{"product_id":"exemplary-things-meibutsu-in-premodern-japan","title":"Exemplary Things: Meibutsu in Premodern Japan","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Japanese term \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003emeibutsu\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\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 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003emeibutsu\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e range from precious art objects to regional products like bamboo baskets and ceramics. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eExemplary Things\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChristine Guth explores the use of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003emeibutsu\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\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 (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eutsushi\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\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 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003emeibutsu\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e swords, incense, and tea utensils, focusing on their identities and agency as things with personal names. Guth explains how \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003emeibutsu\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\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 (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003ekokuhō\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e) drew on this legacy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith stunning illustrations, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eExemplary Things\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e casts the art history of Japan in a new light, showing how the concept of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003emeibutsu\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e blurs the lines between economic value, cultural and aesthetic worth, and the furtherance of political power.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePublished in association with the P. Y. and Kinmay W. Tang Center for East Asian Art at Princeton University\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(179, 179, 179);\"\u003eChristine M. E. Guth\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(179, 179, 179);\"\u003ePrinceton University Press\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(179, 179, 179);\"\u003eFlexibound, 208 pages\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(179, 179, 179);\"\u003eISBN  9780691274478\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"PRINCETON UNIVERSITY","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47070000709867,"sku":"9780691274478","price":60.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0508\/1061\/files\/81MMjZ4TzCL._SL1500.jpg?v=1763409100","url":"https:\/\/store.hammer.ucla.edu\/products\/exemplary-things-meibutsu-in-premodern-japan","provider":"Hammer Museum Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}