : 137 pages
Book Rating : 4.30/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Japanese Mythology written by Juliet Piggott and published by . This book was released on 1969 with total page 137 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Japanese mythology is an amalgam of dashing heroes, supernatural beings and intelligent animals-of love and hate, gratitude and resentment, gentleness and cruelty.

Author : Christopher Goto-Jones
Publisher : OUP Oxford
ISBN 13 : 019156821X
Total Pages : 177 pages
Book Rating : 4.13/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Modern Japan: A Very Short Introduction written by Christopher Goto-Jones and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2009-04-23 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Japan is arguably today's most successful industrial economy, combining almost unprecedented affluence with social stability and apparent harmony. Japanese goods and cultural products are consumed all over the world, ranging from animated movies and computer games all the way through to cars, semiconductors, and management techniques. In many ways, Japan is an icon of the modern world, and yet it remains something of an enigma to many, who see it as a confusing montage of the alien and the familiar, the ancient and modern. The aim of this Very Short Introduction is to explode the myths and explore the reality of modern Japan - by taking a concise look at its history, economy, politics, and culture. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.