| Europe Through Prism of Japan: 16th to 18th Centuries Contributor(s): Proust, Jacques (Author) |
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ISBN: 0268027617 ISBN-13: 9780268027612 Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press OUR PRICE: $38.00 Product Type: Hardcover Published: June 2002 Annotation: In this engaging and innovative new book, French scholar Jacques Proust analyzes the image Europe presented to Japan, deliberately or otherwise, from the mid-sixteenth century to the end of the eighteenth century. Appearing for the first time in an American translation, Europe through the Prism of Japan relies on a large quantity of underexplored documents from which Proust has tried to reconstruct, like a puzzle, Japanese-European relations during the age of European exploration. This fascinating book describes in careful detail developments in Japanese culture and civilization during three hundred years of interaction between Japanese and Europeans, including Dutch merchants, Spanish Catholic missionaries, and German and Portuguese Jesuits. Proust examines not only Europeans' influence on Japan but also the unique Japanese interpretation of European culture. This fresh perspective offers a prism through which Europe may be viewed and frequently sheds light on facets of European civilization of which not even the Europeans, at the time, were aware. Proust's lively study is especially valuable because of its interdisciplinary nature. Covering topics as wide ranging as art history, theology, philosophy, political and social history, and even the history of medicine, Proust interweaves these fields to present a unified historical and intellectual fabric. This round-trip journey between Japan and the West, which in the sixteenth century took about four years and today can be done in twenty-four hours, has the advantage of imposing on comparative studies a unique geographical and historical framework. Proust broadens our understanding of two very different cultures by providing newinsight into both European and Japanese history. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Europe - Great Britain - Georgian Era (1714-1837) - History | Asia - Japan - Political Science | Comparative Politics |
| Dewey: 940 |
| LCCN: 2001004284 |
| Physical Information: 1" H x 6.12" W x 9.2" (1.36 lbs) 328 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: This work analyzes the image Europe presented to Japan, deliberately or otherwise, from the mid-16th century to the end of the 18th century. It covers developments in Japanese culture and civilization during 300 years of interaction between Japanese and Europeans, including Dutch merchants, Spanish Catholic missionaries, and German and Portuguese Jesuits. The author examines not only Europeans' influence on Japan but also the unique Japanese interpretation of European culture. This perspective offers a prism through which Europe may be viewed and frequently sheds light on facets of European civilization of which not even the Europeans, at the time, were aware. The text covers topics such as art history, theology, philosophy, political and social history, and even the history of medicine. |
Contributor Bio(s): Proust, Jacques: - Jacques Proust is professor at the University of Montpellier III. He formerly served as director at the Center for Eighteenth Century Studies of Montpellier, which he founded in 1968. |