Documentary on Meiji period/Japan's modernization?

John D. Moore johndmoore5 at gmail.com
Wed Sep 21 18:28:45 EDT 2011


The 1992 PBS documentary series *The Pacific Century* has an hour-long
episode entitled "The Meiji Revolution" that focuses on the transition from
late Tokugawa to Meiji, and I believe into the beginnings of the Taisho era.
 I've seen it used in two separate classes before.  It's quite accessible,
has a wide variety of academic interviewees, and is a neatly detailed
account for being so broad.  I haven't personally seen any of the other
installments all the way through, but the series has installments that bring
it current (to 1992):


   1. The Two Coasts of China: Asia and the Challenge of the West
   2. The Meiji Revolution
   3. From the Barrel of a Gun
   4. Writers and Revolutionaries
   5. Reinventing Japan
   6. Inside Japan, Inc.
   7. Big Business and the Ghost of Confucius
   8. The Fight for Democracy
   9. Sentimental Imperialists: America in Asia
   10. The Pacific Century: The Future of the Pacific Basin

Someone else may know of something more recent, or more chronologically
comprehensive, but I've found this a good resource.  Good luck!

John D. Moore

On Wed, Sep 21, 2011 at 12:08 PM, Melek Ortabasi <mso1 at sfu.ca> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> A practical question for you. I'm looking for a 1 to 1 1/2-hr. documentary
> on the 1850s to, say, the early part of the 20th century. Bonus points if
> there's a series that goes up to the present day! It's for a class entitled
> East/West, where I use the case of Japan to explore Orientalism and other
> forms of cross-cultural encounter (and conflict). My students are not Asian
> studies students, and may not know a whole lot about Japan, so I'd like to
> get through some of the preliminaries in an efficient (but not reductive)
> fashion. Any suggestions?
>
> Best,
> Melek
>
> --
> Melek Ortabasi, Ph.D.
> Assistant Professor
> World Literature Program
> Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
> Simon Fraser University
> Unit 250-13450
> 102 Ave., Surrey, BC
> V3T0A3 CANADA
> Phone: 778-782-8660
>
> "I do not accept that anyone is permanently fixed by his or her 'identity';
> but neither can one shed specific structures of race and culture, class and
> caste, gender and sexuality, environment and history. I understand these,
> and other cross-cutting determinations, not as homelands, chosen or forced,
> but as sites of worldly travel: difficult encounters and occasions for
> dialogue.” James Clifford, _Routes_
>
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