ENGLISH

Geographies of Identity in Nineteenth-Century Japan

By David L. Howell

Book information

Publisher
University of California Press
Year
2005
ISBN
0520240855, 9780520240858
Google Books ID
0prtzCvKb50C
Open Library ID
OL7711841M
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
1 MB (1130395 bytes)
Edition
1
Pages
273\273
Orientation
yes
Scanned
no
Time added
2012-02-04 16:00:00

Description

In this pioneering study, David L. Howell looks beneath the surface structures of the Japanese state to reveal the mechanism by which markers of polity, status, and civilization came together over the divide of the Meiji Restoration of 1868. Howell illustrates how a short roster of malleable, explicitly superficial customs--hairstyle, clothing, and personal names-- served to distinguish the "civilized" realm of the Japanese from the "barbarian" realm of the Ainu in the Tokugawa era. Within the core polity, moreover, these same customs distinguished members of different social status groups from one another, such as samurai warriors from commoners, and commoners from outcasts.

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