This book examines the processes through which public art museums; as modern Western institutions; were introduced to Japan in the late nineteenth century and how they subsequently developed distinctive national characteristics. The author focuses on one of the most distinctive forms of Japanese museums: the empty museums - museums without collections; permanent displays; and curators. Morishita shows how they developed; in relation to social and cultural conditions at certain periods in modern Japanese history; by engaging with a wide range of interdisciplinary theories; in particular; Pierre Bourdieus field theory and the conceptual framework of transculturation. Japan is used as a case study to show in general terms how the elements of modern Western culture associated with public art museums were introduced and transformed in the local conditions of non-Western regions. With its unique empirical cases and theoretical focus; the book makes a significant contribution to existing literature in the field of museum studies; both in the English-speaking world and in Japan; and will be of interest to scholars and students of sociology; art history; cultural studies and Japanese studies.
2016-03-22 2016-03-25File Name: B01DB8J314
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