Japanese Science Fiction
As the literature of change and of the young, science fiction acts as a window to the minds of the young Japanese and to the uneasy alliance of the old and the new traditions therein. > After the Meiji Restoration of 1868 Japan modernized rapidly, transforming itself perhaps more quickly than any other country in history.
However, the change was not without its conflicts, many of them still unresolved as the pleasures of modern society vie with a respect for the traditional Japanese lifestyle. As the literature of change and of the young, science fiction acts as a window to the modern mind and the uneasy alliance of the old and new.
This book, filled with detailed reference to numerous stories, traces the origin and development of the genre from the mid-nineteenth century to today, thus exploring unique insights into Japanese attitudes to commercialism, spirituality, the media, war and international relations. First book in English about Japanese sci-fi Should have sales to sci-fi buffs as well as usual academic markets Overlaps between literature, sociology, Japanese studies - ie. Subscribe in all likely departments Reveals the Japanese's perceptions of themselves as expressed through sci-fi. > Introduction; Part 1 The Origins of Japanese Science Fiction; Chapter 1 The Beginnings; Chapter 2 The Period of Development; Part 2 The Concerns of a Changing Society; Chapter 3 The Jaded Japanese; Chapter 4 Advertising and the Media; Chapter 5 Economics and Commerce; Chapter 6 Human Concerns and Values; Chapter 7 Consciousness of Generational Change; Chapter 8 Sex; Part 3 Matters of the Mind and Spirit; Chapter 9 Moral Values, Ethics, and Religious Beliefs; Chapter 10 The Psyche, Perception, and Emotion; Part 4 The Consequences of Change; Chapter 11 Some Socio-Psychological Considerations; Chapter 12 Post-War Political and Politico-Moral Attitudes; Chapter 13 War and the Bomb; Chapter 14 International Relations and Future Directions; >. `This book makes for interesting reading as it helps to give the reader some understanding of the way the Japanese mind is changing in the context of the impact of the outside world on Japan.