Uncovering Heian Japan - An Archaeology of Sensation and Inscription

"'The line, ' wrote William James, 'is the relation.' In a study of stunning originality, Thomas Lamarre gives us the brushwork line, the line of poetic gesture--and through it, the relation between nation and sensation. "Uncovering Heian Japan" combines an exquisitely researched archeology of Japanese writing with far-ranging reflections on race, nation, and collective expression. A major contribution not only to Japanese studies, but to the interdisciplinary realm of cultural theory as a whole."--Brian Massumi, State University of New York at Albany

List of contents

Acknowledgments vii

A Note on Transliteration and Illustrations ix

Introduction: Unstating Heian Japan 1

Part One. The Interpretation of Rebuses

1. Revising the Rebus 13

2. Kana Inscription and Stylistic Differentiation 26

3. Composition and Competition 50

Part Two. Inscription and Sensation

4. Toward a History of Styles 77

5. Heian Calligraphy 93

6. The Multisensible FIgure: Ashide Shita-e Wakanroeisho 116

Part Three. The Song Machine

7. Two Prefaces, Two Modes of APpearance 143

8. Tsurayuki's Song Machine 161

Notes 189

Works Consulted 207

lIllustrations 217

Index 229

About the author

Thomas LaMarre is Professor of East Asian Studies at McGill University.

Product details

• Authors: Thomas Lamarre
• Publisher: Duke University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 20.03.2000
• EAN: 9780822325185
• ISBN: 978-0-8223-2518-5
• No. of pages: 248
• Dimensions: 150 mm x 235 mm x 20 mm
• Weight: 404 g
• Series: Asia-Pacific: Culture, Politic
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > Other languages / Other literatures; Asien, LITERARY CRITICISM / Poetry, Literature - Classics / Criticism, LITERARY CRITICISM / Asian / Japanese