Blind in Early Modern Japan: Disability, Medicine, and Identity by Wei Yu Wayne Tan (review)

Abstract

to the neophyte, and whose chapters will surely find their way into many a syllabus for years to come. Seasoned scholars will appreciate the volume’s success in taking the pulse of the field of Tokugawa studies: where it is, what it is moving away from, and where it is headed. As for those new to the Tokugawa world, wondering why they should perhaps venture in—other than because it is awesome—one compelling reason echoes through the chapters: its resonance with the world in which we currently live. Countless contributors—among whom I will list Gregory Smits on earthquakes, Alison Tokita on musical traditions, Lee Thompson and Nitta Ichirō on sumo, Glynne Walley on manga, Kern on global haiku, Mark McNally on Kokugaku and exceptionalism, and Kojima on the enduring legacy of the Mito school—highlight meaningful connections and continuities between “then” and “now,” between “there” and “here.” In short, the Tokugawa world matters, and this volume provides plenty of opportunities to appreciate its relevance and, yes, its awesomeness.