Gender and National Literature

Heian Texts in the Constructions of Japanese Modernity

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Asian, Nonfiction, History, Asia
Cover of the book Gender and National Literature by Tomiko Yoda, Rey Chow, Harry Harootunian, Masao Miyoshi, Duke University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Tomiko Yoda, Rey Chow, Harry Harootunian, Masao Miyoshi ISBN: 9780822385875
Publisher: Duke University Press Publication: March 22, 2004
Imprint: Duke University Press Books Language: English
Author: Tomiko Yoda, Rey Chow, Harry Harootunian, Masao Miyoshi
ISBN: 9780822385875
Publisher: Duke University Press
Publication: March 22, 2004
Imprint: Duke University Press Books
Language: English

Boldly challenging traditional understandings of Heian literature, Tomiko Yoda reveals the connections between gender, nationalism, and cultural representation evident in prevailing interpretations of classic Heian texts. Renowned for the wealth and sophistication of women’s writing, the literature of the Heian period (794–1192) has long been considered central to the Japanese literary canon and Japanese national identity. Yoda historicizes claims about the inherent femininity of this literature by revisiting key moments in the history of Japanese literary scholarship from the eighteenth century to the present. She argues that by foregrounding women’s voices in Heian literature, the discipline has repeatedly enacted the problematic modernizing gesture in which the “feminine” is recognized, canceled, and then contained within a national framework articulated in masculine terms.

Moving back and forth between a critique of modern discourses on Heian literature and close analyses of the Heian texts themselves, Yoda sheds light on some of the most persistent interpretive models underwriting Japanese literary studies, particularly the modern paradigm of a masculine national subject. She proposes new directions for disciplinary critique and suggests that historicized understandings of premodern texts offer significant insights into contemporary feminist theories of subjectivity and agency.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Boldly challenging traditional understandings of Heian literature, Tomiko Yoda reveals the connections between gender, nationalism, and cultural representation evident in prevailing interpretations of classic Heian texts. Renowned for the wealth and sophistication of women’s writing, the literature of the Heian period (794–1192) has long been considered central to the Japanese literary canon and Japanese national identity. Yoda historicizes claims about the inherent femininity of this literature by revisiting key moments in the history of Japanese literary scholarship from the eighteenth century to the present. She argues that by foregrounding women’s voices in Heian literature, the discipline has repeatedly enacted the problematic modernizing gesture in which the “feminine” is recognized, canceled, and then contained within a national framework articulated in masculine terms.

Moving back and forth between a critique of modern discourses on Heian literature and close analyses of the Heian texts themselves, Yoda sheds light on some of the most persistent interpretive models underwriting Japanese literary studies, particularly the modern paradigm of a masculine national subject. She proposes new directions for disciplinary critique and suggests that historicized understandings of premodern texts offer significant insights into contemporary feminist theories of subjectivity and agency.

More books from Duke University Press

Cover of the book Muslims in Central Asia by Tomiko Yoda, Rey Chow, Harry Harootunian, Masao Miyoshi
Cover of the book The Deliverance of Others by Tomiko Yoda, Rey Chow, Harry Harootunian, Masao Miyoshi
Cover of the book Queer Phenomenology by Tomiko Yoda, Rey Chow, Harry Harootunian, Masao Miyoshi
Cover of the book The Right to Look by Tomiko Yoda, Rey Chow, Harry Harootunian, Masao Miyoshi
Cover of the book Un/common Cultures by Tomiko Yoda, Rey Chow, Harry Harootunian, Masao Miyoshi
Cover of the book Buy It Now by Tomiko Yoda, Rey Chow, Harry Harootunian, Masao Miyoshi
Cover of the book Learning Places by Tomiko Yoda, Rey Chow, Harry Harootunian, Masao Miyoshi
Cover of the book The Spectacle of History by Tomiko Yoda, Rey Chow, Harry Harootunian, Masao Miyoshi
Cover of the book In the Meantime by Tomiko Yoda, Rey Chow, Harry Harootunian, Masao Miyoshi
Cover of the book Hall of Mirrors by Tomiko Yoda, Rey Chow, Harry Harootunian, Masao Miyoshi
Cover of the book Empire of Neglect by Tomiko Yoda, Rey Chow, Harry Harootunian, Masao Miyoshi
Cover of the book Rendering Life Molecular by Tomiko Yoda, Rey Chow, Harry Harootunian, Masao Miyoshi
Cover of the book Race, Nature, and the Politics of Difference by Tomiko Yoda, Rey Chow, Harry Harootunian, Masao Miyoshi
Cover of the book After Love by Tomiko Yoda, Rey Chow, Harry Harootunian, Masao Miyoshi
Cover of the book Unthinking Mastery by Tomiko Yoda, Rey Chow, Harry Harootunian, Masao Miyoshi
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy