Description
The first anthology of its kind, The Modern Murasaki brings the vibrancy and rich imagination of women's writing from the Meiji period to English-language readers. Along with traditional prose, the editors have chosen and carefully translated short stories, plays, poetry, speeches, essays, and personal journal entries. Selected readings include writings by the public speaker Kishida Toshiko, the dramatist Hasegawa Shigure, the short-fiction writer Shimizu Shikin, the political writer Tamura Toshiko, and the novelists Miyake Kaho, Higuchi Ichiyo, Tazawa Inabune, Kitada Usurai, Nogami Yaeko, and Mizuno Senko. The volume also includes a thorough introduction to each reading, an extensive index listing historical, social, and literary concepts, and a comprehensive guide to further research. The fierce tenor and bold content of these texts refute the popular belief that women of this era were passive and silent. A vital addition to courses in women's studies and Japanese literature and history, The Modern Murasaki is a singular resource for students and scholars.
This volume is a valuable contribution to the field of Japanese studies. The selections are excellent, as is the quality of the translation. Although the editors and authors are scholars of literature, they have selected for translation the very texts that historians would most like to see. These translations are the opening wedge that allows us to think beyond the stereotypical images of women in Meiji Japan. -- Sally Hastings, associate professor of history and chair, Asian Studies Program, Purdue University The Modern Murasaki ensures that future discussions of Meiji literature in the English-speaking world cannot ignore the presence of women writers and readers. The volume's accessible style and the liveliness of the translations will win readers with a general interest in Japan or, more broadly, in women's writing in Asia. -- Jan Bardsley, associate professor of Japanese humanities, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
About the Author
Rebecca Copeland is professor of Japanese literature at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Her many books include The Sounds of the Wind: The Life and Works of Uno Chiyo and Lost Leaves: Women Writers of Meiji Japan.Melek Ortabasi is assistant professor of comparative literature and Japanese at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. Her research interests include Meiji women writers, Japanese folklore studies, film and popular culture, and translation theory. Currently she is working on a monograph about native ethnologist Yanagita Kunio
Reviews
[The Modern Murasaki] will be of considerable value... Highly recommended. Choice An invaluable source of inspiration. -- Reiko Abe Auestad Monumenta Nipponica
Book Information
ISBN 9780231137751
Author Rebecca Copeland
Format Paperback
Page Count 424
Imprint Columbia University Press
Publisher Columbia University Press
This volume is a valuable contribution to the field of Japanese studies. The selections are excellent, as is the quality of the translation. Although the editors and authors are scholars of literature, they have selected for translation the very texts that historians would most like to see. These translations are the opening wedge that allows us to think beyond the stereotypical images of women in Meiji Japan. -- Sally Hastings, associate professor of history and chair, Asian Studies Program, Purdue University The Modern Murasaki ensures that future discussions of Meiji literature in the English-speaking world cannot ignore the presence of women writers and readers. The volume's accessible style and the liveliness of the translations will win readers with a general interest in Japan or, more broadly, in women's writing in Asia. -- Jan Bardsley, associate professor of Japanese humanities, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
About the Author
Rebecca Copeland is professor of Japanese literature at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Her many books include The Sounds of the Wind: The Life and Works of Uno Chiyo and Lost Leaves: Women Writers of Meiji Japan.Melek Ortabasi is assistant professor of comparative literature and Japanese at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. Her research interests include Meiji women writers, Japanese folklore studies, film and popular culture, and translation theory. Currently she is working on a monograph about native ethnologist Yanagita Kunio
Reviews
[The Modern Murasaki] will be of considerable value... Highly recommended. Choice An invaluable source of inspiration. -- Reiko Abe Auestad Monumenta Nipponica
Book Information
ISBN 9780231137751
Author Rebecca Copeland
Format Paperback
Page Count 424
Imprint Columbia University Press
Publisher Columbia University Press
