Japan - Brinkley, Captain F

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Résumé :
An English sea captain turned long-time resident of Tokyo, F. Brinkley offers an unusually intimate view of Japan as it stood between samurai tradition and modern empire. His voice is lucid, observant, quietly enthralled. The perspective is quietly unforgettable. In Volume VIII of the Captain Brinkley Japan series, he deepens his grand survey of Japanese history and culture, tracing the continuities between feudal Japan culture, courtly refinement and the restless energies of the Meiji era in Japan. Moving with equal ease between courtly life, religious sensibility and artistic expression, Brinkley lingers over traditional Japanese arts, classical Japanese literature and the aesthetic ideals that shaped everyday life, crafting a narrative that feels at once authoritative and intimate. Both japanese art history book and survey of Japanese literature, this is an essential Japan studies reference book: clear enough for the curious newcomer, rich enough for collectors of Japan and students of East-West encounters. Readers drawn to Lafcadio Hearn Japan evocations or to Okakura Kakuzo aesthetics will recognise in Brinkley a kindred sensibility, intent on honouring the beauty of forms as much as the sweep of events. Republished by Alpha Editions in a careful modern edition, this volume preserves the spirit of the original while making it effortless to enjoy today - a heritage title prepared for readers and collectors alike....