The Arabian Nights and Orientalism : Perspectives From East and West

To commemorate the tercentenary of the first Western edition of The Arabian Nights, Yamanaka and Nishio marry Western and Japanese perspectives to analyze the rich cross-cultural fertilization that ensued. Arabian Nights and Orientalism examines narrative motifs, and relates them to other cultures, traditions, and forms of representation. The authors place the tales in a whole range of new contexts, from 19th century British feminism to ancient Greek romance. This lavishly illustrated book explores the interplay between image and text in various editions, and sheds new light on the tales' origin in the Persian professional storytelling tradition. Robert Irwin's foreword offers an overview of critical responses to The Arabian Nights, which highlights the originality of this volume. The Arabian Nights And Orientalism In Resonance Was Especially Commissioned To Celebrate The Tercentenary Of The First Western Edition Of The Arabian Nights. This Volume Marries Western And Japanese Perspectives On The Arabian Nights To Provide A Fascinating Study Of How This Literary Phenomenon Brought About A Unique And Rich Cross-cultural Fertilization. The Volume Is Divided Into Three Sections: The First Part Deals With Narrative Motifs And Styles; The Second Part Examines The 'nights' From A Comparative Point Of View And The Third Part Unfolds The Relationship Between The Written Text And Its Pictorial Representation. Extensively Illustrated Throughout, The Arabian Nights And Orientalism In Resonance Will Be Of Interest To Scholars Of The Middle East As Well As Anyone Who Has Ever Fallen Under The Spell Of Scheherazade's Stories.--jacket. Preface / Robert Irwin -- The Imagined Other And The Reflected Self / Yuriko Yamanaka, Tetsuo Nishio -- The Arabian Nights In Comparative Folk Narrative Research / Ulrich Marzolph -- Mythological Constituents Of Alf Layla Wa Layla / Hasan El-shamy -- Formulas And Formulaic Pictures : Elements Of Oral Literature In The Thousand And One Nights / Kathrin Müller -- Repetitiveness In The Arabian Nights : Openness As Self-foundation / Etsuko Aoyagi -- Alexander In The Thousand And One Nights And The Ghazālī Connection / Yuriko Yamanaka -- The Arabian Nights In Modern Japan : A Brief Historical Sketch / Hideaki Sugita -- The Arabian Nights And Orientalism From A Japanese Perspective / Tetsuo Nishio -- The Evolution Of The Arabian Nights Illustrations : An Art Historical Review / Kazue Kobayashi -- Body, Voice, And Gaze : Text And Illustration In The Frame Story Of The Thousand And One Nights / Akiko Motoyoshi Sumi And Claus Clüver -- The Image Of Sheherazade In French And English Editions Of The Thousand And One Nights (eighteenth-nineteenth Centuries) / Margaret Sironval. Yuriko Yamanaka And Tetsuo Nishio. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 245-264) And Index. TH INTRODUCTION OF the Arabian Nights into European and, hence, into world culture almost three hundred years ago has had a tremendous effect on all areas of the creative arts.