Reading spaces in modern Japan : the evolution of sites and practices of reading

This study provides an accessible overview of the range of reading spaces in modern Japan, and the evolution thereof from a historical perspective. After setting the scene in a short introduction, it examines the development of Kanda-Jinbōchō, the area of Tokyo that has remained for a century the location in Japan most bound up with books and print culture. It then considers the transformation of public reading spaces, explaining how socio-economic factors and changing notions of space informed reading practices from the early modern era to the present. This led, in turn, to changes in bookstores, libraries, and other venues. Finally, it briefly considers the nature and impact of virtual reading spaces, such as the representation of reading and reading spaces in popular culture, and new modes of reading mediated by the digital realm as well as the multifaceted relationship between these and older forms of reading practice. This study provides an accessible overview of the range of reading spaces in modern Japan, and the evolution thereof from a historical perspective. After setting the scene in a short introduction, it examines the development of Kanda-Jinbocho, the area of Tokyo that has remained for a century the location in Japan most bound up with books and print culture. It then considers the transformation of public reading spaces, explaining how socio-economic factors and changing notions of space informed reading practices from the early modern era to the present. This led, in turn, to changes in bookstores, libraries, and other venues. Finally, it briefly considers the nature and impact of virtual reading spaces, such as the representation of reading and reading spaces in popular culture, and new modes of reading mediated by the digital realm as well as the multifaceted relationship between these and older forms of reading practice Cover Title page Copyright page Reading Spaces in Modern Japan: The Evolution of Sites and Practices of Reading Contents 1 Introduction 1.1 Reading Spaces? 2 Kanda„-Jinbōchō:„ Tokyo’s Book Town 2.1 A Stroll through Kanda-Jinbo ̄cho ̄ 2.2 The Birth of a Book Town 2.3 Early Bookstores 2.4 Kanda-Jinbo ̄cho ̄ in Crisis: The Great Kanto ̄ Earthquake 2.5 An Established Book Town 3 The Ongoing Transformation of Public Reading Spaces 3.1 Early Modern Legacies 3.2 The Arrival of Modern Models 3.3 The Postwar Transformation 3.4 Contemporary Trends: Looking Back, Looking Forward 3.5 Reflections on Transforming Public Reading Spaces 4 Virtual Reading Spaces 4.1 Problematizing Reading in Contemporary Japan 4.2 Representing Reading Spaces 4.3 Digital Reading Spaces 4.4 Reflecting on Virtual Reading Spaces 5 Conclusion References Acknowledgments