Civilization and Monsters - Spirits of Modernity in Meiji Japan

"Through the transmutation of ghosts, Figal brings out one of the central problematics of modern nation-states: what to do about pasts that are simultaneously evidence of backwardness and integral to the make-up of the nation. All scholars interested in Japan, historically and culturally, should read "Civilization and Monsters."--Stefan Tanaka, University of California, San Diego

About the author

Gerald Figal

Summary

Monsters, ghosts, the supernatural, the fantastic, the mysterious. This title asserts that discourse on the fantastic was at the heart of the historical configuration of Japanese modernity - that the representation of the magical and mysterious played an integral part in the production of modernity beginning in Meiji Japan (1868-1912).

Product details

• Authors: Figal, Gerald Figal, Gerald A. Figal, Gerald Figal
• Publisher: Duke University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 17.01.2000
• EAN: 9780822323846
• ISBN: 978-0-8223-2384-6
• No. of pages: 304
• Dimensions: 244 mm x 163 mm x 30 mm
• Weight: 710 g
• Illustrations: 4 figures
• Series: Asia-Pacific: Culture, Politics, and Society; Asia-Pacific; Asia-Pacific: Culture, Politics, and Society; Asia-Pacific: Culture, Politic
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > General, dictionaries