going against the flow

(hokusai; unknown japanese ceremonial fabric cover, 19th century; habert-dys, french ca. 1900)

I have just gotten a book from the library, "japan in the victorian mind: a study of stereotyped images of a nation 1850-1880" by toshio yokoyama, a professor of the history of modern japanese culture from kyoto university.

a counterpoint to my, our, the culture's enthrallment with what we take as japan- ese, i take this perspective as very important. so many things were happening in that brief period of time: over time i hope to detangle them.
for the moment i will just quote one chapter heading:
"in quest of the inner life of the japanese."