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History and tradition in modern Japan : translation and commentary upon the texts of Sei'ichi Shirai

This thesis examines the concepts of history and tradition in modern Japan, with an emphasis on the writings of Sei'ichi Shirai (1905--1983). Although Shirai has been considered as one of the most important architects of 20th century Japan, he has also been treated as an obscure figure, no doubt partly because of the enigmatic quality of his writings. A major element that contributed to his obscure status and set him apart from his contemporaries was his understanding of history and tradition. / The introductory essay examines the concept of tradition prevalent around Shirai's time: how it was constructed by an a posteriori writing of history and in what ways this is complicated by Shirai's writings. The second portion of the thesis is an annotated translation of two of Shirai's texts demonstrating his attempts to disclose the a priori principles inherent in the unfolding of tradition through history.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.32822
Date January 2001
CreatorsTerakawa, Toru.
ContributorsPerez-Gomez, Alberto (advisor)
PublisherMcGill University
Source SetsLibrary and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
Formatapplication/pdf
CoverageMaster of Architecture (School of Architecture.)
RightsAll items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.
Relationalephsysno: 001873555, proquestno: MQ79154, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest.

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