The Soil: A Portrait of Rural Life in Meiji Japan

By Nagatsuka Takashi and Takashi Nagatsuka

Book Overview

The Soil was originally written in 1910 and is a classic account of rural and agricultural life in Japan in the early 1900s. In addition to its deft, powerful evocations of nature, the novel also provides a wealth of information about farming, courtship, marriage, child-rearing, health care, folk religion and funeral customs in the late Meiji era, when Japan's transformation from an agrarian to an industrial society was still in its initial phase.This translation contains a detailed introduction, setting the novel in the context of Japanese development and discussing its major themes.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0415594014
• ISBN13: 9780415594011
• Release Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 1.09 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

A Classic that Transcends Culture

Takashi's The Soil is an enrapturing gallery of tribulation, pathos, and the fortitude of the human spirit. It does not merely have value as an educational tool for the Japanese historian, but also as an inspirational primer on humanity and mortality. Takashi's vivid portrayal of Meiji Era Japanese culture ties seamlessly with his seemingly effortless chronicles of nature to create a world where mankind is religiously tied to the ground he stands on.I purchased this book for a Japanese history course, and it is the only one that I refused to sell back to the campus bookstore at the end of the semester.

Moving, Sensitive, but Pragmatic

Takashi's portrayal of the rigorous life lead by Meiji-era Japanese farmers is so vivid and realistic that this book was selected by the University of Maryland, Asian Division history department as a supplemental text in the Japanese history class. The professor promised it would be a excellent read. He was right! Emotional and visual, the book makes the reader a part of the Meiji world. Yet, as sublime as the work is at moments, there are other moments when it is suprisingly harsh in the presentation of life's hard realities. After I returned the text to the university, I had to buy a copy for my own library.