Teiunshu: Wandering Clouds

Masaharu Anesaki (1873-1949) was a leading member of Japan's most interesting generation: the second generation of Meiji scholars, who lived in a highly-educated if not rarefied world that blended Japanese and Western traditions in a way that made them unique in their country's long history.Following our first-English publication of Hanatsumi nikki, his neglected classic of travel writing, philosophy, history, and comparative religion, we are delighted to be able to offer the second volume of his fascinating examination of America, Europe, and India in the very first years of the 20th century. For scholars and general readers both, here is a glimpse into the mind of modern Japan as it stood at the crossroads of modernity, and a look into a very different, and gentler, West viewed through Japanese eyes.Anesaki kept a detailed diary of his travels around the world, including one journey a travel grant from the Kahn Foundation, a philanthropic organization that funded scholars' overseas travel in the interest of promoting international understanding.Published in 1909, Teiunshu combines the records of several trips, opening a window into his thoughts on art, human life, European and Japanese culture, Buddhism, Christianity, and faith. Anesaki was a leading member of a generation of educated, humanistic, and surprisingly global Japanese scholars and intellectuals who helped to introduce Japan to the West. He also attempted to integrate his understanding of Western culture in his own study of Japanese religion.