Modernism and Japanese Culture

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xix

   PDF

2. Introduction: Modernity and Modernism in a Japanese Context

   1. Introduction: Modernity and Modernism in a Japanese Context

      • Roy Starrs

      Pages 1-9

3. Constructing ‘Modernity’ and ‘Tradition’: Modernism and Anti-Modernism in Meiji Japan, 1868–1912

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 11-11

      PDF

   2. Constructing Meiji Modernity

      • Roy Starrs

      Pages 13-36

   3. The Anti-Modernist Backlash: Constructing Meiji Tradition

      • Roy Starrs

      Pages 37-83

   4. The Novel as Modernist Medium: Modernity and Anti-Modernity in Meiji Fiction

      • Roy Starrs

      Pages 84-102

4. High Modernism and the Fascist Backlash, 1912–1945

   1. High Modernism and the Fascist Backlash, 1912–1945

      • Roy Starrs

      Pages 103-181

5. The Rival Modernisms of Postwar Japan, 1945–1970

   1. The Rival Modernisms of Postwar Japan, 1945–1970

      • Roy Starrs

      Pages 183-243

6. Empty and Marvellous: Japan in The ‘Postmodern Age’, 1970–2010

   1. Empty and Marvellous: Japan in the ‘Postmodern Age’, 1970–2010

      • Roy Starrs

      Pages 245-275

7. Back Matter

   Pages 276-323

   PDF

An in-depth and comprehensive account of the complex history of Japanese modernism from the mid-19th century 'opening to the West' until the 21st century globalized world of 'postmodernism.' Its concept of modernism encompasses not just the aesthetic avant-garde but a wide spectrum of social, political and cultural phenomena.

• fiction
• Japan
• Modernism
• national culture
• novel
• postmodernism
• Utopia

'With this, Starrs has picked up where he left off from his previous trilogy on Japanese literature, providing readers with another informative and challenging study. In so doing, he provides us with fresh insights into a topic that has been restored to a leading place in a variety of debates in recent years: Japan's approach to the modernist agenda when reassessed against the backdrop of postmodernist discourse. Once more, we are indebted to Starrs for his clear and concise analysis and attention to detail.' - Mark Williams, Chair, School of Modern Languages and Cultures, University of Leeds, UK

• Japanese and Asian Studies, University of Otago, New Zealand

  Roy Starrs

ROY STARRS teaches Japanese and Asian Studies at the University of Otago, New Zealand. He has published widely on Japanese literature, art and culture, including books on Yukio Mishima, Yasunari Kawabata and Naoya Shiga. He has also edited three books on Japanese and Asian nationalism and globalization. His edited book, Politics and Religion in Modern Japan: Red Sun, White Lotus, is forthcoming from Palgrave in 2011.

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