| Appraising Genji: Literary Criticism and Cultural Anxiety in the Age of the Last Samurai Contributor(s): Caddeau, Patrick W. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0791466744 ISBN-13: 9780791466742 Publisher: State University of New York Press OUR PRICE: $33.20 Product Type: Paperback Published: January 2007 Annotation: Murasaki Shikibu's eleventh-century Tale of Genji is the most revered work of fiction in Japan. This work explores Genji's reception over the years and its place in Japanese culture. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism | Asian - Japanese - Literary Criticism | Medieval - History | Asia - Japan |
| Dewey: 895.631 |
| Physical Information: 0.56" H x 6.06" W x 9.04" (1.03 lbs) 227 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - Medieval (500-1453) - Cultural Region - Japanese |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Considered by many to be the world's first novel, The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu is a masterpiece of narrative fiction rich in plot, character development, and compositional detail. The tale, written by a woman in service to Japan's imperial court in the early eleventh century, portrays a world of extraordinary romance, lyric beauty, and human vulnerability. Appraising Genji is the first work to bring the rich field of Genji reception to the attention of an English-language audience. Patrick W. Caddeau traces the tale's place in Japanese culture through diaries, critical treatises, newspaper accounts, cinematic adaptation, and modern stage productions. The centerpiece of this study is a treatise on Genji by Hagiwara Hiromichi (1815-1863), one of the most astute readers of the tale who, after becoming a masterless samurai, embarked on a massive study of Genji. Hiromichi challenged dominant modes of literary interpretation and cherished beliefs about the supremacy of the nation's aristocratic culture. In so doing, he inspired literary critics and authors as they struggled to articulate theories of fiction and the novel in early modern Japan. Appraising Genji promises to enhance our understanding of one of the greatest literary classics in terms of intellectual history, literary criticism, and the quest of scholars in early modern Japan to define their nation's place in the world. |