W. G. Aston's Annotations to the Rufubon Heike Monogatari
M. G. Watson
In an article in the last issue of this journal
I examined the career of W. G. Aston (1841-1911) and his significance for
Japanese studies and for the study of the medieval classic Heike monogatari
•½‰Æ•¨Œê in particular. Aston's A History of Japanese Literature
(1899) was the first work of its kind by Western scholar, and pioneering
in its scope even for Japan. His comments concerning the Heike are largely
negative, but they must be seen against the background of critical opinion
in the Meiji period when the Heike was no longer trusted as factual history,
and not yet sufficiently appreciated as literature. [...]
International and Regional Studies 11, Meiji Gakuin Review 522
(March 1993):17-59.
For an offprint of this article please contact:
Michael Watson, Faculty of International Studies, Meiji Gakuin University,1518
Kamikurata-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama 244, Japan