Space and Time in the Eitai Setsuyô Mujinzô : Collective identity and imagined community in early modern Japan

Abstract

This thesis seeks to investigate how collective identity and community are imagined through a book called Eitai Setsuyō Mujinzō. This is a book in the so called setsuyōshū genre, a kind of household encyclopedia/dictionary that was very popular during the early modern period (1600-1868) in Japan. The book has information on a variety of subjects, including for instance history, etiquette, geography, poetry and much more. Because the concepts of space and time is seen as important constituents of any imagined community and collective identity, some of the parts in the book that are dealing with representations of these concepts will be analyzed. This investigation provides valuable insights into popular tendencies in the community of early modern Japan. It also contributes with useful information to the history of the book in Japan, as well as to the long neglected field of setsuyōshū.