In the late nineteenth century Japan had a special fascination for Americans, primarily because they had opened the country to international commerce, but also because of the complexity of its society and excellence of its arts. Another source of fascination was the speed of Japan's modernization: Japan evolved from a vulnerable, newly-opened outpost to a colonial power in less than 50 years. This, the first set in the Japan in American Fiction series, contains nine of the most important works of this kind written between 1880 and 1905, to which a 1910 second novel by one of the authors (Babcock's Tama) is added for good measure. While most of these books fit loosely into the category of romance, seven of them are serious attempts by early residents to describe, explain, and even defend Japan and the Japanese to American readers. In the remaining three, professional writers of popular fiction (Long and Babcock) take up Japanese themes to entertain and win audiences. From a literary and cultural standpoint, the works selected have 'fixed' and continue to influence popular perceptions in the West of Japan as the land of samurai and geisha. The books also reflect the ambiguity of the American venture in Japan: while there was some desire to exploit the country, there were also moves to 'educate' its people in western ways and welcome them as new members to the family of modern nations - a role that appealed to the self-image held by the intruders. Indeed, when analyzed carefully, the works tell as much about Americans as they do about Japanese. These works present a range of perceptions and opinions. Some encourage Japanese to adopt American models while others warn such imitation will destroy the Japanese culture. Some call for the Japanese to convert to Christianity while others warn that missionary educators may ruin their students, or claim that Christianity has no role if it refuses to acknowledge the worth of Japanese culture. Historical romances alternate with love romances. Japanese women are shown as obedient love objects, as exploited or abused victims, and as loving wives and mothers who have valuable roles within the culture. Males are depicted as brave soldiers and statesmen on the one hand and corrupt tyrants and panderers on the other. Contents: Volume 1: Edward Greey, Young Americans in Japan, or the Adventures of the Jewett Family and Their Friend Oto Nambo(1882) Volume 2: Louis Wertheimber, A Muramasa Blade: A Story of Feudalism in Old Japan (1887); Edward Howard House, Yone Santo: A Child of Japan (1888) Volume 3: Arthur Collins Maclay, Mito Yashiki: A Tale of Old Japan (1889) Volume 4: William Elliot Griffis, Honda the Samurai: A Story of Modern Japan(1890) Volume 5: William Elliot Griffis, In the Mikado's Service: A Story of Two Battle Summers in China (1901) Volume 6: Winnifred Eaton Babcock, ('Onoto Watanna') A Japanese Nightingale (1901) & Tama (1910) Volume 7: John Luther Long, Madame Butterfly; Purple Eyes; A Gentleman of Japan and a Lady; Kito; Glory (1898); together with Madam Butterfly: Opera in Three Acts (1904), Italian libretto by L. Illica & G. Giacosa with an English version by R. H. Elkin; Alice Mabel Bacon, In the Land of the Gods: Some Stories of Japan(1905)

In the late nineteenth century Japan had a special fascination for Americans, primarily because they had opened the country to international commerce, but also because of the complexity of its society and excellence of its arts. Another source of fascination was the speed of Japan's modernization: Japan evolved from a vulnerable, newly-opened outpost to a colonial power in less than 50 years. This, the first set in the Japan in American Fiction series, contains nine of the most important works of this kind written between 1880 and 1905, to which a 1910 second novel by one of the authors (Babcock's Tama) is added for good measure. While most of these books fit loosely into the category of romance, seven of them are serious attempts by early residents to describe, explain, and even defend Japan and the Japanese to American readers. In the remaining three, professional writers of popular fiction (Long and Babcock) take up Japanese themes to entertain and win audiences. From a literary and cultural standpoint, the works selected have 'fixed' and continue to influence popular perceptions in the West of Japan as the land of samurai and geisha. The books also reflect the ambiguity of the American venture in Japan: while there was some desire to exploit the country, there were also moves to 'educate' its people in western ways and welcome them as new members to the family of modern nations - a role that appealed to the self-image held by the intruders. Indeed, when analyzed carefully, the works tell as much about Americans as they do about Japanese. These works present a range of perceptions and opinions. Some encourage Japanese to adopt American models while others warn such imitation will destroy the Japanese culture. Some call for the Japanese to convert to Christianity while others warn that missionary educators may ruin their students, or claim that Christianity has no role if it refuses to acknowledge the worth of Japanese culture. Historical romances alternate with love romances. Japanese women are shown as obedient love objects, as exploited or abused victims, and as loving wives and mothers who have valuable roles within the culture. Males are depicted as brave soldiers and statesmen on the one hand and corrupt tyrants and panderers on the other. Contents: Volume 1: Edward Greey, Young Americans in Japan, or the Adventures of the Jewett Family and Their Friend Oto Nambo(1882) Volume 2: Louis Wertheimber, A Muramasa Blade: A Story of Feudalism in Old Japan (1887); Edward Howard House, Yone Santo: A Child of Japan (1888) Volume 3: Arthur Collins Maclay, Mito Yashiki: A Tale of Old Japan (1889) Volume 4: William Elliot Griffis, Honda the Samurai: A Story of Modern Japan(1890) Volume 5: William Elliot Griffis, In the Mikado's Service: A Story of Two Battle Summers in China (1901) Volume 6: Winnifred Eaton Babcock, ('Onoto Watanna') A Japanese Nightingale (1901) & Tama (1910) Volume 7: John Luther Long, Madame Butterfly; Purple Eyes; A Gentleman of Japan and a Lady; Kito; Glory (1898); together with Madam Butterfly: Opera in Three Acts (1904), Italian libretto by L. Illica & G. Giacosa with an English version by R. H. Elkin; Alice Mabel Bacon, In the Land of the Gods: Some Stories of Japan(1905)

Approaching Ishiguro's writings as a corpus, this volume highlights the significance of margins and the instability of demarcation, seeking to expose what is deliberately obscured or revealled within the narrative.

To what extent can music be employed to shape one culture's understanding of another? In the American imagination, Japan has represented the "most alien" nation for over 150 years. This perceived difference has inspired fantasies--of both desire and repulsion--through which Japanese culture has profoundly impacted the arts and industry of the U.S. While the influence of Japan on American and European painting, architecture, design, theater, and literature has been celebrated in numerous books and exhibitions, the role of music has been virtually ignored until now. W. Anthony Sheppard's Extreme Exoticism offers a detailed documentation and wide-ranging investigation of music's role in shaping American perceptions of the Japanese, the influence of Japanese music on American composers, and the place of Japanese Americans in American musical life. Presenting numerous American encounters with and representations of Japanese music and Japan, this book reveals how music functions in exotic representation across a variety of genres and media, and how Japanese music has at various times served as a sign of modernist experimentation, a sounding board for defining American music, and a tool for reshaping conceptions of race and gender. From the Tin Pan Alley songs of the Russo-Japanese war period to Weezer's Pinkerton album, music has continued to inscribe Japan as the land of extreme exoticism.