Historical Dictionary of Modern Japanese Literature and Theater (Volume 33) (Historical Dictionaries of Literature and the Arts, 33)

With the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Japan opened its doors to the West and underwent remarkable changes as it sought to become a modern nation. Accompanying the political changes that Western trade ushered in were widespread social and cultural changes. Newspapers, novels, poems, and plays from the Western world were soon adapted and translated into Japanese. The combination of the rich storytelling tradition of Japan with the realism and modernism of the West produced some of the greatest literature of the modern age. Historical Dictionary of Modern Japanese Literature and Theater presents a broad perspective on the development and history of literature_narrative, poetry, and drama_in modern Japan. This book offers a chronology, introduction, bibliography, and over 400 cross-referenced dictionary entries on authors, literary and historical developments, trends, genres, and concepts that played a central role in the evolution of modern Japanese literature. Historical Dictionary of Modern Japanese Literature and Theater presents a broad perspective on the development and history of literature_narrative, poetry, and drama_in modern Japan. It focuses specifically on the years since 1868, when Japan opened its doors to the West and underwent remarkable and swift changes as it sought to become a modern nation. It offers both a historical overview through its chronology, introduction, bibliography, and over 400 cross-referenced dictionary entries. Contents......Page 6 Editor’s Foreword......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 10 Reader’s Note......Page 12 Chronology......Page 20 Introduction......Page 36 The Dictionary......Page 44 Bibliography......Page 192 About the Author......Page 234