{"product_id":"exemplary-things-meibutsu-in-premodern-japan","title":"Exemplary Things: Meibutsu in Premodern Japan","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Japanese term \u003cem\u003emeibutsu\u003c\/em\u003e refers to things of the highest cultural value, evolving over time to encompass both craft and fine art, high and low culture, and manufactured and natural items. Material goods designated as meibutsu range from precious art objects to regional products like bamboo baskets and ceramics. \u003cem\u003eExemplary Things\u003c\/em\u003e traces the history of this epistemic classificatory system in Japanese culture from its elite origins in the fifteenth century to its commercial appropriation today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChristine Guth explores the use of \u003cem\u003emeibutsu\u003c\/em\u003e to designate famous things (especially in the elevated context of tea practice), the term’s institutionalization, and its popularization through print media and replicas (\u003cem\u003eutsushi\u003c\/em\u003e), and discusses how the term was used in critiques of the extravagance associated with collecting these costly treasures. She looks at the intertwined histories of \u003cem\u003emeibutsu\u003c\/em\u003e swords, incense, and tea utensils, focusing on their identities and agency as things with personal names. Guth explains how \u003cem\u003emeibutsu\u003c\/em\u003e evolved from a culture of tributes, taxes, and gift giving associated with a sense of place into a term essential to cultural literacy, and how Japan’s modern legislation for the protection of its national treasures (\u003cem\u003ekokuhō\u003c\/em\u003e) drew on this legacy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith stunning illustrations, \u003cem\u003eExemplary Things\u003c\/em\u003e casts the art history of Japan in a new light, showing how the concept of \u003cem\u003emeibutsu\u003c\/em\u003e blurs the lines between economic value, cultural and aesthetic worth, and the furtherance of political power.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e[publishers’ note]\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Princeton University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57358278852948,"sku":"A8B-36854","price":65.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1072\/9609\/6596\/files\/meibutsu.jpg?v=1790814686","url":"https:\/\/after8books.com\/products\/exemplary-things-meibutsu-in-premodern-japan","provider":"After 8 Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}