[ePub] Modern British Playwriting: The 1970s: Voices; Documents; New Interpretations (Decades of Modern British Playwriting) by Chris Megson in Arts-Photography

Description

Frog in the Well is a vivid and revealing account of Watanabe Kazan; one of the most important intellectuals of the late Tokugawa period. From his impoverished upbringing to his tragic suicide in exile; Kazans life and work reflected a turbulent period in Japans history. He was a famous artist; a Confucian scholar; a student of Western culture; a samurai; and a critic of the shogunate who; nevertheless; felt compelled to kill himself for fear that he had caused his lord anxiety. During this period; a typical Japanese scholar or artist refused to acknowledge the outside world; much like a "frog in the well that knows nothing of the ocean;" but Kazan actively sought out Western learning. He appreciated European civilization and bought every scrap of European art that was available in Japan. He became a painter to help his family out of poverty and; by employing the artistic techniques of the West; achieved great success with his realistic and stylistically advanced portraits.Although he remained a nationalist committed to the old ways; Kazan called on the shogunate to learn from the West or risk disaster. He strove to improve the agricultural and economic conditions of his province and reinforce its defenses; but his criticisms and warnings about possible coastal invasions ultimately led to his arrest and exile. Frog in the Well is the first full-length biography of Kazan in English; and; in telling his lifes story; renowned scholar Donald Keene paints a fascinating portrait of the social and intellectual milieus of the late Tokugawa period. Richly illustrated with Kazans paintings; many in color; Frog in the Well illuminates a life that is emblematic of the cultural crises affecting Japan in the years before revolution.