The lens within the heart: the western scientific gaze and popular imagery in later Edo Japan (Google eBook)

Timon Screech

University of Hawaii Press, 2002 - Social Science - 305 pages

The study of food practices in different cultures and societies has long been an important part of anthropological studies. In recent years anthropological literature on food has generated new theoretical findings on this important aspect of human behavior that help explain cultural adaptation and social grouping in a more general way.

In this volume the authors make use of ethnographic examples collected within and beyond the boundaries of China to demonstrate the theoretical relevance of Chinese-inspired foodways, tastes, and consumption.

What people are saying

User Review -

I have no idea what the information above is saying--this book has nothing to do with food and very, very little to do with China.
It's about the importation of Western ocular instruments into Japan in the Edo period (microscopes, telescopes, mirrors, etc.) and the massive changes they helped bring about.
Illustrated well and clearly written, this is an extremely intelligent yet accessible book.
I highly recommend it. 

Contents

• Trade and Culture in the Eighteenth Century: 6
• The Batavian Temperament and Its Critics: 31
• Mechanics and Motions: 61
• Machinery for Pictures: 94
• Seeing In: 133
• The Eye and the Lens: 166
• The View from On High: 212
• Notes: 254
• Glossary: 288
• References: 290
• Bibliographical Addendum: 299
• Index: 300

Popular passages

Page xiii - Linguistics in the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in the University of London since 1944.‎

About the author

Screech is senior lecturer in the history of Japanese art at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The lens within the heart: the western scientific gaze and popular imagery in later Edo Japan
• Author: Timon Screech
• Edition: 2, illustrated, revised
• Publisher: University of Hawaii Press, 2002
• ISBN: 0824825942, 9780824825942
• Length: 305 pages
• Subjects: Art / Asian; History / General; Social Science / Popular Culture