Kabuki is well known for its exaggerated acting, flamboyant costumes and makeup, and unnatural storylines. Theonnagata, usually male actors who perform the roles of women, have been an important aspec
Writing Technology in Meiji Japan boldly rethinks the origins of modern Japanese language, literature, and visual culture from the perspective of media history. Drawing upon methodological insights by
In this new critical edition of Harima Fudoki, Edwina Palmer presents a fresh translation and interpretation of the stories of gods, people and places contained in this important eighth-century Japane
Recently there has been an increase in historical volumes which deal with their subject matters from global, international, and transnational perspectives. These relatively recent trends in historical
"A Man's life is fifty years. What is a dream or illusion? Is there anybody who is born and does not die?" "Iza Shutsujin!" During the bloodthirsty sixteenth century Japan, brother
Assembling Japan focuses on Japan’s modernization as a long-term process that is reliant on changing technology and that has led to the nation’s full engagement with the global system. This process fo
In the 1990s, survivor-victims of the 'comfort women' system – sexual slavery by the Japanese military during the Second World War – started to testify to their ordeal. Their testimonies attracted hug
Antony Cummins and Yoshie Minami have brought the teachings of the famed samurai school Natori-Ryu back to life throughThe Book of Samurai series, and present the lost arts of the samurai in the Engli
Lovable Losers is the first substantial piece of English-language scholarship to examine the actions and the memorization of the Heike (Ise Taira), a family of aristocratic warriors whose resounding d
Using recently released archival material from the US and Japan, this book critically re-examines U.S.-Japanese relations during the tenure of Sato Eisaku, Japan's longest serving prime minister. Duri
The chapters in this volume use diverse methodologies to challenge a number of long-standing assumptions regarding the principal contours of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Japanese society, especi
In 1972, the radical left wing United Red Army (URA) became notorious in Japan when, after a protracted police siege, news emerged that the group had killed 12 of its own members during physical and i
Literary critiques of Murasaki Shikibu's eleventh-century The Tale of Genji have often focused on the amorous adventures of its eponymous hero. In this paradigm-shifting analysis of the Genji and othe
How did the notion of a "backward Tohoku" come about? Hidemichi Kawanishi offers a new way of looking at Japanese history and world history from the perspective of Tohoku regional st
An enchanting and fascinating insight into Japanese landscape, culture, history and future. Originally written in Japanese, this passionate, vividly personal book draws on the author's experiences in
The conventional understanding of Japanese wartime ideology has for years been summed up by just a few words: anti-modern, spiritualist, and irrational. Yet such a cut-and-dried picture is not at all
In many ways, the culture and traditions of Japan are very different from our own. Just by looking at the detailed photographs in this book, readers will see that the Japanese have unique and beautifu
In 1895, the newly formed Greater Japan Martial Virtue Association (Dainippon Butokukai)held its first annual Martial Virtue Festival (butokusai) in the ancient capital of Kyoto. The Festival marked t
