In the summer of 1942 Japan's leading cultural authorities gathered
in Tokyo to discuss the massive cultural, technological, and
intellectual changes that had transformed Japan since the Meiji
period. They feared that without a sufficient understanding of
these developments, the Japanese people would lose their identity
to the reckless and rapid process of modernization.
The participants of this symposium hoped to settle the question
of Japanese cultural identity at a time when their country was
already at war with England and the United States. They presented
papers and held roundtable discussions analyzing the effects of
modernity from the diverse perspectives of literature, history,
theology, film, music, philosophy, and science. Taken together,
their work represents a complex portrait of intellectual discourse
in wartime Japan, marked not only by a turn toward fascism but also
by a profound sense of cultural crisis and anxiety.
"Overcoming Modernity" is the first English translation of the
symposium proceedings. Originally published in 1942, this material
remains one of the most valuable documents of wartime Japanese
intellectual history. Richard F. Calichman reproduces the entire
proceedings and includes a critical introduction that provides
thorough background of the symposium and its reception among
postwar Japanese thinkers and critics. The aim of this conference
was to go beyond facile and unreflective discussions concerning
Japan's new spiritual order and examine more substantially the
phenomenon of Japanese modernization and westernization. This does
not mean, however, that a consensus was reached among the
symposium's participants. Their tense debate reflects
theproblematic efforts within Japan, if not throughout the rest of
the world at the time, to resolve the troubling issues of
modernity., reviewing a previous edition or volume
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
