The Last Tosa

The Last Tosa PDF Author: Sandy Kita
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 9780824818265
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 442

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Book Description
Iwasa Katsumochi Matabei (1578-1650) is one of the most controversial figures in Japanese art history. For more than half a century, historians have argued over Matabei's role in Japanese art: Was he, as he asserted, "The Last Tosa" (the school of painters who specialized in Yamato-e, a kind of classical courtly painting) or, as others characterized him, "The Founder of Ukiyo-e," the style of painting associated with the urban commoner class. In this highly original and convincing study, Matabei emerges as both - an artist in whose work can be seen elements of both Yamato-e and Ukiyo-e. Extending its analysis beyond the individual artist, The Last Tosa examines the trends and artistic developments of a transitional period and makes heretofore unexamined connections between the world of the aristocrat and the merchant as well as the two artistic schools that reflected their tastes.

The Last Tosa

The Last Tosa PDF Author: Sandy Kita
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 9780824818265
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 442

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Book Description
Iwasa Katsumochi Matabei (1578-1650) is one of the most controversial figures in Japanese art history. For more than half a century, historians have argued over Matabei's role in Japanese art: Was he, as he asserted, "The Last Tosa" (the school of painters who specialized in Yamato-e, a kind of classical courtly painting) or, as others characterized him, "The Founder of Ukiyo-e," the style of painting associated with the urban commoner class. In this highly original and convincing study, Matabei emerges as both - an artist in whose work can be seen elements of both Yamato-e and Ukiyo-e. Extending its analysis beyond the individual artist, The Last Tosa examines the trends and artistic developments of a transitional period and makes heretofore unexamined connections between the world of the aristocrat and the merchant as well as the two artistic schools that reflected their tastes.

The Last Samurai

The Last Samurai PDF Author: Mark Ravina
Publisher: Wiley + ORM
ISBN: 1118045564
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description
The dramatic arc of Saigo Takamori's life, from his humble origins as a lowly samurai, to national leadership, to his death as a rebel leader, has captivated generations of Japanese readers and now Americans as well - his life is the inspiration for a major Hollywood film, The Last Samurai, starring Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe. In this vibrant new biography, Mark Ravina, professor of history and Director of East Asian Studies at Emory University, explores the facts behind Hollywood storytelling and Japanese legends, and explains the passion and poignancy of Saigo's life. Known both for his scholarly research and his appearances on The History Channel, Ravina recreates the world in which Saigo lived and died, the last days of the samurai. The Last Samurai traces Saigo's life from his early days as a tax clerk in far southwestern Japan, through his rise to national prominence as a fierce imperial loyalist. Saigo was twice exiled for his political activities -- sent to Japan's remote southwestern islands where he fully expected to die. But exile only increased his reputation for loyalty, and in 1864 he was brought back to the capital to help his lord fight for the restoration of the emperor. In 1868, Saigo commanded his lord's forces in the battles which toppled the shogunate and he became and leader in the emperor Meiji's new government. But Saigo found only anguish in national leadership. He understood the need for a modern conscript army but longed for the days of the traditional warrior. Saigo hoped to die in service to the emperor. In 1873, he sought appointment as envoy to Korea, where he planned to demand that the Korean king show deference to the Japanese emperor, drawing his sword, if necessary, top defend imperial honor. Denied this chance to show his courage and loyalty, he retreated to his homeland and spent his last years as a schoolteacher, training samurai boys in frugality, honesty, and courage. In 1876, when the government stripped samurai of their swords, Saigo's followers rose in rebellion and Saigo became their reluctant leader. His insurrection became the bloodiest war Japan had seen in centuries, killing over 12,000 men on both sides and nearly bankrupting the new imperial government. The imperial government denounced Saigo as a rebel and a traitor, but their propaganda could not overcome his fame and in 1889, twelve years after his death, the government relented, pardoned Saigo of all crimes, and posthumously restored him to imperial court rank. In THE LAST SAMURAI, Saigo is as compelling a character as Robert E. Lee was to Americans-a great and noble warrior who followed the dictates of honor and loyalty, even though it meant civil war in a country to which he'd devoted his life. Saigo's life is a fascinating look into Japanese feudal society and a history of a country as it struggled between its long traditions and the dictates of a modern future.

Epochs of Chinese & Japanese Art

Epochs of Chinese & Japanese Art PDF Author: Ernest Francisco Fenollosa
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 512

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Book Description


The Deshima Diaries

The Deshima Diaries PDF Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004616489
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 620

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Book Description
English translation of the marginalia, or marginal notes, that were added to the text of the Deshima Diaries from the 1670's onwards in order to provide the Dutch chief of Deshima with a quick reference to the notes of his predecessors. This volume covers the marginalia from the 1700-1740 diaries. Providing the general public, and especially those who have neither a command of Dutch nor of Japanese, access to a fascinating period of Japanese history in which the Dutch played such a singular role. At the same time, the serious scholar wil obtain an easy key to the extremely rich holdings of the archive of the Deshima trading factory, which covers a shelf length of more than forty meters in the National Archives in the Netherlands, but which has been only rarely utilized by historians, Japanologists or other scholars. The Deshima archives of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) were used originally as a corpus of knowledge and experience amassed over the years by generations of Company personnel. It was a source which was consulted by opperhoofden whenever they were in doubt about the right answer to exasperating questions or challenges posed by Japanese society in the form of shogunal decrees, orders by the governors of Nagasaki, and the stubborn demeanor by blackmailing and manipulative officials. Life at Deshima was so regulated and controlled both by workings of the Japanese bureaucracy and by the rhythms of the East India Company's seasonal trade with Japan, that keeping a dagregister or diary in which all the remarkable occurances were noted, assumed crucial importance. This in contrast to other VOC factories where the keeping of a diary, though obligatory, was often neglected. In the isolation of Deshima almost everything seen or heard was 'notable'. Skipping through the text one is also inevitably touched by the suffering inflicted on Japanese society by perennial scourges such as earthquakes, epidemics, 'that one general disease called poverty' and the fires which periodically destroyed large portions of the great cities. The present volume is a thoroughly revised edition, especially with regard to the Japanese personal and topographical names occurring in the text, of volumes III-IV of the Leiden edition. Scientific Publications of the Japan-Netherlands Institute No. 12. Published by the Japan-Netherlands Institute, Tokyo 1992 (original ISBN 4930921015).

Epochs of Chinese and Japanese Art

Epochs of Chinese and Japanese Art PDF Author: Ernest Fenollosa
Publisher: Stone Bridge Press, Inc.
ISBN: 0893469629
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 720

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Book Description
Two volumes of the essential and definitive survey of Chinese and Japanese art in one book.

國華

國華 PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 478

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The Japan Daily Mail

The Japan Daily Mail PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 736

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Samurai Tales

Samurai Tales PDF Author: Romulus Hillsborough
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
ISBN: 146290081X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 342

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Book Description
Samurai Tales is about the legendary men from the samurai class who fought for the helm of power in 19th century Japan. These are stories of courage, honor, fidelity, disgrace, fate, and destiny set in the bloody time of political change and social upheaval in the final years of the Shogun. The final years of the samurai were an age of unprecedented turmoil and bloodletting in Japan. They heralded the end of nearly three centuries of rule under the Tokugawa Shogun. The rule of law was deteriorating, assassination and murder were rampant, and inner-fighting among the warrior class embroiled the nation. After the United States forced an end of over two hundred years of Japanese isolation, two contrasting philosophies were embraced by the samurai. On one side were those who would overthrow the shogun and restore the Emperor to power. Opposing the revolutionaries were the allies of the Tokugawa Bakufu, headed by the shogun. While the shogun's men clashed violently with the revolutionaries, as samurai they shared with each other an allegiance to an unwritten code of honor which governed the ways they lived and died. Theirs was a stoic system of morals which condoned suicide, vengeance and, in some cases, cold-blooded murder. Samurai Tales is, to quote author Romulus Hillsborough, "accurate portrayals of the heart and soul of the samurai, the social and political systems of whom have, like the Japanese sword, become relics of a distant age, but the likes of whose nobility shall never again be seen in this world." In recounting what he terms "the great epic which was the dawn of modern Japan," Hillsborough delves deeply into the psyche of the men of the samurai class. This book would serve well on the bookshelves of martial artists, those interested in samurai culture, or those interested in Japanese history.

The Monthly Review

The Monthly Review PDF Author: Sir Henry John Newbolt
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 644

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Book Description


The Making of Modern Japan

The Making of Modern Japan PDF Author: Marius B. Jansen
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674039106
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 933

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Book Description
Magisterial in vision, sweeping in scope, this monumental work presents a seamless account of Japanese society during the modern era, from 1600 to the present. A distillation of more than fifty years’ engagement with Japan and its history, it is the crowning work of our leading interpreter of the modern Japanese experience. Since 1600 Japan has undergone three periods of wrenching social and institutional change, following the imposition of hegemonic order on feudal society by the Tokugawa shogun; the opening of Japan’s ports by Commodore Perry; and defeat in World War II. The Making of Modern Japan charts these changes: the social engineering begun with the founding of the shogunate in 1600, the emergence of village and castle towns with consumer populations, and the diffusion of samurai values in the culture. Marius Jansen covers the making of the modern state, the adaptation of Western models, growing international trade, the broadening opportunity in Japanese society with industrialization, and the postwar occupation reforms imposed by General MacArthur. Throughout, the book gives voice to the individuals and views that have shaped the actions and beliefs of the Japanese, with writers, artists, and thinkers, as well as political leaders given their due. The story this book tells, though marked by profound changes, is also one of remarkable consistency, in which continuities outweigh upheavals in the development of society, and successive waves of outside influence have only served to strengthen a sense of what is unique and native to Japanese experience. The Making of Modern Japan takes us to the core of this experience as it illuminates one of the contemporary world’s most compelling transformations.