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The Great Wave: Gilded Age Misfits, Japanese Eccentrics, and the Opening of Old Japan
When the United States entered the Gilded Age after the Civil War, argues cultural historian Christopher Benfey, the nation lost its philosophical moorings and looked eastward to “Old Japan,” with its seemingly untouched indigenous culture, for balance and perspective. Japan, meanwhile, was trying to reinvent itself as a more cosmopolitan, modern state, ultimately transforming itself, in the course of twenty-five years, from a feudal backwater to an international power. This great wave of historical and cultural reciprocity between the two young nations, which intensified during the late 1800s, brought with it some larger-than-life personalities, as the lure of unknown foreign cultures prompted pilgrimages back and forth across the Pacific.
In The Great Wave, Benfey tells the story of the tightly knit group of nineteenth-century travelers—connoisseurs, collectors, and scientists—who dedicated themselves to exploring and preserving Old Japan. As Benfey writes, “A sense of urgency impelled them, for they were convinced—Darwinians that they were—that their quarry was on the verge of extinction.”
These travelers include Herman Melville, whose Pequod is “shadowed by hostile and mysterious Japan”; the historian Henry Adams and the artist John La Farge, who go to Japan on an art-collecting trip and find exotic adventures; Lafcadio Hearn, who marries a samurai’s daughter and becomes Japan’s preeminent spokesman in the West; Mabel Loomis Todd, the first woman to climb Mt. Fuji; Edward Sylvester Morse, who becomes the world’s leading expert on both Japanese marine life and Japanese architecture; the astronomer Percival Lowell, who spends ten years in the East and writes seminal works on Japanese culture before turning his restless attention to life on Mars; and President (and judo enthusiast) Theodore Roosevelt. As well, we learn of famous Easterners come West, including Kakuzo Okakura, whose The Book of Tea became a cult favorite, and Shuzo Kuki, a leading philosopher of his time, who studied with Heidegger and tutored Sartre.
Finally, as Benfey writes, his meditation on cultural identity “seeks to capture a shared mood in both the Gilded Age and the Meiji Era, amid superficial promise and prosperity, of an overmastering sense of precariousness and impending peril.”
In The Great Wave, Benfey tells the story of the tightly knit group of nineteenth-century travelers—connoisseurs, collectors, and scientists—who dedicated themselves to exploring and preserving Old Japan. As Benfey writes, “A sense of urgency impelled them, for they were convinced—Darwinians that they were—that their quarry was on the verge of extinction.”
These travelers include Herman Melville, whose Pequod is “shadowed by hostile and mysterious Japan”; the historian Henry Adams and the artist John La Farge, who go to Japan on an art-collecting trip and find exotic adventures; Lafcadio Hearn, who marries a samurai’s daughter and becomes Japan’s preeminent spokesman in the West; Mabel Loomis Todd, the first woman to climb Mt. Fuji; Edward Sylvester Morse, who becomes the world’s leading expert on both Japanese marine life and Japanese architecture; the astronomer Percival Lowell, who spends ten years in the East and writes seminal works on Japanese culture before turning his restless attention to life on Mars; and President (and judo enthusiast) Theodore Roosevelt. As well, we learn of famous Easterners come West, including Kakuzo Okakura, whose The Book of Tea became a cult favorite, and Shuzo Kuki, a leading philosopher of his time, who studied with Heidegger and tutored Sartre.
Finally, as Benfey writes, his meditation on cultural identity “seeks to capture a shared mood in both the Gilded Age and the Meiji Era, amid superficial promise and prosperity, of an overmastering sense of precariousness and impending peril.”
332 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
37 people are currently reading
565 people want to read
About the author
Christopher E.G. Benfey
23 books20 followersChristopher Benfey is Mellon Professor of English at Mount Holyoke. He is the author, most recently, of Red Brick, Black Mountain, White Clay.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
January 9, 2015
The Great Wave has many interesting facts and anecdotes, unfortunately I think this book is a case of an author doing a ton of research and leaving nothing out. By the end you are just dragging along hoping it will wrap up soon. The first chapter is by far the best which regrettably sets your expectations high for a great read that ultimately does not deliver. I read this book as part of the Mount Auburn Cemetery (Cambridge, MA) Book Club due to the Cemetery residents featured in the book such as William Sturgis Bigelow and Isabella Stewart Gardner. Overall the book group agreed that they found the content interesting but the narrative lacking in cohesion and felt the author’s voice was a little too proud of himself for his cleverness or heavy handed with his analogies. The book subject was interesting but would have benefited from being written by a different author.
July 25, 2015
I don't have the book with me now; a few days ago my friend came over and I recommended it to her, so she took it from the shelf right away.
I enjoyed it a lot, it's well written and full of interesting facts. Who would have thought that Japan was already so much in vogue in the Gilded Age. And I was surprised to see Percival Lowell among the people fascinated with Old Japan - I read his "Soul of the Far East" and thought it was insufferable Oriental rubbish.
I sort of mildly disliked many of the super privileged, rich people in there, but they were fun to read about. I liked John Manjirō and Lafcadio Hearn… I wish there was more about the two Isabellas, Bird and Stewart Gardner.
There was also the fascinating background of the statue whose copy is known now as Black Aggie (not elaborated upon in the book, but if you like morbid stuff like I do, you know what I'm talking about).
The author is not a Japan specialist and there are quite a few mistakes though. I don't have the book with me at the moment, but I remember a few awkward moments with the Japanese language. For example, there is nothing neglectful about Okakura Kakuzō's name, the kanji for "zō", or warehouse, 蔵, was commonly used in boys' names, and what's wrong with indicating the place where someone was born? Same for the name of Kakuzō's mother, Kono, it's impossible that it's a shortening from "kono onna" (this woman) - honestly I don't know where the author might have found this kind of info. Also, I found it funny (all right, not so much) that he doesn't know the difference between kabuki and noh theatre. I'll give an example. He doesn't give the title of the play about John Manjirō's life, 『土佐半紙初荷艦』"Tosa Hanshi Hatsuni-no Ōfune" (which just screams KABUKI), but he does give the name of the actor playing Manjirō. It was Ichikawa Sadanji, one of the leading kabuki actors of the time. I mean, come on… this is just plain offensive. OO
So this book can't be trusted 100% when it comes to Japan.
I enjoyed it a lot, it's well written and full of interesting facts. Who would have thought that Japan was already so much in vogue in the Gilded Age. And I was surprised to see Percival Lowell among the people fascinated with Old Japan - I read his "Soul of the Far East" and thought it was insufferable Oriental rubbish.
I sort of mildly disliked many of the super privileged, rich people in there, but they were fun to read about. I liked John Manjirō and Lafcadio Hearn… I wish there was more about the two Isabellas, Bird and Stewart Gardner.
There was also the fascinating background of the statue whose copy is known now as Black Aggie (not elaborated upon in the book, but if you like morbid stuff like I do, you know what I'm talking about).
The author is not a Japan specialist and there are quite a few mistakes though. I don't have the book with me at the moment, but I remember a few awkward moments with the Japanese language. For example, there is nothing neglectful about Okakura Kakuzō's name, the kanji for "zō", or warehouse, 蔵, was commonly used in boys' names, and what's wrong with indicating the place where someone was born? Same for the name of Kakuzō's mother, Kono, it's impossible that it's a shortening from "kono onna" (this woman) - honestly I don't know where the author might have found this kind of info. Also, I found it funny (all right, not so much) that he doesn't know the difference between kabuki and noh theatre. I'll give an example. He doesn't give the title of the play about John Manjirō's life, 『土佐半紙初荷艦』"Tosa Hanshi Hatsuni-no Ōfune" (which just screams KABUKI), but he does give the name of the actor playing Manjirō. It was Ichikawa Sadanji, one of the leading kabuki actors of the time. I mean, come on… this is just plain offensive. OO
So this book can't be trusted 100% when it comes to Japan.
December 12, 2018
Sometimes interesting, occasionally tedious stories of US citizens fascinated with and visiting Meiji-era Japan, and some Japanese citizens who visited or lived long-term in the US. A lot about how Americans idealized traditional Japanese culture, what they admired about it, and what did and didn't change in Japan culturally after it was forcibly opened to the West.
Notable for mentioning some women as well as men.
For people interested in this time period in Japan willing to slog through some good but not brilliant writing. If anyone has found a more interesting book on this topic or one that goes into depth in a captivating way on one or more characters mentioned, please let me know!
Notable for mentioning some women as well as men.
For people interested in this time period in Japan willing to slog through some good but not brilliant writing. If anyone has found a more interesting book on this topic or one that goes into depth in a captivating way on one or more characters mentioned, please let me know!
March 15, 2021
In his introduction to The Great Wave Benfey noted that he intended to describe ‘...the wave of American visitors to Japan and the wave of Japanese influence on America’ between 1868 when the Emperor Meiji was restored to the throne and 1912 when he died. He opined that these were ‘...a group of travelers dedicated to preserving the old of Japan rather than aping the new,’ By new, he meant modern and Western which the country was feverishly trying to develop.
In many respects the author accomplished this goal. Save for two exceptions he provided a judicious amount of personal biographical information to put the person’s interest in Japan in context. Then he described their experiences there sometimes with lengthy quotations which gave a clear sense of their perspective on what they were learning about Japan. Some detailed descriptions of Japanese places, customs, social practices, etc allowed one to grasp what the person was really experiencing about Japan. His having edited two books on these individuals and written the introduction for another allowed him to put that knowledge to very good use in TGW.
Finally, Benfey disclosed how these experiences affected the person’s work and by extension in some instances that of other Americans. For example, Herman Melville’s fascination with the country informed much of his famous novel Moby Dick. Edward Morse developed museum collections of Japanese art, gave lectures in America on Japan which stimulated a lot of interest in the country, and published a book on Japanese architecture. The latter apparently subsequently greatly influenced the architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The images in some of John LaFarge's famous art pieces contained images of things he had seen in Japan.
Benfey also wrote about two Japanese men whose travels to America, subsequent return to Japan, and ongoing interactions with Americans influenced relations between the two countries. One was a man named John Manjiro, who became a translator for the Japanese in their early dealings with the USA in the 1850’s-60’s. The other was Kakuzo Okakura, whose fluency in English allowed him to teach many of the Americans described in this book about Japanese arts and culture. He also wrote The Book of Tea, which many, many Americans read in the early 20th century.
There were some ways, however, in which the author failed to meet his intentions. For example, in three instances he seemed more interested in relating aspects of their personal lives in way too much detail, IMHO, which in no way were related to Japan or their subsequent work. He devoted one whole chapter to the life of writer/historian Henry Adams before in the next chapter he described Adams’ time in Japan. The chapter on astronomers Percival Lowell and David Todd noted nothing about how their travels to Japan influenced their work. If Benfey felt strongly that these chapters should have been included in TGW, more active editing would have helped it move along at a better pace.
Additionally, he revealed some cultural blinders. First, the racist use of language like ‘Jap’ by some of these Americans was never commented on. At the very least he could have noted that this term was in vogue in those days. Second, some of them went to Japan with the intent to collect and to send things to museums in the USA. He failed to note the exploitative nature of these activities.
To Benfey's credit all of this was done in a readable prose. While there was no bibliography, there were 26 pages of annotated footnotes where a reader can see what his sources were.
Given the fact that some sections of the book were slow moving and drifted away from his expressed goals I would give it a 3 star rating. But it would be worthwhile for someone like myself with a great interest in the Meiji period in Japanese history. Some knowledge of the history of that period would be helpful but not necessary.
In many respects the author accomplished this goal. Save for two exceptions he provided a judicious amount of personal biographical information to put the person’s interest in Japan in context. Then he described their experiences there sometimes with lengthy quotations which gave a clear sense of their perspective on what they were learning about Japan. Some detailed descriptions of Japanese places, customs, social practices, etc allowed one to grasp what the person was really experiencing about Japan. His having edited two books on these individuals and written the introduction for another allowed him to put that knowledge to very good use in TGW.
Finally, Benfey disclosed how these experiences affected the person’s work and by extension in some instances that of other Americans. For example, Herman Melville’s fascination with the country informed much of his famous novel Moby Dick. Edward Morse developed museum collections of Japanese art, gave lectures in America on Japan which stimulated a lot of interest in the country, and published a book on Japanese architecture. The latter apparently subsequently greatly influenced the architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The images in some of John LaFarge's famous art pieces contained images of things he had seen in Japan.
Benfey also wrote about two Japanese men whose travels to America, subsequent return to Japan, and ongoing interactions with Americans influenced relations between the two countries. One was a man named John Manjiro, who became a translator for the Japanese in their early dealings with the USA in the 1850’s-60’s. The other was Kakuzo Okakura, whose fluency in English allowed him to teach many of the Americans described in this book about Japanese arts and culture. He also wrote The Book of Tea, which many, many Americans read in the early 20th century.
There were some ways, however, in which the author failed to meet his intentions. For example, in three instances he seemed more interested in relating aspects of their personal lives in way too much detail, IMHO, which in no way were related to Japan or their subsequent work. He devoted one whole chapter to the life of writer/historian Henry Adams before in the next chapter he described Adams’ time in Japan. The chapter on astronomers Percival Lowell and David Todd noted nothing about how their travels to Japan influenced their work. If Benfey felt strongly that these chapters should have been included in TGW, more active editing would have helped it move along at a better pace.
Additionally, he revealed some cultural blinders. First, the racist use of language like ‘Jap’ by some of these Americans was never commented on. At the very least he could have noted that this term was in vogue in those days. Second, some of them went to Japan with the intent to collect and to send things to museums in the USA. He failed to note the exploitative nature of these activities.
To Benfey's credit all of this was done in a readable prose. While there was no bibliography, there were 26 pages of annotated footnotes where a reader can see what his sources were.
Given the fact that some sections of the book were slow moving and drifted away from his expressed goals I would give it a 3 star rating. But it would be worthwhile for someone like myself with a great interest in the Meiji period in Japanese history. Some knowledge of the history of that period would be helpful but not necessary.
July 9, 2018
Initially, I was very excited to get into this book, as I want to specialize in Meiji-era Japanese Art. Imagine my excitement at a book that for a change wasn’t written by some dreary professor from 50 years past! Alas, that excitement waned as quickly as the quality of the chapters after the first.
The first chapter is phenomenal because it introduces two people from key years of the two countries: a Japanese drifter found by American whale hunters and the famed Herman Melville himself that experienced the initial wave of Japanese-Western exchange after Commodore Perry’s… *ahem*, subtle introduction of American Imperialist strength to Japan. Both of these experiences were wonderfully interwoven to give the readers a taste of how the conservative Japanese populace came to see America and its Industrialism, as well as the search for morality Western cultures yearned for in time-secluded Japan. However, I was wary of this book from the start, since Western authors are quick to discount non-western perspectives. Lo and behold, my gut instinct came through yet again— it’s getting very good at determining pompous Western biases, unfortunately.
Aside from Okakura Kakuzo and Nakahama Manjiro (if you won’t read this book, please look these people up regardless!), Japanese people’s perspectives were shunted in favor of hoity rich celebrities of the late 19th century. Some, like Lafcardio Hearn, are rightfully included because they were a part of the Western-Japanese cultural exchange. Others, like Percival Lowell and Mabel Todd were included for the shock factor, I guess? Their interest in Japan was passive at best and Japan’s culture served as a means for their goals, not vice versa. It’s just so frustrating because in a cultural exchange like this, you want to hear both sides of the story, not just how the West used Japan in its superficial search for a deeper meaning in the Orient (super racist and condescending, just so you know). I wanted to learn more about how Japan adopted Western Industrialist standards in addition to their culture and while I know some of this information from my own education, I wanted to learn more about it!
The climate of Meiji era Japan is as such, condensed for simplicity: Japan experienced heavy mood whiplashes towards the West during the Meiji period (Addendum: I am speaking from and Art Historical perspective right now). In the beginning (c.1860s), the imperial state tried to absorb as much Western educational and industrial standards as it could to catch up to the imperial powers, since it had, honestly, a great change of being colonized and cut up like its great influence, China. Then, from about 1880s and 90s, an antipathy wave towards the West surged due to overwhelming nationalism experienced by the people and encouraged by the government. Suddenly, professors imported from the West and their art forms were pushed to the side as Japan promoted their own culture in extreme nationalist tones. This movement was spurred by Japan’s desires to become a great Eastern imperial power, and was equally as propagandistic as it was a response to the superiority complex emanating from the Western Imperial powers.
If this political and cultural intrigue doesn’t pique your interest, I don’t know what will!
But hey, if you’re looking for a book about the 19th century at a passing glance, I won’t bar you from reading this book. However, if you want to learn both sides of the story in this extremely interesting time period, I would suggest skipping it. Hopefully, if I find a book with the same subject material that is better, I’ll update this review!
The first chapter is phenomenal because it introduces two people from key years of the two countries: a Japanese drifter found by American whale hunters and the famed Herman Melville himself that experienced the initial wave of Japanese-Western exchange after Commodore Perry’s… *ahem*, subtle introduction of American Imperialist strength to Japan. Both of these experiences were wonderfully interwoven to give the readers a taste of how the conservative Japanese populace came to see America and its Industrialism, as well as the search for morality Western cultures yearned for in time-secluded Japan. However, I was wary of this book from the start, since Western authors are quick to discount non-western perspectives. Lo and behold, my gut instinct came through yet again— it’s getting very good at determining pompous Western biases, unfortunately.
Aside from Okakura Kakuzo and Nakahama Manjiro (if you won’t read this book, please look these people up regardless!), Japanese people’s perspectives were shunted in favor of hoity rich celebrities of the late 19th century. Some, like Lafcardio Hearn, are rightfully included because they were a part of the Western-Japanese cultural exchange. Others, like Percival Lowell and Mabel Todd were included for the shock factor, I guess? Their interest in Japan was passive at best and Japan’s culture served as a means for their goals, not vice versa. It’s just so frustrating because in a cultural exchange like this, you want to hear both sides of the story, not just how the West used Japan in its superficial search for a deeper meaning in the Orient (super racist and condescending, just so you know). I wanted to learn more about how Japan adopted Western Industrialist standards in addition to their culture and while I know some of this information from my own education, I wanted to learn more about it!
The climate of Meiji era Japan is as such, condensed for simplicity: Japan experienced heavy mood whiplashes towards the West during the Meiji period (Addendum: I am speaking from and Art Historical perspective right now). In the beginning (c.1860s), the imperial state tried to absorb as much Western educational and industrial standards as it could to catch up to the imperial powers, since it had, honestly, a great change of being colonized and cut up like its great influence, China. Then, from about 1880s and 90s, an antipathy wave towards the West surged due to overwhelming nationalism experienced by the people and encouraged by the government. Suddenly, professors imported from the West and their art forms were pushed to the side as Japan promoted their own culture in extreme nationalist tones. This movement was spurred by Japan’s desires to become a great Eastern imperial power, and was equally as propagandistic as it was a response to the superiority complex emanating from the Western Imperial powers.
If this political and cultural intrigue doesn’t pique your interest, I don’t know what will!
But hey, if you’re looking for a book about the 19th century at a passing glance, I won’t bar you from reading this book. However, if you want to learn both sides of the story in this extremely interesting time period, I would suggest skipping it. Hopefully, if I find a book with the same subject material that is better, I’ll update this review!
July 19, 2017
I enjoyed the cast of (real) characters this book chose to follow; I think my favorites were the chapters on Herman Melville+John Manjiro and Okakura Kazuko+Isabella Stewart Gardner. I never thought that reading a book on 19th century tourism would make me want to read The Book of Tea, À la recherche du temps perdu, and the works of Jean-Paul Sartre afterward, but maybe I'll save those after a break of slightly lighter reading…
Only critique is that I wished more women had been included in the lineup and the ratio of Westerners to Japanese citizens had been more even, but that just means Daughters of the Samurai: A Journey from East to West and Back is the next nonfiction read on my list!!
Only critique is that I wished more women had been included in the lineup and the ratio of Westerners to Japanese citizens had been more even, but that just means Daughters of the Samurai: A Journey from East to West and Back is the next nonfiction read on my list!!
January 26, 2008
An excellent and absorbing account of the early contacts between individual Japanese and Americans in the last half of the 19th century. How the two cultures influenced one another through these individuals and how they influenced others in their own circles. Good character studies and good culture history.
August 27, 2015
So interesting .. but a meandering trail through many interconnected people. It was at times overwhelming with information. However I did learn a lot from it. And it was fun to read something written by my college professor. :)
July 20, 2018
Terrific history about Japan opening to the West, and the notable figures from that West that helped it happen. Not only important for the modernization of the country, but also important due to these writers/artists/aesthetes recognition of the sophistication of Japanese art & culture, rather than the dismissive prevailing attitudes toward the nation in the 1800’s.
The author does a terrific job of bringing to life these big personalities, rather than as cardboard figures belonging to the “petrified nineteenth century.” And Henry Adams wondered in his final days, “Why did we live...was that all?” These were all real, passionate people that deserve to be remembered for more than their works.
Great book for anyone wanting an intimate examination of the world starting to become a smaller place in late 1800’s and early 1900’s.
The author does a terrific job of bringing to life these big personalities, rather than as cardboard figures belonging to the “petrified nineteenth century.” And Henry Adams wondered in his final days, “Why did we live...was that all?” These were all real, passionate people that deserve to be remembered for more than their works.
Great book for anyone wanting an intimate examination of the world starting to become a smaller place in late 1800’s and early 1900’s.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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November 26, 2024When I first began this book, I was interested and enthusiastic. The first chapter was very interesting, and seemed to live up to the subtitle’s promise of explaining the cultural exchange between the West (America) and the East (Japan). Because I find such things incredibly fascinating, it seemed right up my alley. Unfortunately, that first chapter/segment was the best part of the book. After that, it meandered terribly and I began to wonder how the anecdotes and people mentioned had any relevance to the narrative.
Even though it was purportedly about Japan, almost no Japanese were represented. It didn’t employ their perspective at all. Everything related was from a Western (usually male) point of view, and they were excited to help “educate” and “civilize” the Empire. It was discouraging and I soon lost interest.
Even though it was purportedly about Japan, almost no Japanese were represented. It didn’t employ their perspective at all. Everything related was from a Western (usually male) point of view, and they were excited to help “educate” and “civilize” the Empire. It was discouraging and I soon lost interest.
October 11, 2025
I read this book to assist in my passion project for a novel set in Meiji era Japan. While some of this book was fantastic (okakura and Hearn), others felt so tangential related to the era that they were an utter slog to read. This is predominantly a book about bored, rich, white people traveling. While yes, their behaviors can definitely be considered what makes them eccentrics, I wish were given a more diverse cast of perspectives to see the lense through.
I wish this didn't read like a check list of famous people is all.
I wish this didn't read like a check list of famous people is all.
May 7, 2017
The Great Wave is a smart book about cultural longing in the Gilded Age and how the West imported the East it wanted. Old Boston longed for Old Japan and created our idea of the “wisdom of the East” by what it collected and displayed in museums. All the while Japan was hurrying toward its new empire, as was America. Christopher Benefy tells the story concisely and with wit.
August 30, 2022
Honestly a bit hard to slosh through at a lot of points. Not unreadable though. I think that the writer loves the facts written out and I am glad that they are making money. But not my type of writing style.
June 22, 2019
Kinda of interesting but could have been done better.
August 15, 2024
For just the first section The Floating World” an intertwined narrative of Melville and Manjiro:
The book and the interwoven narratives made a great reading and was well conceived and written.
The book and the interwoven narratives made a great reading and was well conceived and written.
July 7, 2025
A sleeper must read
October 23, 2011
Finding a popular history of Japan is very nearly impossible. Unlike popular histories about western Europe and the US which can be spotted a mile away hiding in a tree, popular histories (in English) about Asia can't be found on a clear day in an empty field.
This is in fact the FIRST and ONLY popular history I've ever found about Japan. I have theories about why this is so (1) the reading audience is more interested to read about the Founding Fathers and the Tudors and other well-known historical events/figures (2) Asian names are less familiar to the average reader and thus harder to keep straight (3) there's much less background knowledge so nearly all the information is new and thus harder to retain (4) the sources are in languages that are generally harder to learn and fewer people study.
Anyway, I was inclined to like this book just for what it is. And then it went and was excellent on top of that.
This book wasn't strictly chronological. Each chapter was devoted to one or two individuals or a central theme. My favorite stories were definitely those about Japanese figures, like the teenager who was shipwrecked and grew up partly in New England before returning to Japan. Or the Japanese official who had an affair with a diplomat’s wife (!) and the wife ended up being forcibly committed to an insane asylum by her angry husband (!) (I knew that shit went down in England, but who knew it happened in Japan, too?).
I only had two big problems with this book:
(1) I know Benfey is really big on how much Japan influenced stuff like modern poetry and Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture, and isn’t that neat? But frankly I don’t care about art and poetry and architecture and talking about minute details of those things bore me and there was far too much of that in this book as far as I’m concerned
(2) I didn’t realize going into this book how much it was about Americans; I thought it would be much more about Japan but a lot of it—especially the second half—is really about America, specifically New England. Japanese people barely even show up by the end, except in passing. It’s all about these New Englanders and how they went to Japan this one time. I really wish more of it had been set IN Japan. There seemed to be much more tenuous ties to Japan as the book went on. (though the Americans could at times be very interesting, like that huge scandal with Emily Dickinson’s brother and his nymphomaniac mistress, who was married to a guy who willingly pimped her out and was quite a ferociously sexual man himself). I guess it is easier to get sources on Americans, so I can see why Benfey spent so much time on them. But I wish he had done more with Japan.
Still, definitely worth reading and it gives a look into late 19th century Japan in an interesting way.
This is in fact the FIRST and ONLY popular history I've ever found about Japan. I have theories about why this is so (1) the reading audience is more interested to read about the Founding Fathers and the Tudors and other well-known historical events/figures (2) Asian names are less familiar to the average reader and thus harder to keep straight (3) there's much less background knowledge so nearly all the information is new and thus harder to retain (4) the sources are in languages that are generally harder to learn and fewer people study.
Anyway, I was inclined to like this book just for what it is. And then it went and was excellent on top of that.
This book wasn't strictly chronological. Each chapter was devoted to one or two individuals or a central theme. My favorite stories were definitely those about Japanese figures, like the teenager who was shipwrecked and grew up partly in New England before returning to Japan. Or the Japanese official who had an affair with a diplomat’s wife (!) and the wife ended up being forcibly committed to an insane asylum by her angry husband (!) (I knew that shit went down in England, but who knew it happened in Japan, too?).
I only had two big problems with this book:
(1) I know Benfey is really big on how much Japan influenced stuff like modern poetry and Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture, and isn’t that neat? But frankly I don’t care about art and poetry and architecture and talking about minute details of those things bore me and there was far too much of that in this book as far as I’m concerned
(2) I didn’t realize going into this book how much it was about Americans; I thought it would be much more about Japan but a lot of it—especially the second half—is really about America, specifically New England. Japanese people barely even show up by the end, except in passing. It’s all about these New Englanders and how they went to Japan this one time. I really wish more of it had been set IN Japan. There seemed to be much more tenuous ties to Japan as the book went on. (though the Americans could at times be very interesting, like that huge scandal with Emily Dickinson’s brother and his nymphomaniac mistress, who was married to a guy who willingly pimped her out and was quite a ferociously sexual man himself). I guess it is easier to get sources on Americans, so I can see why Benfey spent so much time on them. But I wish he had done more with Japan.
Still, definitely worth reading and it gives a look into late 19th century Japan in an interesting way.
August 6, 2016
"The Great Wave" by Christopher Benfey is a solid read, and his writing lends a vivid character and detailed attention to the historical figures that he is highlighting, but there are a few issues in the book. The first is with the title and the supposed focus. The surtitle, "Gilded Age Misfits, Japanese Eccentrics, and the Opening of Old Japan," gives the impression there will be a somewhat equal give-and-take on how the author focuses on the early years of the cultural dialogue between the United States and Japan. That is not the case. In all, I can think of only four major figures (Nakahama Manjiro, Okakura Kakuzo, Nitobe Inazo, and Kuki Shuzo) that the author pays any sort of attention to throughout the book. The title of the book would have been less misleading if the "Japanese Eccentrics" part was taken out, because the Japanese referenced in the book are not themselves eccentrics, but part of a long lineage of Japanese philosophy and cultural assimilates.
The rest of the book is devoted to New Englanders with great wealth and time on their hands to explore Japan in the first place, with the exception of Herman Melville. In that regard, the title of the book is still misleading. He does this again with the final chapter, "The Judo Room," which you expect to actually be about judo and jujutsu, but isn't. The final issue is that the first half of the third to last chapter in the book does not belong in the book at all. The author introduces us to the figure of Percival Lowell and his travels in Japan only to skip the TWENTY YEARS he spent travelling in the country only to focus on Lowell's obsession with Mars. The choice of focus was rather inconceivable, seeing as it is used to set up a thin connection to the other parts of the chapter. The information is itself a digression from the focus of the book.
The major issues of the book stem from a lack of focus and a need for editing, but the book itself is one I would definitely recommend because of the information we learn about the late 19th century, the influence of Japanese culture and philosophy on United States aesthetics and academia, and the interesting connection between Boston and Japan that we learn about throughout the book. The details of the book were engrossing and shed light on a lot of influential figures I have never heard about before. The author did a great service for the general audience by highlighting these connections. In particular the chapter on Lafcadio Hearn was well written. Overall, "The Great Wave" is definitely a good read and has a lot to teach, I just want people to know exactly what they're getting into when they read the book. Don't expect to learn as much about Japanese history as you will learn about American history.
The rest of the book is devoted to New Englanders with great wealth and time on their hands to explore Japan in the first place, with the exception of Herman Melville. In that regard, the title of the book is still misleading. He does this again with the final chapter, "The Judo Room," which you expect to actually be about judo and jujutsu, but isn't. The final issue is that the first half of the third to last chapter in the book does not belong in the book at all. The author introduces us to the figure of Percival Lowell and his travels in Japan only to skip the TWENTY YEARS he spent travelling in the country only to focus on Lowell's obsession with Mars. The choice of focus was rather inconceivable, seeing as it is used to set up a thin connection to the other parts of the chapter. The information is itself a digression from the focus of the book.
The major issues of the book stem from a lack of focus and a need for editing, but the book itself is one I would definitely recommend because of the information we learn about the late 19th century, the influence of Japanese culture and philosophy on United States aesthetics and academia, and the interesting connection between Boston and Japan that we learn about throughout the book. The details of the book were engrossing and shed light on a lot of influential figures I have never heard about before. The author did a great service for the general audience by highlighting these connections. In particular the chapter on Lafcadio Hearn was well written. Overall, "The Great Wave" is definitely a good read and has a lot to teach, I just want people to know exactly what they're getting into when they read the book. Don't expect to learn as much about Japanese history as you will learn about American history.
February 9, 2008
This is the last of the Meiji-era history books that I bought, and I'll be going off that topic for a little while. It's been really good reading, though, because that's an incredibly interesting time. Japan went from a medieval feudal society to a nation capable of standing toe-to-toe with Western world powers within fifty years. It's an amazing accomplishment, really.
The 1860s were a bad time for Japan and America both. Japan had its Meiji Revolution, America had the Civil War. And after those events settled down a bit, the people of each country started thinking the same thing: where do we go from here?
In Japan, the answer was obvious: we go forward. Progressive Japanese thinkers, artists and philosophers traveled to America to learn her secrets and her ways, and to show a modern Japan to the world. Americans, however, were looking backwards. In an age of chaos and uncertainty, where the world seemed to be rushing by ever faster, some people wanted to slow down, or even stop. And for that, they looked to old Japan.
The book is a series of essays about men and women, mostly idle rich from Boston, who looked to Japan as the cure for their spiritual ills. People like Percival Lowell, Henry Adams, Herman Melville and Theodore Roosevelt all saw Japan as a place that offered great lessons to America in turmoil. Unfortunately, the lessons came from a culture that was rapidly vanishing under modernization, so they had to act fast.
The Japanophile community in Boston was a tight-knit one and an influential one. Their love of Japan inspired artists, politicians and educators to look at a way of life, and a way of thinking, that was seriously different from the way they were used to. By coming to Japan, they changed America.
The 1860s were a bad time for Japan and America both. Japan had its Meiji Revolution, America had the Civil War. And after those events settled down a bit, the people of each country started thinking the same thing: where do we go from here?
In Japan, the answer was obvious: we go forward. Progressive Japanese thinkers, artists and philosophers traveled to America to learn her secrets and her ways, and to show a modern Japan to the world. Americans, however, were looking backwards. In an age of chaos and uncertainty, where the world seemed to be rushing by ever faster, some people wanted to slow down, or even stop. And for that, they looked to old Japan.
The book is a series of essays about men and women, mostly idle rich from Boston, who looked to Japan as the cure for their spiritual ills. People like Percival Lowell, Henry Adams, Herman Melville and Theodore Roosevelt all saw Japan as a place that offered great lessons to America in turmoil. Unfortunately, the lessons came from a culture that was rapidly vanishing under modernization, so they had to act fast.
The Japanophile community in Boston was a tight-knit one and an influential one. Their love of Japan inspired artists, politicians and educators to look at a way of life, and a way of thinking, that was seriously different from the way they were used to. By coming to Japan, they changed America.
August 19, 2007
Strange and interesting tales of cultural exchange between the United States and Japan during the Gilded Age / Meiji Restoration era (1870s-1910s). During these years, both the USA and Japan were rapidly developing nations looking to expand into empires. Consequently, the two cultures looked to each other for inspiration. A professor of literature and art history by trade, Benfey brings an profound knowledge of American artistic history to this volume and tells it all with a storyteller's flourishes.
However, I have two criticisms of this book: 1) Benfey focuses about 80% of the book on describing the American perspective (which is natural, as he is an American, after all); and 2) Benfey seems to buy into, or at least sympathize with, the dichotomy of the time which sees the West (USA) as masculine, strong, rigid, and scientific, and the East (Japan) as feminine, weak, soft, and aesthetic. This second criticism doesn't mean he looks down upon Japan - he sees the softness as a good thing in light of Daoism and Jujutsu, in which the weaker one uses his opponent's strength to his advantage.
Some famous figures discussed (at length) in the volume are Herman Melville, Henry Adams, Ernest Fenollosa, William Sturgis Bigelow, John La Farge, Teddy Roosevelt, Edward Sylvester Morse, and Mabel Loomis Todd.
However, I have two criticisms of this book: 1) Benfey focuses about 80% of the book on describing the American perspective (which is natural, as he is an American, after all); and 2) Benfey seems to buy into, or at least sympathize with, the dichotomy of the time which sees the West (USA) as masculine, strong, rigid, and scientific, and the East (Japan) as feminine, weak, soft, and aesthetic. This second criticism doesn't mean he looks down upon Japan - he sees the softness as a good thing in light of Daoism and Jujutsu, in which the weaker one uses his opponent's strength to his advantage.
Some famous figures discussed (at length) in the volume are Herman Melville, Henry Adams, Ernest Fenollosa, William Sturgis Bigelow, John La Farge, Teddy Roosevelt, Edward Sylvester Morse, and Mabel Loomis Todd.
January 27, 2015
At the same time I have been enjoying Christopher Benfey's The Great Wave: Gilded Age Misfits, Japanese Eccentrics and the Opening of Old Japan (New York: Random House, 2003). Benfey's book is a collection of interrelated essays on Americans, mostly New Englanders following the whaling trade, who interacted with Japan and Japanese in the United States in the late 19th-century. Benfey's writing is easy and accessible opens up a whole world of interest in this cross-cultural trade in ideas and culture. Benfey rattles the family trees of New England to find out who falls into the laps of Japan and how each of them brought back cherry blossoms and haiku to germinate in New England. The floating world of Japan becomes a means for staunch New Englanders to escape their cloistered and shuttered world and to find some sense of solace in the topsy-turvy world of Japanese art, culture and design. With these two books are a few others that await my curiosity and each evening I find myself devoting more and more time to the leisurely and pleasurable experience of sinking into bed with a good book in hand.
August 11, 2010
An interesting look at many of the connections that literary, artistic, political and other folks -- primarily in the Boston/New England region -- had with each other and with Japan during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Centering heavily on Boston and its art museums and benefactors, you also learn about that region's influence on Japan, and Japan's influence on it and American society in general. It does meander at times, plunging into grand (but interesting!) diversions that seem at first disconnected yet ultimately make sense related to Japan, but overall a great read.
Originally written on Oct 17, 2007 at 02:08AM
Originally written on Oct 17, 2007 at 02:08AM
September 25, 2013
Really interesting book about Americans visiting Japan just as it opened up to the Western World. The book is organized in sections each telling the story of one or two different visitors, and the compelling-ness of the book varies based on which visitor he is talking about. I mostly skipped the section about Henry Adams, because I find Henry Adams to be absolutely insufferable. The parts about Edward Morse, who was one of the first Americans to come to Japan and certainly the most observant, were the absolute best. Morse is now one of my all-time favorite people—a dabbler with incredible powers of observation.
September 4, 2015
Not so much about Japan itself, this book describes the influence of Japanese culture and philosophy on American thought and art for 50 years after its opening to the West. A lot of biographical detail is given for the major players -- Herman Melville, Robert Morse, Henry Adams, Teddy Roosevelt, Percival Lowell, and quite a few others I'm not familiar with -- much of it having nothing to do with their interest in things Japanese. Slow at times, I did end up liking what I read and learned about the early years of Japan's integration of Western technologies and the West's adoption of Japanese philosophies.
February 26, 2009
Very well written. Benfey's attention to detail makes one think these are fictional stories when actually, the book is entirely based on fact. How did he learn so much about all those historical figures? It is a wonderful look at the opening of Japan to the U.S., as well as the fascination Westerners held towards all things Japanese during that era. I found it slightly boring here and there but that could be my own lack of tolerance for extremely detailed history lessons. Otherwise, an interesting read.
September 25, 2011
Loved the book. Great overview of a fascinating melding. Great reminder of the power of trade – the whale boats from around the world being the ones with the most contact with Japan. I always find it fascinating that the thoughts and views of the explorers tell us more about them than about the land they are explaining. Benfey does a really good job of showing the mystery and hopes that were attached to Japan by the hoity tots from New England. The enduring allure of Japan as a mystic land of eternal values. Absolutely fascinating story.
June 1, 2014
Interesting for its unexpected coincidences and enticing historical tidbits, but I was a little bored by the time I reached the last chapter- I think the best bits were mostly in the first half of the book. Still a pretty good read, well-researched but not dense, and covering a subject and time period I'm particularly interested in. I wanted more women though, like the author mentions Isabella Bird multiple times but never elaborates on her experiences in Japan. I guess because she was British and this was focusing on Americans?
December 8, 2015
The title deserves close reading because you do get more of the gilded age misfits than the Japanese eccentrics. And the opening of Old Japan is pretty much through the eye of those gilded age misfits which is not everyone's cup of tea.
The first section was an equal mix of Japanese eccentrics and Gilded Age misfits, but towards the end it becomes much more about the gilded age misfits and about the impact on future writers - Camus, Sartre, etc. and if you are into the genesis of ideas and stanzas really quite interesting. But if you are into Japanese history more this is not your book.
The first section was an equal mix of Japanese eccentrics and Gilded Age misfits, but towards the end it becomes much more about the gilded age misfits and about the impact on future writers - Camus, Sartre, etc. and if you are into the genesis of ideas and stanzas really quite interesting. But if you are into Japanese history more this is not your book.
May 7, 2008
ƒun and interesting but not so compelling that I felt an urge to read every word. This book is about Meiji Era Japan in the eyes of numerous artists and writers from Gilded Era America. It's well organized; each featured artist/writer/character gets his or her own short, well-written chapter. Beney is a breezy and entertaining writer.
January 11, 2010
Highly recommend this for those interested in the east-west exchange between US and Japan post-Commodore Perry. Benfey brings the story to you through the individuals who studied, lived in, were fascinated by, and wrote about Japan - from Herman Melville to Edward Sylvester Morse to Isabella Stewart Gardner and Henry Adams Both an interesting and entertaining read.
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