This comprehensive anthology collects works of fiction, poetry, drama, and essay-writing from a pivotal time in Japanese history. In addition to their literary achievements, the texts reflect the political, social, and intellectual changes that occurred in Japanese society during this period, including exposure to Western ideas and literature, the rise of nationalism, and the complex interaction of traditional and modern forces. The volume offers outstanding, often new translations of classic texts by such celebrated writers as Nagai Kafu, Shimazaki Toson, Natsume Soseki, Kawabata Yasunari, and Yosano Akiko. The editors have also unearthed works from lesser-known women writers, many of which have never been available in English. Organized chronologically and by genre within each period, the volume reveals the major influences in the development of modern Japanese literature: the Japanese classics themselves, the example of Chinese poetry, and the encounter with Western literature and culture. Modern Japanese writers reread the classics of Japanese literature, infused them with contemporary language, and refashioned them with an increased emphasis on psychological elements. They also reinterpreted older aesthetic concepts in light of twentieth-century mentalities. While modern ideas captured the imagination of some Japanese writers, the example of classical Chinese poetry remained important for others. Meiji writers continued to compose poetry in classical Chinese and adhere to a Confucian system of thought. Another factor in shaping modern Japanese literature was the example of foreign works, which offered new literary inspiration and opportunities for Japanese readers and writers. Divided into four chapters, the anthology begins with the early modern texts of the 1870s, continues with works written during the years of social change preceding World War I and the innovative writing of the interwar period, and concludes with texts from World War II. Each chapter includes a helpful critical introduction, situating the works within their literary, political, and cultural contexts. Additionally, there are biographical introductions for each writer.

Product Description: This comprehensive anthology collects works of fiction, poetry, drama, and essay-writing from a pivotal time in Japanese history. In addition to their literary achievements, the texts reflect the political, social, and intellectual changes that occurred in Japanese society during this period, including exposure to Western ideas and literature, the rise of nationalism, and the complex interaction of traditional and modern forces...read more

Product Description: In Volume 2 of Columbia's comprehensive anthology of modern Japanese literature, thoughtfully selected and carefully translated readings portray the vast changes that have transformed Japanese culture since the end of the Pacific War...read more

Product Description: This collection guides the reader through the complexity that is Japan. Although frequently misunderstood as a homogenous nation, Japan is a land of tremendous linguistic, geographical, and cultural diversity. Hino Keizo leads the reader through Tokyo's mazes in "Jacob's Tokyo Ladder...read more

Product Description: Music, poetry, the visual arts, literature, and theater have played a vital part in Japanese society. But, although Japanese artists, musicians, actors, and authors have written much over the centuries about the creation, meaning, and appreciation of these various arts, most of these works are scattered among countless hard-to-find sources or make only a fleeting appearance in books devoted to other subjects...read more

Product Description: Published in 1930, when Japan was struggling to define and assert its national and cultural identity, The Structure of Iki (Iki no kozo) re-introduced the Japanese to a sophisticated tradition of urbane and spirited stylishness (iki) that was forged in the Edo period...read more

Product Description: The literary writings of Mori Ogai (1862-1922), one of the giant figures of the Meiji period, have become increasingly well known to readers of English through a number of recent translations of his novels and short stories. Ogai was more than a writer of fiction, however...read more

Widely acknowledged as the doyen of twentieth-century Japanese literature, fine art and the performing arts, as well as being renowned for his translations of Zeami and Mori Ogai.

Product Description: From the late 19th to the early 20th century, Japan was a vital world center for postcard art. More than just casual mail pieces, these postcards were often designed by prominent artists and had a visual impact that belied their modest format...read more

Product Description: Published in 1930, when Japan was struggling to define and assert its national and cultural identity, The Structure of Iki (Iki no kozo) re-introduced the Japanese to a sophisticated tradition of urbane and spirited stylishness (iki) that was forged in the Edo period...read more

Product Description: This collection of essays, based on international collaboration by scholars in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United States, is a systematic, interdisciplinary attempt to address the social, political, and spiritual significance of the modern arts both in Japan and its empire between 1920 and 1960...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Amazon.com Review: Rooting around in a Kyoto antique shop, Stephen Addiss came across a fine example of literati painting by a hand he didn't recognize. Little did he know then that he had discovered an artist he now calls the last of Japan's great literati, Fukuda Kodojin...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: Familiarly known as "Rimer's Guide" since its publication in 1988, A Reader's Guide to Japanese Literature by J. Thomas Rimer has now been expanded and updated, keeping it abreast of the latest developments in Japanese literature...read more

Product Description: This first-time English translation of the Wakan roei shu includes insightful annotations after each passage and several explanatory essays.

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Product Description: The preeminent Western authority on Japanese literature a presents a collection of personal essays and literary vignettes that offers a fresh and personal insight into his prolific career as a writer and translator, traveler and social observer.

Product Description: Scholars from Japan, the former Soviet Union, the United States, and Canada chart the cultural, artistic, and intellectual relationships between Japan and Russia in the years 1868-1926. They also show how these contacts affected the countries’ political relationships...read more

Since its founding in the 7th century, Kyoto has continued to attract visitors from far and wide. In ancient times they were drawn by the city's role as the centre of government and cultures, more recently by its reputation as the repository and conservator of Japan's seat of government. Impressions of the city find their way into the writings of some visitors. The text includes an eclectic assortment of literati sojourner's reactions to Kyoto. The writers are from Japan and abroad, are both male and female, and are writing in both centuries past as well as the 20th century. They include authors ranging from Matsuo Basho to Rudyard Kipling, from Roland Barthes to Tange Kenzo, from Sei Shonagon to Nikos Kazantzakis. Their comments provide an introduction to the city and its environs. Selections from their prose and poetry are complimented by images taken by over 20 local Kyoto photographers. Extensive notes identify scenes and photographers, explain the relationship of texts and images, and introduce the literary sources and their authors.