Practices Of The Sentimental Imagination: Melodrama, The Novel, And The Social Imaginary In Nineteenth-century Japan (harvard East Asian Monographs)

The history of the book in nineteenth-century Japan follows an uneven course that resists the simple chronology often used to mark the divide between premodern and modern literary history. By examining the obscured histories of publication, circulation, and reception of widely consumed literary works from late Edo to the early Meiji period, Jonathan Zwicker traces a genealogy of the literary field across a long nineteenth century: one that stresses continuities between the generic conventions of early modern fiction and the modern novel. In the literature of sentiment Zwicker locates a tear-streaked lens through which to view literary practices and readerly expectations that evolved across the century. __Practices of the Sentimental Imagination__ emphasizes both qualitative and quantitative aspects of literary production and consumption, balancing close readings of canonical and noncanonical texts, sophisticated applications of critical theory, and careful archival research into the holdings of nineteenth-century lending libraries and private collections. By exploring the relationships between and among Japanese literary works and texts from late imperial China, Europe, and America, Zwicker also situates the Japanese novel within a larger literary history of the novel across the global nineteenth century. Practices of the Sentimental Imagination Melodrama, the Novel, and the Social Imaginary in Nineteenth-Century Japan Acknowledgments Contents Figures and Tables Practices of the Sentimental Imagination Melodrama, the Novel, and the Social Imaginary in Nineteenth-Century Japan Introduction: Approaching the Archive—Numbers, Form, and the Seriousness of Sentiment 1. The Short Nineteenth Century, the Long Nineteenth Century, and the Garden of Literary Forms Tears, the Book, and the History of the Literary Function Japan’s Two Nineteenth Centuries “Furthermore, There is a Garden of Literary Forms” “A Community with No Visible Presence”: Print and the Social Imaginary 2. Under the Spell of Tears A Sociological Experiment Segawa’s Ghost The Sea Cucumber and the Crab The Sorcerer and His Magic: Tamenaga Shunsui and the Economy of Sentiment 3. The Archaeology of Misplaced Ideas A World Without Walls Importing the Novel to Japan: Nagasaki circa 1800 Robinson Crusoe Stories Books from Nanjing, Books from Paris 4. The Long Road Ahead Saikaku, Tolstoy, and the Serial Novel The Fraternization of Impossibilities The Politics of Tears Epilogue: Commodities of the Imagination Reference Matter Character List Works Cited Index Harvard East Asian Monographs The History Of The Book In Nineteenth-century Japan Follows An Uneven Course That Resists The Simple Chronology Often Used To Mark A Divide Between Premodern And Modern Literary History. By Examining The Obscured Histories Of Publication, Circulation, And Reception Of Widely Consumed Literary Works From Late Edo To The Early Meiji Period, Jonathan Zwicker Traces A Genealogy Of The Literary Field Across A Long Nineteenth Century: One That Stresses Continuities Between The Generic Conventions Of Early Modern Fiction And The Modern Novel. In The Literature Of Sentiment Zwicker Locates A Tear-streaked Lens Through Which To View Literary Practices And Readerly Expectations That Evolved Across The Century.--book Jacket. Introduction : Approaching The Archive -- Numbers, Form, And The Seriousness Of Sentiment -- 1. Short Nineteenth Century, The Long Nineteenth Century, And The Garden Of Literary Forms -- 2. Under The Spell Of Tears -- 3. Archaeology Of Misplaced Ideas -- 4. Long Road Ahead -- Epilogue : Commodities Of The Imagination. Jonathan E. Zwicker. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [227]-242) And Index.