Isabella L.
Bird was one of the most famous British travelers of
the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Her
destinations included Canada, the United States (the
Rocky Mountains), Hawaii, Japan, Korea, Persia,
Kurdistan, China, and Morocco. She is particularly
known for her intrepidness and lively writing style.
Written in the form of letters to her sister, her account of her trip to Japan in 1878 is viewed as a classic of travel writing and a valuable account of little documented areas of Japan in that era. Rather than stay in the Tokyo region or travel south to Kyoto, the mecca of Japanese civilization, she chose to travel north through the most arduously mountainous areas and eventually visit the island of Hokkaido, where lived the indigenous Ainu. With the Ainu, Isabella took an ambiguous stance: she admired them tremendously on the one hand but could not, on the other, find it in her heart to remove them from the category of savages.
The Foreword, "Reading between the Lines," calls into question the accuracy of Isabella's observations of the Japanese and Ainu and casts doubt on the judgments she formed. Readers are urged to read the book actively, rather than passively, if they are not to be led astray by Isabella's biases and eccentricities.
** Set in slightly larger type for easier reading
** With a map showing Isabella's route
** Including a new foreword: Reading between the Lines
Click below to read excerpts from the book:
Table of Contents
Foreword: Reading between the Lines
Author's Preface
Letter Four
Written in the form of letters to her sister, her account of her trip to Japan in 1878 is viewed as a classic of travel writing and a valuable account of little documented areas of Japan in that era. Rather than stay in the Tokyo region or travel south to Kyoto, the mecca of Japanese civilization, she chose to travel north through the most arduously mountainous areas and eventually visit the island of Hokkaido, where lived the indigenous Ainu. With the Ainu, Isabella took an ambiguous stance: she admired them tremendously on the one hand but could not, on the other, find it in her heart to remove them from the category of savages.
The Foreword, "Reading between the Lines," calls into question the accuracy of Isabella's observations of the Japanese and Ainu and casts doubt on the judgments she formed. Readers are urged to read the book actively, rather than passively, if they are not to be led astray by Isabella's biases and eccentricities.
** Set in slightly larger type for easier reading
** With a map showing Isabella's route
** Including a new foreword: Reading between the Lines
Click below to read excerpts from the book:
Table of Contents
Foreword: Reading between the Lines
Author's Preface
Letter Four
Unbeaten
Tracks in Japan
The Firsthand Experiences of a British Woman in Outback Japan in 1878
by Isabella L. Bird
US $9.50 / UK £7.00
BUY ONLINE:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.ca
Amazon.co.jp
The Firsthand Experiences of a British Woman in Outback Japan in 1878
by Isabella L. Bird
US $9.50 / UK £7.00
BUY ONLINE:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.ca
Amazon.co.jp
