SAALER SVEN

Exclusive to the British Museum, this paperback catalogue traces the fascinating history of the samurai from medieval warriors to global pop culture phenomena, challenging common preconceptions. The figure of the samurai is unique in its global intelligibility, read both as a symbol of Japan and as a universal icon of the virtuous and fearless warrior. While the term is now commonly used throughout the world, there is little understanding of the historical reality of the people called samurai, or of the wide variety of ways in which the stereotype has been used over time, both in Japan and elsewhere. Published to accompany a major exhibition at the British Museum, this is the first book to explore the centuries-long trajectory of the samurai through objects from international collections. It discusses the historical origins of the samurai warrior class in the civil wars of the medieval period and examines the stories they told of their own achievements. From the early 1600s, with the establishment of peace, the samurai became an official class fulfilling a bureaucratic role. The ideal of the medieval warrior took on legendary status, leading to endless representations in popular culture of past examples of heroic valour. As the highest social class, samurai were consumers of deluxe products and their tastes set the standard for the rest of society. Political tensions intensified during the 1850s, culminating in civil war in 1868 and the abolition of the samurai social class in 1876. With the full opening of Japan to international visitors, the concept of the samurai was packaged for foreign tourists and repurposed to provide a model for the modern soldier in a period of military conflict and colonial expansion. The image of the samurai has been interpreted and reimagined in Japan and across the world in myriad ways. Discussions of national myth and global samurai bring the story up to the present day through a broad selection of films, television shows, manga, anime, video games and much more. With contributions from international scholars, this groundbreaking title presents the latest research on this fascinating subject.

19世紀末期は、日独関係の黄金時代とも言われている。両国が歩み寄りを見せる過程で、1875年から1882年まで駐日ドイツ帝国公使を務めたカール・フォン・アイゼンデッヒャーが果たした役割は大きい。アイゼンデッヒャーが井上馨外務卿の不平等条約改正の要求を強く支持したことが、両者の接近をもたらし、日独関係が強化された。 アイゼンデッヒャーが日本での任務期間中に収集し、その後、ドイツに持ち帰った貴重の史料がある。３冊の写真帖と複数の自作の水彩画等のアルバムは現在、ボン大学日本文化研究所に所蔵されている。当時の列強の政治的動向のみならず、明治時代の日独関係を生き生きと伝え、さらにアイゼンデッヒャー公使の活躍を魅力的な形で教えてくれるこの貴重な視覚的史料を、この本に初めて公開した。

近年、日本における歴史記憶の諸相をめぐる議論には海外の日本研究も大きな関心をよせている。2005年のヨーロッパ日本研究大会においてサーラが歴史部門を「歴史記憶」というテーマで企画担当し、そのセクションの一部の論文をこの論文集に纏める。