Representations of “Japanese Nature”

“Nature” as a concept and word is extremely elusive, yet it is commonly taken for granted that “the pristine nature” is “out there.” This book explores the factors that have naturalized the idea of nature as “pristine” into our psyche, and as something that has a spatial, visual, and temporal dimension for “seasons”. Much emphasis is given to the inhabitants demonstrating the dynamic characteristic of nature. As a study done over a long period of history, Representations of “Japanese Nature” shows the mutual support between conceptual principles of nature and the daily activities of the people .

Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney, is William F. Vilas Research Professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She has received many accolades including the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, La médaille du Collège de France, and the Order of the Sacred Treasure (from the Japanese Government). She has published 18 books in both English and Japanese and her work has been translated into eleven languages.